Editor's NOTE:
Michael Edward alleges that there is an ongoing continuous leak of oil and gas into the Gulf of Mexico despite capping of the Macondo Well. He further reports that scientists have artificially created special oil and gas-eating microbes by utilizing techniques of bioremediation in which new genomes have been constructed that is, the creation of synthetic micro-organisms.
The rate of oil and gas (primarily methane) decomposition reported in these new microbes exceed by several orders of magnitude the rates of any known natural bacteria. According to Edward these new synthetic bacteria have been introduced into the Gulf of Mexico along with the necessary trace elements (Magnesium and Iron primarily) required for the artificially created oil and gas eating microbes to flourish.
Edward has tied the recent bird and fish kills to the bioremediation process now underway in the Gulf of Mexico stating that the effect is essentially an example of the "canary in the coal mine." This issue should be carefully watched for further untoward developments.
--Dr. J. P. Hubert
Permanent Biological Contamination of the Gulf
01 Feb, 2011
by Michael Edward
SYNTHETIC GENES ARE CROSSING SPECIES BARRIERS
While natural genetic parasites, viruses and bacteria are limited by species barriers, the storm of artificial genetics created by synthetic biology engineers – in order to eliminate the flow of crude oil and gasses in the Gulf of Mexico – are actually designed to cross species barriers. This has created new viral and bacterial pathogens never seen before. It is directly responsible for the spreading of drug and antibiotic resistant viral and bacterial outbreaks along the Gulf Coast, a pestilence that I have named The Gulf Blue Plague.
HORIZONTAL GENE TRANSFER
Genetic engineering – synthetic biology – involves designing artificial genes to deliberately cross species barriers by invading their genetic makeup. Simply explained, it improves the direct transfer of genetic material to an unrelated species. This is called Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT), or Lateral Gene Transfer (LGT), and is usually accomplished with the conveyance of genes by infectious viruses named bacteriophages, or simply ‘phages’. LGT or HGT is any process in which an organism transfers genetic material (i.e., DNA) to another cell that is not its offspring. It has been used by genetic engineers to make Transgenic Organisms.
TRANSGENIC ORGANISMS
Engineered genetic modification creates a transgenic organism by inserting DNA into a host organism, such as bacteria, with the assistance of a virus or a plasmid. The mature host organism will then pass on the DNA which has been artificially inserted into its genome.
Transgenic DNA typically contains genetic material from bacteria, viruses and other genetic parasites. This is the cause behind diseases as well as the antibiotic resistant genes that make infectious diseases untreatable. Horizontal transfer of transgenic DNA has the potential to also create new viruses and bacteria that cause diseases and spread drug and antibiotic resistance genes among pathogens.
Genetic material released from both dead and live cells persevere in all environments. Our entire biosphere is being exposed to all kinds of new gene combinations that did not previously exist in nature and would never have come into being without synthetic gene engineering.
TRANSFERING DNA BY INFECTING VIRUSES
Bacteriophages are a class of viruses that infect bacteria. They are simply a “package” of DNA surrounded by a protein “coat”. This coating has special properties that make it stick to bacterial cell walls. Once attached, they inject their DNA into the bacteria. Viral DNA forces the invaded cell to stop its normal activity and, instead, it will reproduce millions of copies of the whole virus.
When new viruses are produced in the bacteria, a piece of bacterial DNA may become enclosed in the virus coat. The virus will then carry this bacterial DNA to other bacteria where it becomes a part of their chromosome. This is called bacterial transduction and is especially common in water.
Synthetic DNA transfer by a virus causes an uncontrolled increase of genetically engineered genes by microorganisms. These bacteria then spread over wide distances on dust particles and in the oceans. They are ingested by birds that spread them transcontinentally when they migrate. They are also spread by fish and other marine life that also migrate from ocean to ocean. In other words, this eventually causes a worldwide distribution. But the worst part of all this is that effects on the entire earth biosphere is absolutely unknown.
CELLS ADOPT ALIEN GENES
We have a catastrophic biological disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. This is because the cells of all species, including those of mankind, can and do adopt foreign genetic material from both dead and live cells. According to biology and genetics scientists, this is what we can expect as a result:
1.New cross-species viruses that directly cause diseases.
2.The artificial development of new bacterial diseases.
3.The reactivation of dormant viruses present in all cells.
4.Antibiotic resistant genes in viral and bacterial pathogens.
5.The uncontrolled spread of new genes that have never before existed.
PERMANENT BIOLOGICAL CONTAMINATION
As I was writing this article, I received an e-mail from a news blog owner in Spain. He informed me about an important commentary made by a well know university biologist as a reply to my previous research written in The Perfect Genetic Storm. He felt the professor’s reply was extremely important and wanted me to know “we are spreading this information so there will be an end to this madness” in the Gulf of Mexico.
The following excerpts are translated from the Spanish blog Noticias de Abajo:
Microbiologist Máximo Sandín is the former Biology Department professor at the Independent University of Madrid where he taught on Human Evolution and Ecology.
He has directly commented on the translated article The Perfect Genetic Storm – Synthetic DNA and the Gulf Blue Plague.
Dr. Sandín is the author of We are Virus and Bacteria as well as many other publications.
Sandin:
“I believe that some (rather many) of the activities of the “biotechnology” or “bioengineering” companies are becoming ever more dangerous each day because their practices seem to be completely behind the back of present scientific knowledge.
Their pretensions to change “genes” voluntarily, or to modify or interfere in the natural phenomena, are based on a declining conception that does not genetically consider the ecology. These genetically modified genomes are very unstable due to the way they are obtained. For that reason, the genes are transferred to the modified or transgenic organisms that produce a permanent biological contamination in the ecosystems whose effects are unforeseeable.
On land, communities of associated bacteria and viruses (bacteriophages or “phages”) plentifully exist in the ecosystem for the purification of the fresh water, degradation of toxic substances, waste product recycling, CO2 production, and nitrogen fixation in plants. These communities genetically exchange information by means of plasmids and viruses. The viruses control the bacterial population. For that reason, the altered transgenic genes can cross to other organisms in the ecosystem. This practice has been repeatedly denounced by prestigious and independent scientists, although the mass media does not report this.
The populations of bacterial and viral communities in the oceans are spectacular. It has been determined that there are one million bacteria and ten million viruses per milliliter; however, for some scientists these figures are conservative.
Their functions are of equal importance for the marine ecosystems. They are in the base of the trophic pyramid for the control of microorganism populations, in the degradation of ocean waste, in the photosynthesis and respiration of the ocean, and the CO2 interchange with the atmosphere, including the formation of clouds.
We now have news on the methods to fight against the petroleum flow in the Gulf of Mexico. The suspicions that they have been using bacteria with “synthetic” or genetically modified genomes are very founded if we consider that the megalomaniac Craig Venter is involved.
What is being observed is not so much that the “synthetic microbes” produce “mutations” in the natural microorganisms, because that phenomenon is more of a localized problem. The true problem is that the horizontal transference of these modified genes between marine microorganisms is taking place, and that would be a “permanent biological contamination” of the ocean where the medium and long term effects cannot be predicted; but with complete certainty this will be a serious danger for the marine ecosystem in every area.
I guess I will have to hope, but if these crazy activities go unchecked, we will end up confronting a problem for which we cannot find a solution.”
References
Ho, M.W. (1998, 1999). Genetic Engineering Dream or Nightmare? The Brave New World of Bad Science and Big Business. Gateway, Gill & Macmillan, Dublin; Ho, M.W., Traavik, T., Olsvik, R., Tappeser, B., Howard, V., von Weizsacker, C. and McGavin, G. (1998). Gene Technology and Gene Ecology of Infectious Diseases. Microbial Ecology in Health and Disease 10, 33-59; 2000a (note 9).
http://www.psrast.org/hrtrintr.htm
http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/GEessays/horizgenetransfer.html
http://noticiasdeabajo.wordpress.com/2011/01/23/la-introduccion-de-bacterias-sinteticas-esta-produciendo-mutaciones-en-los-microorganismos-naturales-la-plaga-azul-del-golfo/
http://noticiasdeabajo.wordpress.com/2011/01/30/sobre-la-utilizacion-de-bacterias-con-genoma-sintetico-en-el-golfo-de-mexico/
http://www.somosbacteriasyvirus.com/
http://www.somosbacteriasyvirus.com/bacterias.html
http://www.somosbacteriasyvirus.com/virus.html
http://worldvisionportal.org/
http://blueplague.org%20/
Showing posts with label Macondo Oil Well. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Macondo Oil Well. Show all posts
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Sunday, December 26, 2010
The Oil Slick BP Tried To Hide Has Been Discovered
In Thick Layers On the Sea Floor Over An Area of Several Thousand Square Miles
by Washington's Blog
BP and the government famously declared that most of the oil had disappeared.
But as I've noted, as much as 98% of the oil is still in the ocean.
I have repeatedly pointed out that BP and the government applied massive amounts of dispersant to the Gulf Oil Spill in an effort to sink and hide the oil. Many others said the same thing.
BP and the government denied this, of course.
But the oil is not remaining hidden.
Indeed, as the Wall Street Journal noted on December 9th:
A university scientist and the federal government say they have found persuasive evidence that oil from the massive Gulf of Mexico spill is settling on the ocean floor.
The new findings, from scientists at the University of South Florida and from a broad government effort, mark the latest indication that environmental damage from the blowout of a BP PLC well could be significant where it's hardest to find: deep under the Gulf's surface.
***
Scientists who have been on research cruises in the Gulf in recent days report finding layers of residue up to several centimeters thick from what they suspect is BP oil.
The material appears in spots across several thousand square miles of seafloor, they said. In many of those spots, they said, worms and other marine life that crawl along the sediment appear dead, though many organisms that can swim appear healthy.
***
Tests now have started to link some oil in the sediment to the BP well could add to the amount of money BP ends up paying to compensate for the spill's damage.
***
The test results also raise questions about the possible downsides of the government's use of chemical dispersants to fight the spill.
***
Under federal direction, about 1.8 million gallons of dispersants were sprayed on the spilled oil in an effort to break it up into tiny droplets that natural ocean microbes could eat up. At the time, officials said the dispersants shouldn't cause oil from the spill to sink to the seafloor. However, more recently, a federal report said dispersants may have helped some spilled oil sink to the sediment.
Scientific teams have reported in recent months finding a strange substance on the Gulf floor, in some cases as far as about 80 miles from BP's ill-fated Macondo well, which blew out in April and spilled an estimated 4.1 million barrels of oil into the Gulf before it was capped.
***
"The chemical signatures are identical," said Mr. Hollander, who found the contaminated samples in an area of the Gulf floor off the Florida Panhandle. Although it's conceivable the tests could show a false match with the BP oil, "the statistical probability of something like that is unimaginable," Mr. Hollander said.
The federal government also has found oil matching Macondo oil in Gulf sediment, Steve Murawski, a top National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist, said in an interview. He declined to disclose how much sediment contamination the government found, or exactly where in the Gulf it was, saying experts still are analyzing the test results.
***
Samantha Joye, a University of Georgia oceanographer, also has found what she believes to be evidence of BP oil in Gulf sediment. She is awaiting lab results tracing the chemical fingerprints of sediment samples she took.
On a research cruise in the Gulf that ended Friday, she saw worms that crawl along the Gulf floor "just decimated," she said. But eels and fish, which can swim away, often appeared fine, she said.
The Journal noted on December 18th:
Oil from BP PLC's blown-out well has lodged in the sediment of the Gulf of Mexico at levels that may threaten marine life, according to a federal report released Friday.
***
There is no practical way to clean up the spilled oil that has settled deep in the Gulf, officials said, adding that microbes in the water could eventually eat it up.
The massive application of dispersants to hide the amount of oil spilled has caused major problems to the Gulf:
--The use of dispersants prevented clean up of the oil by skimming, by far the easiest method of removing oil from the water.
--Dispersants make the toxins in crude oil more bioavailable to sealife, and scientists have found that applying Corexit to Gulf crude oil releases many times more toxic chemicals into the water column than would be released with crude alone.
--Dispersant might have caused some of the chemicals in oil to become airborne.
--The crude oil which does not become aerosolized sinks under the surface of the ocean, and can delay the recovery of the ecosystem by years or even decades (see the Wall Street Journal article quoted above).
--The overwhelming majority of studies find that dispersants slow the growth of oil-eating microbes.
--Dispersants cause Gulf fish to absorb more toxins and then make it harder for the fish to get rid of the pollutants once exposed.
--Dispersants may bioaccumulate in seafood.
--Blood tests show elevated levels of toxic hydrocarbons in Gulf residents.
Extend-And-Pretend Will Fail
As I noted in May - shortly after the spill started - the responses of the government to the Gulf Oil spill and to the financial crisis are remarkably similar, as both have focused on covering up the problems, instead of actually fixing them. Because the financial system was never really reformed, the next financial shock will send the economy reeling. Because the oil was never properly cleaned up, the next hurricane will stir up immense quantities of oil now lying on the sea floor.
Extend-and-pretend is being attempted in both cases, and - in both cases - it will fail, because nothing has been fixed, and the fundamentals can only remain hidden for so long.
Moreover, in both cases, the government used "highly toxic" measures to try to hide the real problems. The government has used "emergency measures" and virtually all of its resources to prop up the giant banks instead of using the proven methods of restructuring insolvent banks and prosecuting the criminals who caused the crisis, which has caused major problems for the real economy.
Similarly, the government applied close to 2 million gallons of highly toxic dispersant to hide the amount of oil instead of using it's resources to deploy tried-and-true clean up methods, which has caused significant problems for the Gulf.
Finally, new and potentially bigger crises will take place, because regulation hasn't been put in place to prevent them. Regulation of the financial system - including international agreements like Basil III - have been gutted. And as Time magazine notes:
Congress never managed to pass legislation that would have overhauled drilling safety.
_________________________________
Blood Tests Show Elevated Level of Toxic Hydrocarbons in Gulf Residents
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Washingtons Blog
A number of different chemists are finding elevated levels of toxic hydrocarbons in the bloodstream of Gulf coast residents.
What is most disturbing about these results is that people who simply live near the water are showing higher than normal levels of toxic chemicals. These are not fishermen, shrimpers, oil workers or others who work on the water.
Jerry Cope recently wrote about his test results in a must-read essay at Huffington Post.
Several Gulf coast residents described their test results in the following video:
And the Intel Hub has uploaded some of the other test reports.
The local ABC news affiliate in Pensacola, Florida - ABC3 Wear - covered the story:
Several residents of Orange Beach say the oil spill has been making them sick...and they have the test results to prove it.
Gerry Cope, Margaret Carrouth and Robin Young were all feeling the same symptoms of headaches, watery eyes, and breathing problems...
All three had blood samples taken at the beginning of August...
Tests revealed each had elevated levels of the Hydrocarbons Ethyl Benzene and Xylene.
Bob Naman, a chemist out of Mobile, analyzed the results.
"He shows three times the amount you typically find in someone's blood."
"These people are from different backgrounds, and from different walks of life, all showing same similar organic compounds in blood, says to me its very likely in the air."
Friday, October 1, 2010
U.S. oil spill waters contain carcinogens: Report
By Joshua Schneyer
Reuters/Rebecca Cook
NEW YORK
Thu Sep 30, 2010 7:09pm EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters) - University researchers said on Thursday they recently found alarming levels of cancer-causing toxins in an area of the Gulf of Mexico affected by BP's oil spill, raising the specter of long-lasting health concerns.
Oregon State University (OSU) researchers found sharply heightened levels of chemicals including carcinogens in the waters off the coast of Louisiana in August, the last sampling date, even after BP successfully capped its runaway Gulf well in mid-July.
Near Grand Isle, Louisiana, the team discovered that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) -- which include carcinogens and chemicals that pose various risks to human health -- remained at levels 40 times higher than before the area was affected by the oil spill.
The compounds may enter the food chain through organisms like plankton or fish, a researcher said.
"In a natural environment a 40-fold increase is huge," said Oregon State toxicologist Kim Anderson, who led the research. "We don't usually see that at other contamination sites."
The PAH chemicals, which are often linked to oil spills, are most concentrated in the area near the Louisiana Coast, but levels have also jumped 2 to 3 fold in other spill-affected areas off Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, Anderson said.
As of last month, PAH levels remained near those discovered while the oil spill was still flowing heavily, Anderson said. The team will continue to sample for chemicals in months to come.
Although BP has sealed its well, experts are still cataloging the environmental and health hazards left in the wake of the spill. Scores of research teams, including Anderson's, are working with Federal Superfund grants to measure how the spill affected the environment.
Also on Thursday, Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva told Reuters he would press for a congressional investigation into whether estimates of the oil spill volume and its related environmental risks were misrepresented in a federal report from early August.
BP's ill-fated Macondo well spilled a total of up to 4.9 million barrels before it was capped, the report said. But it also suggested that most of the oil had been dispersed naturally or removed by clean-up efforts at the time.
Grijalva, who chairs a subcommittee that oversees some wetlands damaged by the spill, said it was unclear whether the Federal report was peer-reviewed and whether its estimates remain accurate.
"I don't want to let BP off the hook, and my suspicion is that the numbers may be wrong and that the oil is still a danger," Grijalva said in an interview.
BP representatives were not immediately available for comment.
(Editing by David Gregorio)
Reuters/Rebecca Cook
NEW YORK
Thu Sep 30, 2010 7:09pm EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters) - University researchers said on Thursday they recently found alarming levels of cancer-causing toxins in an area of the Gulf of Mexico affected by BP's oil spill, raising the specter of long-lasting health concerns.
Oregon State University (OSU) researchers found sharply heightened levels of chemicals including carcinogens in the waters off the coast of Louisiana in August, the last sampling date, even after BP successfully capped its runaway Gulf well in mid-July.
Near Grand Isle, Louisiana, the team discovered that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) -- which include carcinogens and chemicals that pose various risks to human health -- remained at levels 40 times higher than before the area was affected by the oil spill.
The compounds may enter the food chain through organisms like plankton or fish, a researcher said.
"In a natural environment a 40-fold increase is huge," said Oregon State toxicologist Kim Anderson, who led the research. "We don't usually see that at other contamination sites."
The PAH chemicals, which are often linked to oil spills, are most concentrated in the area near the Louisiana Coast, but levels have also jumped 2 to 3 fold in other spill-affected areas off Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, Anderson said.
As of last month, PAH levels remained near those discovered while the oil spill was still flowing heavily, Anderson said. The team will continue to sample for chemicals in months to come.
Although BP has sealed its well, experts are still cataloging the environmental and health hazards left in the wake of the spill. Scores of research teams, including Anderson's, are working with Federal Superfund grants to measure how the spill affected the environment.
Also on Thursday, Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva told Reuters he would press for a congressional investigation into whether estimates of the oil spill volume and its related environmental risks were misrepresented in a federal report from early August.
BP's ill-fated Macondo well spilled a total of up to 4.9 million barrels before it was capped, the report said. But it also suggested that most of the oil had been dispersed naturally or removed by clean-up efforts at the time.
Grijalva, who chairs a subcommittee that oversees some wetlands damaged by the spill, said it was unclear whether the Federal report was peer-reviewed and whether its estimates remain accurate.
"I don't want to let BP off the hook, and my suspicion is that the numbers may be wrong and that the oil is still a danger," Grijalva said in an interview.
BP representatives were not immediately available for comment.
(Editing by David Gregorio)
Monday, July 19, 2010
Gulf Oil Update: Day 91
Feds let BP keep Gulf oil cap closed despite seep
By COLLEEN LONG and HARRY R. WEBER
Associated Press Writers
St. Petersburg Times
Jul 19, 8:38 AM EDT
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The federal government Monday allowed BP to keep the cap shut tight on its busted Gulf of Mexico oil well for another day despite a seep in the sea floor after the company promised to watch closely for signs of new leaks underground, settling for the moment a rift between BP and the government.
The Obama administration's point man for the spill, retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, said early Monday that government scientists had gotten the answers they wanted about how BP is monitoring the seabed around the mile-deep well, which has stopped gushing oil into the water since the experimental cap was closed Thursday.
Late Sunday, Allen said a seep had been detected a distance from the busted oil well and demanded in a sharply worded letter that BP step up monitoring of the ocean floor. Allen didn't say what was coming from the seep. White House energy adviser Carol Browner told the CBS "Early Show" the seep was found less than two miles from the well site.
The concern all along - since pressure readings on the cap weren't as high as expected - was a leak elsewhere in the well bore, meaning the cap may have to be reopened to prevent the environmental disaster from becoming even worse and harder to fix. An underground leak could let oil and gas escape uncontrolled through bedrock and mud.
"When seeps are detected, you are directed to marshal resources, quickly investigate, and report findings to the government in no more than four hours. I direct you to provide me a written procedure for opening the choke valve as quickly as possible without damaging the well should hydrocarbon seepage near the well head be confirmed," Allen said in a letter to BP Managing Director Bob Dudley.
When asked about the seep and the monitoring, BP spokesman Mark Salt would only say that "we continue to work very closely with all government scientists on this."
Early Monday, Allen issued a statement saying there had been an overnight conference call between the federal science team and BP.
"During the conversation, the federal science team got the answers they were seeking and the commitment from BP to meet their monitoring and notification obligations," Allen said.
He said BP could continue testing the cap, meaning keeping it shut, only if the company continues to meet their obligations to rigorously monitor for any signs that this test could worsen the overall situation.
Both Allen and BP have said they don't know how long the trial run will continue. It was set to end Sunday afternoon, but the deadline came and went with no official word on what's next.
Browner said Allen's extension went until Monday afternoon. She said on ABC's "Good Morning America" that monitoring was crucial to make sure the trapped oil doesn't break out of its pipe.
"Clearly we want this to end. But we don't want to enter into a situation where we have uncontrolled leaks all over the Gulf floor," Browner told ABC.
BP PLC said Monday that the cost of dealing with the oil spill has now reached nearly $4 billion. The company said it has made payments totaling $207 million to settle individual claims for damages from the spill along the southern coast of the United States. To date, almost 116,000 claims have been submitted and more than 67,500 payments have been made, totaling $207 million.
With the newly installed cap keeping oil from BP's busted well out of the Gulf during a trial run, this weekend offered a chance for the oil company and government to gloat over their shared success - the first real victory in fighting the spill. Instead, the two sides have spent the past two days disagreeing over what to with the undersea machinery holding back the gusher.
The apparent disagreement began to sprout Saturday when Allen said the cap would eventually be hooked up to a mile-long pipe to pump the crude to ships on the surface. But early the next day, BP chief operating officer Doug Suttles said the cap should stay clamped shut to keep in the oil until relief wells are finished.
After nearly three months of harsh criticism as it tried repeatedly to stop the leak, BP wants to keep oil from gushing into the Gulf again before the eyes of the world. The government's plan, however, is to eventually pipe oil to the surface, which would ease pressure on the fragile well but require up to three more days of oil spilling into the Gulf.
Both sides played down the apparent contradiction Sunday. Allen, ultimately the decision-maker, later said the containment plan he described Saturday hadn't changed, and that he and BP executives were on the same page.
The company very much wants to avoid a repeat of the live underwater video that showed millions of gallons of oil spewing from the blown well for weeks.
"I can see why they're pushing for keeping the cap on and shut in until the relief well is in place," said Daniel Keeney, president of a Dallas-based public relations firm.
The government wants to eliminate any chance of making matters worse, while BP is loath to lose the momentum it gained the moment it finally halted the leak, Keeney said.
"They want to project being on the same team, but they have different end results that benefit each," he said.
Oil would have to be released under Allen's plan, which would ease concerns that the capped reservoir might force its way out through another route. Those concerns stem from pressure readings in the cap that have been lower than expected.
Scientists still aren't sure whether the pressure readings mean a leak elsewhere in the well bore, possibly deep down in bedrock, which could make the seabed unstable. Oil would have to be released into the water to relieve pressure and allow crews to hook up the ships, BP and Allen have said.
Engineers are looking to determine whether low pressure readings mean that more oil than expected poured into the Gulf of Mexico since the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig exploded April 20, killing 11 people and touching off one of America's worst environment crises.
To plug the busted well, BP is drilling two relief wells, one of them as a backup. The company said work on the first one was far enough along that officials expect to reach the broken well's casing, or pipes, deep underground by late this month. The subsequent job of jamming the well with mud and cement could take days or a few weeks.
It will take months, or possibly years for the Gulf to recover, though cleanup efforts continued and improvements in the water could be seen in the days since the oil stopped flowing. Somewhere between 94 million and 184 million gallons have spilled into the Gulf, according to government estimates.
By COLLEEN LONG and HARRY R. WEBER
Associated Press Writers
St. Petersburg Times
Jul 19, 8:38 AM EDT
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The federal government Monday allowed BP to keep the cap shut tight on its busted Gulf of Mexico oil well for another day despite a seep in the sea floor after the company promised to watch closely for signs of new leaks underground, settling for the moment a rift between BP and the government.
The Obama administration's point man for the spill, retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, said early Monday that government scientists had gotten the answers they wanted about how BP is monitoring the seabed around the mile-deep well, which has stopped gushing oil into the water since the experimental cap was closed Thursday.
Late Sunday, Allen said a seep had been detected a distance from the busted oil well and demanded in a sharply worded letter that BP step up monitoring of the ocean floor. Allen didn't say what was coming from the seep. White House energy adviser Carol Browner told the CBS "Early Show" the seep was found less than two miles from the well site.
The concern all along - since pressure readings on the cap weren't as high as expected - was a leak elsewhere in the well bore, meaning the cap may have to be reopened to prevent the environmental disaster from becoming even worse and harder to fix. An underground leak could let oil and gas escape uncontrolled through bedrock and mud.
"When seeps are detected, you are directed to marshal resources, quickly investigate, and report findings to the government in no more than four hours. I direct you to provide me a written procedure for opening the choke valve as quickly as possible without damaging the well should hydrocarbon seepage near the well head be confirmed," Allen said in a letter to BP Managing Director Bob Dudley.
When asked about the seep and the monitoring, BP spokesman Mark Salt would only say that "we continue to work very closely with all government scientists on this."
Early Monday, Allen issued a statement saying there had been an overnight conference call between the federal science team and BP.
"During the conversation, the federal science team got the answers they were seeking and the commitment from BP to meet their monitoring and notification obligations," Allen said.
He said BP could continue testing the cap, meaning keeping it shut, only if the company continues to meet their obligations to rigorously monitor for any signs that this test could worsen the overall situation.
Both Allen and BP have said they don't know how long the trial run will continue. It was set to end Sunday afternoon, but the deadline came and went with no official word on what's next.
Browner said Allen's extension went until Monday afternoon. She said on ABC's "Good Morning America" that monitoring was crucial to make sure the trapped oil doesn't break out of its pipe.
"Clearly we want this to end. But we don't want to enter into a situation where we have uncontrolled leaks all over the Gulf floor," Browner told ABC.
BP PLC said Monday that the cost of dealing with the oil spill has now reached nearly $4 billion. The company said it has made payments totaling $207 million to settle individual claims for damages from the spill along the southern coast of the United States. To date, almost 116,000 claims have been submitted and more than 67,500 payments have been made, totaling $207 million.
With the newly installed cap keeping oil from BP's busted well out of the Gulf during a trial run, this weekend offered a chance for the oil company and government to gloat over their shared success - the first real victory in fighting the spill. Instead, the two sides have spent the past two days disagreeing over what to with the undersea machinery holding back the gusher.
The apparent disagreement began to sprout Saturday when Allen said the cap would eventually be hooked up to a mile-long pipe to pump the crude to ships on the surface. But early the next day, BP chief operating officer Doug Suttles said the cap should stay clamped shut to keep in the oil until relief wells are finished.
After nearly three months of harsh criticism as it tried repeatedly to stop the leak, BP wants to keep oil from gushing into the Gulf again before the eyes of the world. The government's plan, however, is to eventually pipe oil to the surface, which would ease pressure on the fragile well but require up to three more days of oil spilling into the Gulf.
Both sides played down the apparent contradiction Sunday. Allen, ultimately the decision-maker, later said the containment plan he described Saturday hadn't changed, and that he and BP executives were on the same page.
The company very much wants to avoid a repeat of the live underwater video that showed millions of gallons of oil spewing from the blown well for weeks.
"I can see why they're pushing for keeping the cap on and shut in until the relief well is in place," said Daniel Keeney, president of a Dallas-based public relations firm.
The government wants to eliminate any chance of making matters worse, while BP is loath to lose the momentum it gained the moment it finally halted the leak, Keeney said.
"They want to project being on the same team, but they have different end results that benefit each," he said.
Oil would have to be released under Allen's plan, which would ease concerns that the capped reservoir might force its way out through another route. Those concerns stem from pressure readings in the cap that have been lower than expected.
Scientists still aren't sure whether the pressure readings mean a leak elsewhere in the well bore, possibly deep down in bedrock, which could make the seabed unstable. Oil would have to be released into the water to relieve pressure and allow crews to hook up the ships, BP and Allen have said.
Engineers are looking to determine whether low pressure readings mean that more oil than expected poured into the Gulf of Mexico since the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig exploded April 20, killing 11 people and touching off one of America's worst environment crises.
To plug the busted well, BP is drilling two relief wells, one of them as a backup. The company said work on the first one was far enough along that officials expect to reach the broken well's casing, or pipes, deep underground by late this month. The subsequent job of jamming the well with mud and cement could take days or a few weeks.
It will take months, or possibly years for the Gulf to recover, though cleanup efforts continued and improvements in the water could be seen in the days since the oil stopped flowing. Somewhere between 94 million and 184 million gallons have spilled into the Gulf, according to government estimates.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Gulf Oil Update: Day 75
Editor's NOTE:
Reader's should be aware that Corexit (the dispersant agent being utilized by BP) works by distributing the oil eminating from the well throughout the entire water column which in this case is over 5000 feet deep. Micro-organisms respond to the dispersed oildroplets and plumes by attempting to ingest the carbonaceous material. In the process, molecular oxygen is depleted which might lead to large Gulf of Mexico "dead zones" in which no aquatic life can survive. It is extremely troublesome that we have literally no practical experience and no scientific data on the short or long term effects of the release of this much oil dispersant. Unfortunately, BP has not complied with the Obama administration's order to decrease the amount of Corexit it uses by 75%. To date, it has reduced it by <20%.
The use of Corexit or any other dispersant in these volumes is extremely worrisome.
--Dr. J. P. Hubert
Evidence of BP oil spill health risks confirm Gulf coast public fears of Corexit toxic cloud
June 30, 3:49 PM
Tampa Gulf Oil Spill Examiner
MARYANN TOBIN
As it turns out, the fears of Gulf coast residents, particularly those in the Tampa Bay area who are worried about a media blackout over health threats, may not be concerned without reason.
“In a shocking interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper on June 29th, Allegiance Capitol Corporation V.P. Fred McCallister said that BP is deliberately sinking oil with the toxic chemical disbursant Corexit, to hide the size of the oil spill. By sinking the oil before it can be collected, BP won’t have to pay fines on it.” The San Francisco Chronical reports, “Corexit 9500 is a solvent originally developed by Exxon and now manufactured by the Nalco of Naperville, Illinois. Corexit is four times more toxic than oil (oil is toxic at 11 ppm (parts per million), Corexit 9500 at only 2.61ppm)."
Russian Scientists have conducted studies on BP’s chemical disbursant. Their conclusion; “Corexit 9500 which is being pumped directly into the leak of this wellhead over a mile under the Gulf of Mexico waters is designed to keep hidden from the American public the full, and tragic, extent of this leak.”They further report, “When combined with the heating Gulf of Mexico waters, its molecules will be able to “phase transition” from their present liquid to a gaseous state allowing them to be absorbed into clouds and allowing their release as 'toxic rain' upon all of Eastern North America.”Testimony before a Senate investigative panel on Thursday by Allegiance Capitol Corporation V.P. Fred McCallister expected to reveal what many have suspected about BP all along; they don’t care about the environment, the animals that are dying, and the lives that are being destroyed by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
McCallister told CNN, “Everybody in Europe, where the standard practice is to raise the oil and collect it, is scratching their heads, and quite honestly laughing at what’s happening in the Gulf.” He added, “Everyone is looking at us and wondering why we’re allowing this to happen.”
NOAA Gulf oil spill map shows deadly oil plume moving closer to St. Petersburg, Florida
MORE...
RFK Jr: BP has incentive to hide size of Deepwater Horizon oil spill
July 3, 1:38 AM
Political Spin Examiner
Examiner.com Louisville
Maryann Tobin
There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that since the Deepwater Horizon exploded on April 20, 2010, BP has been trying to hide as many details about the spill as possible. Everything from the oil spill rate, to discussion of the third leak which has gone unmentioned since May, to the geological surveys on the Macondo well field that would provide solid evidence of the truly volatile environment under the fatally wounded well.
Reuters reports, "We are concerned about continuing reports that journalists are being denied access to sources and public places necessary for them to fully cover this important story,"
CNN’s Anderson Cooper has aired similar stories about access denied.
Just about everything related to the risks and damages from the BP disaster are tied to the amount of oil being spilled, according to Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who has filed several lawsuits against BP.
In reality, the spill rate has been something of a mystery from day-one, and continues to be immeasurable on day 73. And the amount of oil spilled affects everything from how much chemical disbursant is used, to clean up costs, to EPA per gallon fines. It also affects human health.
Scientists have found “astonishingly high” levels of methane gas in and around the spill. According to Reuters, “As much as 1 million times the normal level of methane gas has been found in some regions near the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, enough to potentially deplete oxygen and create a dead zone. Texas A&M University oceanography professor John Kessler and a crew of 12 scientists found concentrations that were 100,000 times higher than normal,” Reuters reported.
In the video below, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Suggests that BP has no motivation to clean up the oil spilled, nor any reason to be concerned about the long-term risks to public health, the environment, or resulting damage to the US economy. BP is concerned about their stockholders.
As long as Americans remain wastefully dependent on oil - no matter where it comes from - BP and other oil companies will continue to run our country, control our lives, and in this case, control the ultimate outcome of the worst oil spill disaster in American history.
Reader's should be aware that Corexit (the dispersant agent being utilized by BP) works by distributing the oil eminating from the well throughout the entire water column which in this case is over 5000 feet deep. Micro-organisms respond to the dispersed oildroplets and plumes by attempting to ingest the carbonaceous material. In the process, molecular oxygen is depleted which might lead to large Gulf of Mexico "dead zones" in which no aquatic life can survive. It is extremely troublesome that we have literally no practical experience and no scientific data on the short or long term effects of the release of this much oil dispersant. Unfortunately, BP has not complied with the Obama administration's order to decrease the amount of Corexit it uses by 75%. To date, it has reduced it by <20%.
The use of Corexit or any other dispersant in these volumes is extremely worrisome.
--Dr. J. P. Hubert
Evidence of BP oil spill health risks confirm Gulf coast public fears of Corexit toxic cloud
June 30, 3:49 PM
Tampa Gulf Oil Spill Examiner
MARYANN TOBIN
As it turns out, the fears of Gulf coast residents, particularly those in the Tampa Bay area who are worried about a media blackout over health threats, may not be concerned without reason.
“In a shocking interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper on June 29th, Allegiance Capitol Corporation V.P. Fred McCallister said that BP is deliberately sinking oil with the toxic chemical disbursant Corexit, to hide the size of the oil spill. By sinking the oil before it can be collected, BP won’t have to pay fines on it.” The San Francisco Chronical reports, “Corexit 9500 is a solvent originally developed by Exxon and now manufactured by the Nalco of Naperville, Illinois. Corexit is four times more toxic than oil (oil is toxic at 11 ppm (parts per million), Corexit 9500 at only 2.61ppm)."
Russian Scientists have conducted studies on BP’s chemical disbursant. Their conclusion; “Corexit 9500 which is being pumped directly into the leak of this wellhead over a mile under the Gulf of Mexico waters is designed to keep hidden from the American public the full, and tragic, extent of this leak.”They further report, “When combined with the heating Gulf of Mexico waters, its molecules will be able to “phase transition” from their present liquid to a gaseous state allowing them to be absorbed into clouds and allowing their release as 'toxic rain' upon all of Eastern North America.”Testimony before a Senate investigative panel on Thursday by Allegiance Capitol Corporation V.P. Fred McCallister expected to reveal what many have suspected about BP all along; they don’t care about the environment, the animals that are dying, and the lives that are being destroyed by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
McCallister told CNN, “Everybody in Europe, where the standard practice is to raise the oil and collect it, is scratching their heads, and quite honestly laughing at what’s happening in the Gulf.” He added, “Everyone is looking at us and wondering why we’re allowing this to happen.”
NOAA Gulf oil spill map shows deadly oil plume moving closer to St. Petersburg, Florida
MORE...
RFK Jr: BP has incentive to hide size of Deepwater Horizon oil spill
July 3, 1:38 AM
Political Spin Examiner
Examiner.com Louisville
Maryann Tobin
There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that since the Deepwater Horizon exploded on April 20, 2010, BP has been trying to hide as many details about the spill as possible. Everything from the oil spill rate, to discussion of the third leak which has gone unmentioned since May, to the geological surveys on the Macondo well field that would provide solid evidence of the truly volatile environment under the fatally wounded well.
Reuters reports, "We are concerned about continuing reports that journalists are being denied access to sources and public places necessary for them to fully cover this important story,"
CNN’s Anderson Cooper has aired similar stories about access denied.
Just about everything related to the risks and damages from the BP disaster are tied to the amount of oil being spilled, according to Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who has filed several lawsuits against BP.
In reality, the spill rate has been something of a mystery from day-one, and continues to be immeasurable on day 73. And the amount of oil spilled affects everything from how much chemical disbursant is used, to clean up costs, to EPA per gallon fines. It also affects human health.
Scientists have found “astonishingly high” levels of methane gas in and around the spill. According to Reuters, “As much as 1 million times the normal level of methane gas has been found in some regions near the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, enough to potentially deplete oxygen and create a dead zone. Texas A&M University oceanography professor John Kessler and a crew of 12 scientists found concentrations that were 100,000 times higher than normal,” Reuters reported.
In the video below, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Suggests that BP has no motivation to clean up the oil spilled, nor any reason to be concerned about the long-term risks to public health, the environment, or resulting damage to the US economy. BP is concerned about their stockholders.
As long as Americans remain wastefully dependent on oil - no matter where it comes from - BP and other oil companies will continue to run our country, control our lives, and in this case, control the ultimate outcome of the worst oil spill disaster in American history.
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