Posted on 06/11/2010 10:26:13 PM PDT by blam
New Oil Spill Total Is Bad News For BP, Wildlife
BJune 11,2010
BRIAN SKOLOFF and HARRY R. WEBER, Associated Press
GRAND ISLE, La. – The astonishing news that the oil leak at the bottom of the sea may be twice as big as previously thought could have major repercussions for both the environment and BP's financial health, killing more marine life and dramatically increasing the amount the company must pay in fines and damages.
Scientists now say the blown-out well could have been spewing as much as 2 million gallons of crude a day before a cut-and-cap maneuver started capturing some of the flow, meaning more than 100 million gallons may have leaked into the Gulf of Mexico since the start of the disaster in April. That is more than nine times the size of the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, previously the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
The larger estimates, while still preliminary and considered a worst-case scenario, could contribute to breathtaking liabilities against BP. Penalties can be levied against the company under a variety of environmental protection laws, including fines of up to $1,100 under the Clean Water Act for each barrel of oil spilled.
Based on the maximum amount of oil possibly spilled to date, that would translate to a potential civil fine for simple discharge alone of $2.8 billion. If BP were found to have committed gross negligence or willful misconduct, the civil fine could be up to $4,300 per barrel, or up to $11.1 billion.
"It's going to blow the record books up," said Eric Schaeffer, who led the Environmental Protection Agency's enforcement office from 1997 to 2002.
[snip]
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
I would never trust a number that came from a democrat White House. I am amazed that some FReepers apparently still do this.
The Obama WH's ability to make stuff up is limited only by our credulity. Let's all remember that, shall we?
We'll survive this but the question is who do we get in 2012? Warmed over GOP spit?
Obama’s fault.
The President is criminally liable for the failed response to the spill. He holds the ability, power, and authority to order resources to the clean up and protection of our nation. He holds the ability, power, and authority to waive regulations that interfere with clean up; like the Jones Act. He holds all of that in the palm of his hand and then he can bill BP for the clean up.
The government is the lead agency regarding the spill.
It is criminal negligence on the part of the “executive.” If he had thrown everything we got and then some at the spill for mitigation...it would just be a horrible accident. But there is mounting evidence that, that was not done. In fact evidence is showing the exact opposite. He didn’t take the lead, and even now keeps trying to push that responsibility down the food chain. During a crisis you don’t do that and our environmental laws should be used to hold him accountable.
"1. Corexit makes the oil sink below the water’s surface"
Corexit solubizes oil (makes it dissolve in water).
"2. BP faces a fine based partly on the amount of oil spilled and the oil can’t be seen as easily or at all if it is enough below the surface"
Any penalty will be based on measured and estimated flows from the wellhead, not oil that can be seen on the surface.
"3. Obama’s buddies are shareholders in Nalco, the maker of Corexit and will benefit from this large usage (is part of the appeal offloading a large supply of toxic stuff that’s hard to sell now that it is banned in Europe?)"
Corexit is a mixture of ingredients, all of which are in common use in a multitude of products, ALL of which are in regular use for, on, or in humans. It is NOT all that toxic. The "toxicity" is for FISH and other aquatic animals, because the SOAP (surfactants) interfere with their "breathing" (coats the gills). But then it's probably not a good idea the put Dawn dishwashing liquid in an utrasonic humidifier and breath the output.
"4. There was a large warehoused supply of another dispersal agent at the coast of one of the affected states (may have been LA) but BP refused to use it. The supply was there because regulations demand that it be readily available for a disaster just like the BP one."
The only other agent available in a large enough quantity has WORSE toxic properties (not the agent itself, but one of it's degradation products).
5. Way late in the game, the EPA “asked” BP to back off on the amount of Corexit they were using and BP ignored the request. The matter, as far as I know, was then dropped by the EPA, almost like the request was for show only."
When the EPA made the request, BP responded with the scientific reasons why they could not comply. The EPA (and other evaluators) concluded that BP was right.
"Oil at least is a natural substance and is biodegradable over time. Corexit - who knows and who knows how much of the crap they used. I’ve got a bad feeling about that stuff and would like to hear opinions about it from anyone who is familiar with it."
The amount used is a complete matter of record, from the sales slips at Nalco, if nothing else. But BP has been totally up front about exactly how much has been used.
The use of Corexit right at the wellhead was a stroke of genius, and will prevent a LOT of environmental damage. Corexit in aqueous solution degrades naturally in about 10-20 days, so any long-term bioaccumulation is impossible.
Thank you WW. I’ve saved this info for future reference. I’m watching this whole episode with great anticipation being a native of Florida.
Not to dismiss the catastrophic effects of an oil spill, but if you were to capture the volume of oil spilled and contained in a square mile, it would be approximally six inches deep. Just think of the hundreds of thousands of square miles of the gulf, and the average depth...The oil vs. water volume is miniscule...
Thank you for an informative post.
There is way too much breathless hype everywhere about this spill and the use of any sort of *chemical*.
Isn’t it interesting that while hyperventilating about Corexite, it is thought to be just wonderful to use Dawn to wash the oiled birds?
Another recurring thought for me is that, back when flying wasn’t a nightmare and we owned a timeshare on Bonaire, the most popular night dive was the Town Pier. The water was fairly foul with diesel and yet the place was full of fish and other aquatic wildlife, such as shrimp. I have heard the same about oil platforms. During the day, the locals would fish off that same pier and eat the catch. We bought some from the fishermen and a Japanese friend made sushi for us all. It was great. We did avoid eating the parrotfish. They were fed so much leftover bread that they tasted even more bland than they are, naturally.
Another observation is that I can now see more of the piping and such on the live web cams of the spill. It seems obvious that less oil and gas are escaping. The figures on how much has been captured for separation have increased. So why are all the figures increasing on how much oil has escaped?
Your corrections are surprising to me because they contradict what I have read repeatedly and seen on news videos on the internet.
Of course just because some reporter writes something doesn’t mean it is true. In fact, it could be deliberately misleading or simply false in order to forward someone’s agenda. We’ve seen that in excess over the last 2 years.
On the other hand, I am not familiar with your screen name here and have no idea whether you have expertise in the field of deep sea oil spills or you yourself have an agenda such as a job that depends on the continued existence of BP. I am not trying to be offensive, I am just saying I have no particular reason to believe you versus all of the input from news sources. You did not provide any links so I can’t read the material that gave you the knowledge you shared. (I know it’s a big pain in the a$$ to look for links in a post like you made - I didn’t have them when I wrote my post either.)
If you will notice, I prefaced my list with the statement that I believed the points to be factual, not that they were for sure. And I ended by asking for some feedback from a person who has the expertise and experience that I do not have - one of the things that makes this place such a great resource.
Therefore, I thank you for your answer but wish that you could have done so without the supercilious attitude and maybe told me why I should believe you. I did not invent my the list. It came from reading a lot of what has been written about the incident and I did admit having no background other than that.
You can get an idea of what Florida is looking at in the long run from the report published by the Texas "Bureau of Land Management" on the post-spill effects of the Ixtoc spill. Lots of good hard scientific data.
Texas was "hit harder" than Florida is likely to be from the BP Spill.
http://invertebrates.si.edu/mms/reports/IXTOC_exec.pdf
If your information above is correct, that is really good news and I am very glad to know that.
Obama’s wasting a crisis spin to ensue.
And THAT is, in fact, to understate the case.... :^)
"The figures on how much has been captured for separation have increased. So why are all the figures increasing on how much oil has escaped?"
Good question. I'd like an answer to THAT one myself. If you haven't found it, there is a spreadsheet on the Department of Energy website that gives a summary of all the measured/measurable parameters (oil captured, gas captured, etc). It appears to be updated daily. Unfortunately, you can't open it with Excel (it's in the "Open Document" spreadsheet format).
From what I've seen, 99% of what is floating around is garbage. The level of hype exceeds even that about Obama during the late election.
"On the other hand, I am not familiar with your screen name here and have no idea whether you have expertise in the field of deep sea oil spills or you yourself have an agenda such as a job that depends on the continued existence of BP."
And here I thought I was famous (or at least infamous). Me: PhD chemist, specialty analytical chemistry, worked for twenty years in the petrochem industry (NOT for any oil company), also background in nuclear issues (college minor), now co-owner of a small, high-tech company that designs chemical analysis instrumentation. Forty years total as a practicing scientist. Wife is also PhD chemist, but worked in petroleum engineering (enhanced oil recovery). Sis-in-law is a geophysicist in Houston with a 20 year career in 3D seismic with many productive wells to her credit (she's never worked for BP, and what she says about them would blister the paint off the walls).
Sub-issue, I grew up in South Louisiana in the midst of the "oil patch", and love my home state as much as any native.
I've got no ax to grind whatsoever except to try to correct at least a SMALL portion of the gigantic amount of mis-information that is being "spewed" about the spill.
"I did not invent my the list. It came from reading a lot of what has been written about the incident and I did admit having no background other than that."
Sometimes I can be a bit "testy", because there ARE a lot of people commenting that "do" have an agenda (typically a "green" one, or "anti-big business"). At times it's hard to tell the truly under-educated from the trolls. If that's the case here, my apologies to you.
Re..links. I "do" try to post at least some links to the most-relevant stuff, but I read so many sources in a day that keeping track of them is virtually impossible.
They way I perceive the flow of the underwater plume, it looks as if the Keys and Cuba might get hit hard before the current takes it up the Eastern flow. The Gulf Stream has been protecting much of Florida’s East Coast from hurricanes. Perhaps it will keep the oil and residue significantly offshore. Hoping of course.
That report has been bookmarked. Very interesting data.
OK. I take your answers seriously now and feel a lot better about those floating snot globs of oil knowing they are not long for this world. I am not anti-big business unless they are run by the government. As for greenies, they should all be informed that the Nazis had a very well developed green agenda. Maybe there’d be fewer enviro whack jobs and the neighbor’s kid wouldn’t be having a funeral for a bug her dad stepped on. As for me, my agenda is red, white and blue.
Thanks for the follow-up. Apology accepted.
P.S. I haven’t been here long enough to appreciate everyone who is famous or infamous.
The "plumes" and the surface oil are driven by totally different mechanisms. The underwater stuff is mostly transported by the currents, as you mention. The surface stuff is mostly driven by prevailing winds, which, at this time of year.
But by the time the underwater "plume" gets to the Keys/Cuba (and certainly by the time it gets "east" of Florida), I think you would be hard put to detect any oil at all, given that it has been diluted to 0.5 ppm after traveling only 42 miles.
You can be "green" and honest. It's just that most greens are not, they are socialists looking for an excuse. An honest green these days is pushing for increased use of nuclear power.
"As for me, my agenda is red, white and blue."
Amen, brother!
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