Posted on 06/18/2010 5:41:00 AM PDT by numberonepal
It is an overlooked danger in oil spill crisis: The crude gushing from the well contains vast amounts of natural gas that could pose a serious threat to the Gulf of Mexico's fragile ecosystem.
The oil emanating from the seafloor contains about 40 percent methane, compared with about 5 percent found in typical oil deposits...
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
Not all the ‘dinosaurs’ were killed in one ‘extinction’ event. It was a combination of many different events, over a very, very long period of time.
Yeppers. It’s been a while since I lived/worked down there, but I believe that if the concentration of H2S gets to 4 PPM or higher, it’s called a sour well.
And like you wrote, just cuz you can smell it does not mean you are dead. It’s not like phosgene. (if you smell cherry blossoms, you’re dead) I remember being issued respirators at some of the chemical plants along the Gulf, along with the admonition that if the alarm goes off, do not inhale, and get your mask on within 10 seconds. Yikers.
I agree, but folks are making money (grants) trying to prove the root cause of the big kill.
Who knows, maybe they took up smoking ;-)
The amount of hydrogen sulfide which is normally emitted from a volcano is not that much. Reading about the toxic gases from a volcano, the one that is taken most seriously seems to be CO2. Not because it is more toxic than H2S, but because it is present in the volcanic gas in much larger quantities and tends to settle in low-lying areas, where living things then die, before it is dispersed.
If a volcano, or series of volcanoes, was responsible for the extinction of dinosaurs, I doubt that the hydrogen sulfide in the gas was the main factor.
There is some information about fluoride emissions from some volcanoes coating nearby vegetation, and then animals get sick and deformed. Fluoride in high concentration attacks the bones.
And it seems a stretch to use speculation about what killed the dinosaurs in order to support fear about the leak under the Gulf.
I recall hearing in a high school chemistry class that as H2S gets stronger, people lose their ability to smell it. So someone exposed to an increasing concentration will often be unaware that they are about to be knocked out.
I agree — this is all fear mongering - to perpetuate and grow the crisis.
That’s true - H2S saturates the olfactory sensors and you can’t smell any ‘new’ gas.
But that’s true for a lot of smells.
Not to mention the pipe is on the New Madrid fault and imagine the earthquakes a nuke could set off!
Don't cap it... drill the heck out of it and pump it dry... not two(2) relief wells but 50 relief wells.. or a hundred.. could solve Americas foreign oil problem..
I agree, and fear can cause irrational posts. I admit to being guilty.
Of course there are a lot of Freepers who are not near this area and are acting like those of us down here are just stupid for fearing this whole mess. It’s NOT just oil. Oil is horrible for the fishing and marshes, but it’s the chemicals that we in the rainbelt of the Gulf that we fear.
Since you’re educated, look up crude assay on google. The engineering/pricing process in the petrol industry produces a distillation curve.
Me too.. discussion without contumely is the best. A cursory search revealed none here -- so far.
There, I feel better already! (don't you?)
/sarc, of course!
Of course! Haven't you heard of the "oilcano"? Stay tuned as the intellectually (not to mention scientifically) challenged seek even greater superlatives of disaster! (and pass the popcorn)...
Be thankful. With cap and trade, people will be out there picking up tarballs and scooping up oil to burn for heat (off the books, of course).
“Air Force One will land, take off from Port Columbus”
_________________________________________________________________
Did they extend the runway there? I had to change in Detroit for a “regional” plane when I visited in 1997 (I was born in Columbus).
Seems a 747 would have a rough time...
One of the stimulus jobs was to extend the runway to allow a 747 enough room to land and take off. It’s called pre planning.
I have worked hundreds of oil wells with plenty of methane, but no H2S. Either the Hydrogen Sulfide is present or it is not. Either it is present in sufficient concentration to be hazardous or it is not. It isn't hazardous until you get past the 10 PPM level and then only with prolonged exposure.
Actually, we don’t even need to clean up 60%.
First, the methane will dissipate.
Secondly the lighter molecular weight aromatic hydrocarbons will evaporate.
Thirdly a portion will emulsify and/or be metabolized in the sea water.
What’s left needs to be cleaned up — the goo, the tar.
IT’s a mess for sure.
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