Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Chemist: Oysters contain 1.25% (12,500 ppm) hydrocarbons near MS River Delta

Testing Results Returning With High Levels Print E-mail

Report by: Wilma Subra

Results of sampling  performed by the Lower Mississippi River Keeper in the Lower Atchafalaya Bay area on August 2, 2010


Collecting oysters from Oyster Bayou Collecting oysters from Oyster Bayou

The shore of the Gulf of Mexico east of Oyster Bayou, where the Atchafalaya Bay meets the Gulf of Mexico, contained visible oil on the vegetation along the shore line.  Soil in this location contained Carbon Disulfide, 378 mg/kg Hydrocarbons and six Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) (0.222 mg/kg). The oiled vegetation contained 2.3% Hydrocarbons and 31 PAHs (0.554 mg/kg) that  corresponded strongly to the PAHs in the Deepwater Horizon Crude Oil spill.  Samples of Blue Crab and Fiddler Crab contained 2,230 mg/kg hydrocarbons.

Oysters sampled from a reef on Oyster Bayou in Atchafalaya Bay contained 8,815 mg/kg Hydrocarbons.

Results of sampling performed by the Lower Mississippi River Keeper in the Mississippi River Delta on August 3, 2010


Taking samples in the Mississippi River Delta Taking samples in the Mississippi River Delta

At the mouth of Pass-a-Loutre, in the reed vegetation along the shore of an island, a sediment sample was collected.   The sediment contained 71 mg/kg Hydrocarbons and 14 PAHs (0.8713 mg/kg).  The PAHs in the sample weakly support that the contaminants in the sediment are associated with the crude oil from the Deepwater Horizon.  A muscle sample collected at this location contained 6,900 mg/kg Hydrocarbons and seven PAHs (0.386 mg/kg).

A sample of oysters was collected from oysters growing on  an abandoned crab trap between Pass-a-Loutre and Redfish Bay.  The oysters contained  12,500 mg/kg (1.25%) Hydrocarbons and two PAHs (0.063 mg/kg).

READ MORE AT THE LINK:
http://leanweb.org/news/latest/testing-results-returning-with-high-levels.html

BP Deploying Armada Of Unmanned Drone Boats – Called Wave Gliders – To Monitor BP Gulf Oil Spill

BP Deploying Armada Of Unmanned Drone Boats – Called Wave Gliders – To Monitor BP Gulf Oil Spill

Release date: 25 August 2010

THEODORE, AL – As part of its long term monitoring and research program in the Gulf of Mexico, BP is deploying a new technology that will enable nearly constant monitoring by two satellite-controlled, unmanned vehicles.

The vehicles, known as Wave Gliders and developed by Liquid Robotics in Silicon Valley, California, get their propulsion power from wave action and use solar power for their electronics. They will be deployed beginning today and begin a months-long, ongoing research program in the Gulf of Mexico.

“These vehicles will provide us a steady stream of data about water quality and should significantly increase the available data for ongoing research activity,” said Mike Utsler, chief operating office of BP’s Gulf Coast Restoration Organization. “We will initially deploy the Wave Gliders between the Macondo well and the shoreline, and look to expand from there in the future.”

The unique technology allows deployment of sensors persistently, for the long term, to monitor key environmental variables, including:

  • water quality – detection of any emulsified, dissolved and dispersed oil in water; phytoplankton (chlorophyll); colored, dissolved oxygen matter (CDOM) and other scientifically useful variables
  • marine mammal vocalizations
  • weather and water temperature data.

“Initially we will be calibrating a set of nine optical sensors to monitor water quality, including trace amounts of dispersed oil, and will then add acoustic monitoring of marine mammal activity,” said Roger Hine, president and CEO of Liquid Robotics. “We look forward to working with BP on this extended research program.”

The first two Wave Glider vehicles will be deployed to the vicinity of the Macondo well; a second pair will be deployed in September. Data collected by the vehicles will be relayed via satellite and posted on a public website.

Note to editors: A fact sheet with more details of the Wave Glider technology is included at the bottom of this document.

Also, access multimedia by going to the ftp site here:

http://www.liquidr.com/PressKit/
Username is LRIMedia
Password is Pre55Kit

For further information:

www.bp.com/gulfofmexicoresponse
BP Press Office, London: +44 20 7496 4076
BP Press Office, US: +1 281 366 0265

Wave Glider Fact Sheet

SEE MORE AT THE LINK:

http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2010/08/30/bp-deploying-armada-unmanned-drone-boats-called-wave-gliders-monitor-bp-gulf-oil-spill-3920/


***NOTE FROM ANITA: I wonder if these could be used to emit dispersants as well. There is no telling...

Monday, August 30, 2010

EXCLUSIVE: Tests find sickened family has 50.3 ppm of Corexit’s 2-butoxyethanol in swimming pool — JUST ONE HOUR NORTH OF TAMPA (lab report included)

*Exclusive* Credit: FloridaOilSpillLaw.com

“Our heads are still swimming,” stated Barbara Schebler of Homosassa, Florida, who received word last Friday that test results on the water from her family’s swimming pool showed 50.3 ppm of 2-butoxyethanol, a marker for the dispersant Corexit 9527A used to break up and sink BP’s oil in the Gulf of Mexico.

The problems began for the Scheblers a few weeks after the April 20 blow-out. “Our first clue were rashes we both got early in May. Both my husband and I couldn’t get rid of the rashes and had to get cream from our doctor,” Schebler noted, “I never had a rash in my life.”

Then, on “July [23], my husband Warren mowed the lawn. It was hot so he got in the pool to cool off afterward. That afternoon he had severe diarrhea and very dark urine. This lasted about 2 days,” she revealed.
View Larger Map

Initially, they reasoned this was caused by the heat. The following week Mr. Schebler again mowed the lawn and went in the pool, and again he was sickened with the same severe symptoms.

Suspicious that the pool may be a problem, the family set out to get the water tested. “We have a 15 year old and felt we owed it to him to live in a clean, healthy environment,” said Mrs. Schebler.

The Scheblers found Robert Naman, a Mobile, Alabama chemist who’s performed multiple tests (123) for WKRG Channel 5, also out of Mobile.

“Warren collected a water sample from the pool filter on August 17th… packed the sample according to Mr. Naman’s instructions, and overnighted it to his Mobile, Ala. lab that same day,” she noted.

The results were delivered by Naman over the phone on August 27 at 11:00 a.m. EDT. A copy of the findings were then e-mailed to the Scheblers. To view the document, click here.

SEE MORE OF THE STORY HERE:

http://www.floridaoilspilllaw.com/exclusive-tests-find-sickened-family-has-50-3-ppm-of-corexits-2-butoxyethanol-in-swimming-pool-just-one-hour-north-of-tampa-lab-report-included

Despite "All Clear," Mississippi Sound Tests Positive for Oil



http://www.truth-out.org/mississippi-sound-tests-positive-oil62735

 

SUNDAY 29 AUGUST 2010

Despite "All Clear," Mississippi Sound Tests Positive for Oil

Sunday 29 August 2010

by: Dahr Jamail and Erika Blumenfeld, t r u t h o u t | Report

 


Laboratory confirmed oil-soaked sorbent pad. (Photo © Erika Blumenfeld 2010)

The State of Mississippi's Department of Marine Resources (DMR) opened all of its territorial waters to fishing on August 6. This was done in coordination with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the US Food and Drug Administration, despite concerns from commercial fishermen in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida about the presence of oil and toxic dispersants from the BP oil disaster.

On August 19, Truthout accompanied two commercial fishermen from Mississippi on a trip into the Mississippi Sound in order to test for the presence of submerged oil. Laboratory test results from samples taken on that trip show extremely high concentrations of oil in the Mississippi Sound.

James "Catfish" Miller and Mark Stewart, both lifelong fishermen, have refused to trawl for shrimp because they believe the Mississippi Sound contains submerged oil. 

James "Catfish" Miller, third-generation fisherman. (Photo © Erika Blumenfeld 2010)

"I can't tell you how hard it is for me not to be shrimping right now, because I'm a trawler," Miller told Truthout as he piloted his shrimp boat out of Pass Christian Harbor, "That's what I do. I trawl."

But Miller and Stewart have been alarmed by their state's decision to reopen the waters, and have been conducting their own tests for oil in areas where they have fished for years. Their method was simple - they tied an absorbent pad to a weighted hook, dropped it overboard for a short duration of time, then pulled it up to find the results.

Miller and Mark Stewart attaching the sorbent pad to the weighted hook. (Photo © Erika Blumenfeld 2010)

(Photo © Erika Blumenfeld 2010)

(Photo © Erika Blumenfeld 2010)

(Photo © Erika Blumenfeld 2010)

On each of the eight tests Truthout witnessed, the white pads were brought up covered in a brown oily substance that the fishermen identified as a mix of BP's crude oil and toxic dispersants.

The first test conducted was approximately one-quarter mile out from the harbor, and the pad pulled up was stained brown.

(Photo © Erika Blumenfeld 2010)

"They're letting people swim in this," Miller exclaimed, while holding the stained pad up to the sun.

Miller and Stewart were both in BP's Vessels Of Opportunity (VOO) program and were trained in identifying oil and dispersants.

This writer took two samples from two absorbent pads that were brought up from the water that were covered in brown residue and had them tested in a private laboratory via gas chromatography.

Miller and Dahr Jamail holding oil-soaked sorbent pad. (Photo © Erika Blumenfeld 2010)

The environmental analyst who worked with this writer did so on condition of anonymity, and performed a micro extraction that tests for Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH). The lower reporting limit the analyst is able to detect from a solid sample like the absorbent pad is 50 parts per million (ppm).

The first sample this writer took was from a sorbent pad dropped overboard to a depth of approximately eight feet and held there for roughly one minute. The location of this was 30 18.461 North, 089 14.171 West, taken at 9:40 AM. This sample tested positive for oil, with a hydrocarbon concentration of 479 ppm. Seawater that is free of oil would test at zero ppm of hydrocarbons.

The second sample this writer took was from a sorbent pad dropped overboard to a depth of approximately eight feet and held there for roughly one minute. The location of this was 30 18.256 North, 089 11.241 West, taken at 10:35 AM. This sample tested positive for oil, with a hydrocarbon concentration of 587 ppm.

"For the sorbent pads, I had to include the weight of the actual pad itself, so that the extraction was done as a solid," the environmental analyst explained. "Had I had enough liquid in these samples to do a liquid extraction, the numbers would have been substantially higher."

Jonathan Henderson, with the nonprofit environmental group, Gulf Restoration Network, was on board to witness the sampling.

Jonathan Henderson, coastal resiliency organizer of the Gulf Restoration Network. (Photo © Erika Blumenfeld 2010)

"I can verify that the shrimp boat captain retrieved what appeared to be an oily residue," Henderson told Truthout. "My suspicion is that it was oil. It felt like oil to the touch, and it smelled like oil when you sniffed it."

On August 11, the two fishermen brought out scientist Dr. Ed Cake of Gulf Environmental Associates. (Video from the "Bridge the Gulf Project" of that trip with Miller and Stewart finding an oil and dispersant mixture on open Mississippi fishing waters.)

Dr. Cake wrote of the experience: "When the vessel was stopped for sampling, small, 0.5- to 1.0-inch-diameter bubbles would periodically rise to the surface and shortly thereafter they would pop leaving a small oil sheen. According to the fishermen, several of BP's Vessels-of-Opportunity (Carolina Skiffs with tanks of dispersants [Corexit?]) were hand spraying in Mississippi Sound off the Pass Christian Harbor in prior days/nights. It appears to this observer that the dispersants are still in the area and are continuing to react with oil in the waters off Pass Christian Harbor."

Shortly thereafter, Miller took the samples to a community meeting in nearby D'Iberville to show fishermen and families the contaminated sorbent pads. At the meeting, fishermen unanimously supported a petition calling for the firing of Dr. Bill Walker, the head of Mississippi's DMR, who is responsible for opening the fishing grounds.

On August 9, Walker, despite ongoing reports of tar balls, oil and dispersants being found in Mississippi waters, declared "there should be no new threats" and issued an order for all local coast governments to halt ongoing oil disaster work being funded by BP money that was granted to the state.

Recent weeks in Mississippi waters have found fishermen and scientists finding oil in Garden Pond on Horn Island, massive fish kills near Cat Island and Biloxi, "black water" in Mississippi Sound, oil inside Pass Christian Harbor and submerged oil in Pass Christian, in addition to what Miller and Stewart showed Truthout and others with their testing.

Stewart, third-generation fisherman. (Photo © Erika Blumenfeld 2010)

"We've sent samples to all the news media we know, here in Mississippi and in [Washington] D.C.," Stewart, a third-generation fisherman from Ocean Springs told Truthout, "We had Ray Mabus' people on this boat, and we sent them away with contaminated samples they watched us take, and we haven't heard back from any of them."

Raymond Mabus is the United States Secretary of the Navy and a former governor of Mississippi. President Obama tasked him with developing "a long-term Gulf Coast Restoration Plan as soon as possible."

Mabus has been accused by many Gulf Coast fishermen of not living up to his task.

Thus, since neither the federal nor state governments will conduct the testing they feel is necessary, Miller and Stewart decided to take matters into their own hands.

Stewart had on board another homemade method of capturing oil in the water column. He took two tomato cages and filled them with sorbent pad, layered it in plastic to hold it together, and left a hole at the bottom for the water to flow through, creating a large sorbent cone that could flow through the water.

(Photo © Erika Blumenfeld 2010)

The method proved fruitful. After several tests in the water column, being careful to never let it touch bottom, the cone was turned a dark brown with what turned out to be a very high concentration of oil.

"Normally we have a lot of white shrimp in the Sound right now," Stewart told Truthout of the current situation in the Mississippi Sound. "You can catch 500-800 pounds a night, but right now, there are very few people shrimping, and those that are, are catching nothing or maybe 200 pounds per night. You can't even pay your expenses on 200 pounds per night."

"We think they opened shrimp season prematurely," Miller told Truthout. "How can we put our product back on the market when everybody in America knows what happened down here? I have seen so many dead animals in the last few months I can't even keep count."

Jonathan Henderson holding the oil-soaked sorbent cone. (Photo © Erika Blumenfeld 2010)

On August 19, several commercial shrimpers, including Miller and Stewart, held a press conference at the Biloxi Marina. Other fishermen there were not fishing because they feared making people sick from toxic seafood they might catch.

(Photo © Erika Blumenfeld 2010)

"I don't want people to get sick," Danny Ross, a commercial fisherman from Biloxi told Truthout. "We want the government and BP to have transparency with the Corexit dispersants."

Ross said he has watched horseshoe crabs trying to crawl out of the water and other marine life like stingrays and flounder also trying to escape the water. He believes this is because the water is hypoxic due to the toxicity of the dispersants, of which BP admits to using approximately 1.9 million gallons.

"I will not wet a net and catch shrimp until I know it's safe to do so," Ross added, "I have no way of life now. I can't shrimp and others are calling the shots. For the next 20 years, what am I supposed to do? Because that's how long it's going to take for our waters to be safe again."

David Wallis, another fisherman from Biloxi, attended the press conference. "We don't feel our seafood is safe, and we demand more testing be done," Wallis told Truthout. "I've seen crabs crawling out of the water in the middle of the day. This is going to be affecting us far into the future."

"A lot of fishermen feel as we do. Most of them I talk to don't want the season opened, for our safety as well as others," Wallis added. "Right now there's barely any shrimp out there to catch. We should be overloaded with shrimp right now. That's not normal. I won't eat any seafood that comes out of these waters, because it's not safe."

Miller told Truthout that when he worked in BP's VOO program, "I came out here and looked at the oil and they didn't let us clean it up most days. Instead, I watched them spray dispersants on it at night, and now we're seeing acid rain burn holes in our plants. I've seen them spray Corexit from Carolina Skiffs with my own eyes. For the last several weeks now they keep shoving these lies in our face. You can only turn your head so far, for so long."

The hydrocarbon tests conducted on the samples taken by this writer only represent a tiny part of the Gulf compared to the massive area of the ocean that has been affected by BP's oil catastrophe. A comprehensive sampling regime across the Gulf, taken regularly over the years ahead, is clearly required in order to implement appropriate cleanup responses and take public safety precautions.

On their own, Miller and Stewart have made at least seven sampling runs, covering many tens of miles of the Mississippi Sound, and have, in their words, "rarely pulled up a sorbent pad that did not contain oil residue."

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Obama’s new tax on…Rainwater!?

AFP Blog

Would President Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency really force Americans to pay a tax on “rainwater runoff” from homes and small businesses?

You bet they would.  In fact, the EPA, under radical environmentalist Lisa Jackson, is proposing regulations to do just that.

Take a look at the EPA’s own Federal Register filing, where the EPA generally describes the initiative it’s proposing:

…requirements, including design or performance standards, for stormwater discharges from, at minimum, newly developed and redeveloped sites. EPA intends to propose regulatory options that would revise the NPDES regulations and establish a comprehensive program to address stormwater discharges from newly developed and redeveloped sites and to take final action no later than November 2012. (Source)

This is bureaucratic-speak for having the EPA force cities and counties to limit stormwater runoff to levels the EPA deems acceptable.  Limiting “rainwater runoff” will mean forcing homeowners and businesses to pay new taxes in order to rein in rainwater, and that’s no pun intended.

Think about just how big-government this is.  A Washington, D.C. bureaucracy plans on forcing your local county or city to slap new taxes on you and me because this big-government bureaucracy wants to micro-manage rainwater across the entire country.

READ MORE AT THE LINK:
http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2010/08/29/obamas-tax-onrainwater-3839/comment-page-1/#comment-6930

Long, SAND-colored ribbons/streamers floating in and around Apalachicola Bay, Florida (PHOTOS & VIDEOS)

Apalachicola Riverkeeper OSPREY Program — Videographer: Robin Bailey, Flicker, August 25, 2010:

These videos were filmed on August 23, 2010:

VID00065

VID00066-dispersed oil

VID00067-dispersed oil Mousse

These videos were filmed on August 19, 2010:

Close-up of dispersed oil N29.66503 x W84.85316

Oil layered sand

Slideshow of Oceana's Trip on the Latitude--8/27-29/2010 Mapping the Oil Plume in the Gulf of Mexico

Pics from Friday, Aug 27th, 2010 in New Port Richey, FL at 1800 HRS


I call these POLKA DOTTED PUDDLES!
The substance was mousse like and oily...and sitting on top of the water.
This occurred after a rainstorm.
Oily, toxic rain with dispersants?
I did not have the opportunity to take a sample, so who knows?

Oil spill: BP reverses, admits there's oil in local waters

The Pensacola News Journal reports: Commercial fishermen working for BP have been recovering oil for over a month in Pensacola Bay while government officials deny the existence of this oil in the local waterways.

Despite persistent denials from BP last week, thousands of pounds of weathered oil is being pulled from under the surface of Pensacola Bay every day.

During more than a dozen interviews last week, BP officials and spokespeople for a number of government agencies working on the Deepwater Horizon Oil spill response denied knowledge of oil in the bay.

Even as they spoke, however, Escambia County officials and local fishermen were reporting finding weathered oil, as they’ve been doing for weeks. BP’s own crews were hand-scooping it up, and a submerged-oil team from BP’s Deepwater Horizon Response Incident Command Post in Mobile was “investigating”.

“BP says it’s all gone, but it’s not. I’ve known it was out there for a month,” said a commercial fisherman who asked not to be identified because he is working for BP in the cleanup and feared losing his job.

“We were recovering it in a boat … scooping it up out of sand and dumping it into bags. They’re just trying to keep it quiet. Out of sight, out of mind.

READ MORE AT THE LINK:

http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2010/08/29/bp-clean-federal-government-cover-oil-pensacalo-bay-admits-oil-pensacola-beach-3805/

Important Info About Dispersants and Accountability

Houston, We Have A HUGE Problem ! ! ! (BP America is headquartered in Houston, TX)

Houston, We Have A HUGE Problem ! ! ! (BP America is headquartered in Houston, TX)

Compelling Evidence Points To A Different Well Being Capped

What would the world say, if the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico that gushed for 87 days, is not the same well location which BP identified to the world as the Gusher Of All Time?

BK Lim is a geohazards specialist who has dissected the entire “Macondo prospect gushing wells scenario” with the forensic analysis and investigative powers of Sherlock Holmes. He has broken down so many facets of this apparent deception that one is left with only one conclusion.

When a foreign, multinational corporation perpetrates a deception in the marketplace, it is usually considered business as usual and life goes on without so much as a bleep on the radar screen.

If the US Federal Government, and especially the current Administration which has enabled so much of what has gone wrong in the Gulf, was an accomplice in such a deception, then we have a problem. And our friends in DC, and particularly BP have a HUGE problem!

We certainly have a problem that rises to a much higher level than a bunch of bungling burglars in a hotel complex known as Watergate, don’t we?!

Let’s get busy, shall we, and start holding the Obama Administration accountable for their part in the greatest manmade environmental catastrophe, and coverup, in American history.

If we allow this moment to pass without an appropriate response, future generations will rightfully label us as the nation who failed humankind … as well as the planet, Herself.

Dr. Tom Termotto
Gulf Oil Spill Remediation Conference
Tallahassee, FL
OilSpillSolution@comcast.net

Saturday, August 28, 2010

An Open Letter to US EPA, Region 6 by Dr Riki Ott

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/riki-ott/an-open-letter-to-us-epa-_b_697376.html

Sam Coleman August 27, 2010
U.S. EPA, Region 6
1445 Ross Ave.
Dallas, TX 75202-2733 Via email: coleman.sam@epa.gov


Re: Documentation of continued dispersant spraying in near shore and inland waters from Florida to Louisiana (despite contrary claims by USCG and BP) and documentation that dispersants made oil sink

Dear Mr. Coleman,

During the August 25 Dockside Chat in Jean Lafitte, LA, it came to our attention that the federal agencies were unaware -- or lacking proof -- of the continued spraying of dispersants from Louisiana to Florida. Further, the federal agencies were woefully ignorant of the presence of subsurface oil-dispersant plumes and sunken oil on ocean and estuary water bottoms. We offer evidence to support our statements, including a recently declassified subsurface assessment plan from the Incident Command Post.

But first, you mentioned that such activities (continued spraying of dispersants and sinking oil) -- if proven -- would be "illegal." As you stated, sinking agents are not allowed in oil spill response under the National Contingency Plan Subpart J §300.910 (e): "Sinking agents shall not be authorized for application to oil discharges."

We would like to know under what laws (not regulations) such activities are illegal and what federal agency or entity has the authority to hold BP accountable, if indeed, such activity is illegal. It is not clear that the EPA has this authority.

For example, on May 19, the EPA told BP that it had 24 hours to choose a less toxic form of chemical dispersants and must apply the new form of dispersants within 72 hours of submitting the list of alternatives. Spraying of the Corexit dispersants continued unabated. On May 26, the EPA and Coast Guard told BP to eliminate the use of surface dispersants except in rare cases where there may have to be an exemption and to reduce use of dispersants by 75 percent. Yet in a letter dated July 30, the congressional Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment reported the USCG on-scene commander (OSC) had approved 74 exemption requests to spray dispersants between May 28 and July 14.

Under the National Contingency Plan Subpart J, the authorization of use §300.910 (d) gives the OSC the final authority on dispersant use: "The OSC may authorize the use of any dispersant... without obtaining the concurrence of he EPA representative... when, in the judgment of the OSC, the use of the product is necessary to prevent or substantially reduce a hazard to human life."

Given this history of events and the NCP regulation, we would like to know what federal entity actually has the final authority to: order BP to stop spraying of dispersant; declare that spraying of dispersant after issuance of a cease and desist order is illegal; and prosecute BP for using product to sink oil.

The documentation of dispersant spraying in nearshore and inland waters includes:
√ claims by USCG and BP
√ eyewitness accounts
√ fish kills in areas of eyewitness accounts
√ photos of white foam bubbles and dispersant on boat docks in areas of eyewitness accounts
√ sick people in areas of eyewitness accounts

Claims by USCG and BP - and Counter Evidence

July 30-31: Lt. Cmdr. of USCG confirms, "Dispersants are only being used over the wellhead in Louisiana."
When reached for comment, Lt. Cmdr. Dale Vogelsang, liaison officer with the United State Coast Guard, told The (Destin) Log he had contacted Unified Command and they had "confirmed" that dispersants were not being used in Florida waters.
"Dispersants are only being used over the wellhead in Louisiana," Vogelsang said. "We are working with Eglin and Hurlburt to confirm what the flight pattern may be. But right now, it appears to be a normal flight."
Vogelsang also said Unified Command confirmed to him that C-130s have never been used to distribute dispersants, as they "typically use smaller aircraft."

Contradicted by evidence in same Destin The Log article and posted on websites:
But according to an article by the 910th Airlift Wing Public Affairs Office, based in Youngstown, OH., C-130H Hercules aircraft started aerial spray operations Saturday, May 1, under the direction of the president of the United States and Secretary of Defense. "The objective of the aerial spray operation is to neutralize the oil spill with oil dispersing agents," the article states.
A Lockheed Martin July newsletter states that "Lockheed Martin aircraft, including C-130s and P-3s, have been deployed to the Gulf region by the Air Force, Coast Guard and other government customers to perform a variety of tasks, such as monitoring, mapping and dispersant spraying."

Further: "Throughout the effort, Lockheed Martin employees have been recognized for their contributions in a wide range of roles. IS&GS senior network engineer Lawrence Walker, for example, developed a solution to a critical networking issue involving two C-130's that arrived from the Air Force Reserve Command's 910th Airlift Wing at Youngstown, Ohio, as part of the cleanup mission."

May 11: USCG and BP claims of no dispersant spraying activities are further contradicted by intentional mislabeling of flight plans:
Aerial dispersant operations - Houma Status Report, Dispersant Application Guidance,
p. 4, point 8: "Use discreet IFF codes as provided on separate correspondence. This removes need to file DVFR flight plans."

Destin - Fort Walton, FL
July 30-31: Destin Mayor Sam Seevers investigating claims of dispersant spraying
Resident and former VOO worker testified that he witnessed a military C-130 "flying from the north to the south, dropping to low levels of elevation then obviously spraying or releasing an unknown substance from the rear of the plane."

The unknown substance, Yerkes wrote, "was not smoke, for the residue fell to the water, where smoke would have lingered."

Austin Norwood, whose boat is contracted by Florida Fish and Wildlife, also provided a written account of a "strange incident."

While Norwood was observing wildlife offshore, he had received a call from his site supervisor at Joe's Bayou. After telling the supervisor that he and his crewmember were not feeling well, the supervisor had the two men come in "to get checked out because a plane had been reported in our area spraying a substance on the water about 10- 20 minutes before."

Norwoord complained of a bad headache, nasal congestion while his crewmember said he had a metallic taste in his mouth.

After filling out an incident report, both Norwood and his crewmember were directed to go to the hospital. The following day, the two men were once again "asked to go to the hospital for blood tests."

Aug. 2: Joe Yerkes reported sludgy brown oil and foamy white dispersant bubbles in Destin and 40 miles east in St. Joe Bay, just days before a fish kill of croaker, flounder, trout, and baitfish on August 5.

Perdido Pass, AL
Aug. 24: Received report of oil debris from anchor chain while weighing anchor at position 30*15.6 N 87*32.7 W, 0.6 nm east of Perdido Pass sea buoy. Samples taken.

Dauphin Island, AL
Aug. 21: Fisherman Chris Bryant documents Corexit 9500 use

Aug. 24: Washington's Blog interview with chemist Bob Naman
Bob Naman is the analytical chemist who performed the tests featured in WKRG's broadcast. He was interviewed by or an August 24 report. Highlights include:
• Naman found 2-butoxyethanol in the Cotton Bayou sample. [Ingredient in 'discontinued' Corexit 9527.]
• Naman said found no propylene glycol, the main ingredient of Corexit 9500.
• Naman said he went to Dauphin Island, Alabama last night and while there observed many 250-500 gallon barrels which were labeled Corexit 9527. Naman took pictures that he will soon be sharing.
• Naman said he saw men applying the Corexit 9527 while he was in Dauphin Island and also in Bayou La Batre, Alabama.
• Naman said the Corexit 9527 is being haphazardly sprayed at night and is impacting beach sands in a highly concentrated form.

Bayou La Batre, AL
Aug. 4: Fisherman Chris Byrant documents oil-dispersant in Mississippi Sound, northwest of Katrina Cut, in an area open to fishing in state waters between Dauphin Island and Bayou La Batre

Aug. 19, Aug. 21: Rocky Kistner with NRDC documents use of Corexit 9527a and Corexit 9500 and oil-dispersant visible sheen in area open to fishing in state waters
PHOTOS
Aug. 23: Natural Resources Defense Council Switchboard posting
We spotted huge plastic containers marked with Corexit warning labels on the dock public docks near Bayou La Batre. ...
The next day at a town hall meeting in Buras, LA, BP Mobile Incident Commander Keith Seilhan was asked about the use of chemical dispersants. "We are not using dispersants and haven't been for some time," he said.
But when asked whether contractors who operate in state waters could be, he said he could not be certain. "We have lots of contractors, but no one should be using them. If they are, we need to know about it and stop it."

Long Beach, MS
Aug. 8: Fisherman James "Catfish" Miller sampled the subsurface oil plume (VIDEO)

Miller tied an oil absorbent pad onto a pole and lowered it 8-12 feet down into deceptively clear ocean water. When he pulled it up, the pad was soaked in oil, much to the startled amazement of his guests, including Dr. Timothy Davis with the Department of Health and Human Services National Disaster Medical System. Repeated samples produced the same result. Three weeks earlier, there had been a massive fish kill along the same shoreline from Gulfport to Pass Christian.

Aug. 23: The methods for sampling subsurface oil used by Mr. Miller are also being used by Incident Command for the Deepwater Horizon as evidenced in a declassified document (p. 3).

Hancock County, MS
Aug. 23: Dispersant container found in Bayou Caddy Hancock County marsh. White foam indicative of dispersant use in marsh. Samples taken and being analyzed.

Barataria, LA
July 31: Documentation of oil in Barataria Bay.

Venice, LA
Aug. 11 (reported): Contractor sick from dispersant spraying

Summary: Based on these documents, and more, we believe that dispersant spraying in inland and near shore waters across the Gulf of Mexico from Louisiana to the western Florida panhandle is occurring now and has continued unabated (before) and since July 19, the date that the seafood safety panel proclaimed was the last day dispersants were sprayed. Based on these documents, and more, we believe that the dispersant spraying in inland and near shore waters is being conducted for the sole purpose of sinking the visible oil, an activity that is supposedly illegal. According to the University of South Florida, dispersed oil micro-droplets have been documented throughout the Gulf water column and are likely to affect the entire ecosystem.

The inability of the federal and state agents who attended the Dockside Chat in Jean Lafitte, LA, on Aug. 25 to find recent subsurface oil and ocean bottom oil or dispersant spraying activity in inland or near shore waters gives us zero confidence in these same agencies' declaration that they can find no oil or dispersant in Gulf seafood product.

Sincerely,

Riki Ott, PhD
Ultimate Civics Project
Earth Island Institute
POB 1460
Cordova, AK 99574
970-903-6818
http://www.RikiOtt.com

Friday, August 27, 2010

4 Gulf Coast states join forces to boost economy

4 Gulf Coast states join forces to boost economy
(and to continue the ECOCIDE and GENOCIDE)
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9HRT5JO1.htm

Officials, organizations and businesses from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi are forming a new economic development coalition for the Gulf Coast.

Dubbed "Ready 4 Takeoff," the coalition is calling for federal government purchases of seafood for the military, schools and other agencies to help the Gulf seafood industry recover from the BP PLC oil spill.

The group also will push for the acceleration of plans for sharing offshore oil and gas revenue with the gulf states and for more federal funding of rail projects in the region.

Also, the group says it is supporting efforts that would bring a contract for construction of a $40 billion Air Force aerial tanker to Mobile, Ala.

The group announced its plans in New Orleans on Thursday. A news release from the organization said it will not require substantial new government spending or new federal programs.

Alabama Charges BP, Transocean For BP Gulf Oil Spill Coverup and Using Dangerous Toxic Dispersants

Alabama Charges BP, Transocean For BP Gulf Oil Spill Coverup and Using Dangerous Toxic Dispersants

Now if we can only get other states to follow suit AND add a few more defendants to the list like the cronies in the Government who are allowing this to happen.

WKRG News 5 in Alabama reports that the Attorney General of Alabama has filed charges against BP and Transocean for covering up the BP Gulf Oil Spill and using a dangerous and highly toxic choice of chemical dispersants among other things.

    MONTGOMERY, Alabama – Alabama’s attorney general is suing BP and others over the Gulf oil spill saying the oil giant has broken too many promises.

    Attorney General Troy King filed two lawsuits in federal court in Montgomery late Thursday afternoon. One suit is against BP, the other against Transocean.

    In a statement released Friday, King said “their history of saying one thing and doing another, and now, new information that they have been secretly working to gain a legal advantage, can only further damage our people.”

    The lawsuit claims “defendants were slow and incompetent, if not dishonest, in their announcements and warnings to the state of Alabama and its citizens and businesses,” referring to the drastic difference in the initial oil flow estimate of 1,000 barrels per day and the latest estimate of as much as 60,000 barrels per day.

    The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified money damages plus punitive damages, also references BP’s choice of a “highly toxic chemical used to disperse oil in the ocean.”

    The Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, causing nearly 200 million gallons of oil to gush into the Gulf of Mexico over 87 days before the well was capped last month.

    A spokesman for BP declined to comment to the Associated Press.

    King filed the lawsuit against the wishes of Gov. Bob Riley, who says the state should pursue an out-of-court settlement first.

READ MORE AT THE LINK:
http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2010/08/27/alabama-charges-bp-transocean-bp-gulf-oil-spill-coverup-dangerous-toxic-dispersants-3728/

Help Put This Ad On Air - Go to BuildingWhat.org

Vertical Farming--see the Slideshow!

Black Helicopters, Unmarked Watercraft and Aircraft and Smells in Air

An eyewitness account!
Chemical Dispersant Operations are probably still continuing.

AFFECTED AREAS

AFFECTED AREAS, please forward this!

Gulf of Toxico

The "Blue Flu" is Affecting People in the Gulf Region

The Gulf BLUE PLAGUE is Evolving

Post by Gnosty » 10 Aug 2010, 15:58
by Michael Edward

I have been interviewing family and friends who live along the Gulf of Mexico coast in Louisiana and Mississippi. Many of them had been working on shrimp boats before May 1, 2010 and a cousin is a shrimp boat owner. I have also spoken at length with two RN's working at a Gulf coast Emergency Room and an Emergency Clinic who are close family friends. I am basing what follows on their observations and knowledge along with my own personal research.

A cousin who owns his own shrimp boat was hired by BP to assist with oil boom and cleanup operations. Other family members were also hired and have been his crew while undertaking BP boom and cleanup assistance operations. They were all forced to sign agreements not to publicly speak about their work or anything about BP operations. Their legal agreements do not mention anything about speaking openly to their families.

Read about the symptoms of the BLUE FLU here:
http://worldvisionportal.org/wvpforum/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=940

PEOPLE ARE SICK IN THE GULF REGION!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

PLEASE DONATE for INDEPENDENT WATER TESTING!

All donations go directly towards the cost of testing the water. We use ACT Laboratories owned by Bob Naman located in Alabama. The cost of testing for oil is $60 for parts per million determination, $80 for an individualized hydrocarbon panel, and $325 for Corexit dispersant using propylene glycol and 2-butoxyethanol as markers. As of August 06 we have raised $680 dollars to cover our initial testing of 5 oil samples and 2 dispersant for a total of $720 + $75 for overnight shipping. The three test locations we have sampled and tested thus are Naples, Bonita Springs, Sarasota and St. Petersberg with the results positive for 1 ppm in Naples and St. Petersburg, with Bonita Springs and Naples negative. Most of this is an out-of-pocket expense thus far, so please do lend a hand so we can expand our testing into other crucial areas. Also, please leave a note when donating to grant permission to publicize your contact, even if only by first name. If you are interested in learning more about how to organize a test in your own region, or would like us to do this for you, please email Sayer Ji at sayerji@gmail.com or call 239-222-9180.  Also, sign up for instant updates as the reports from our statewide coalition of independent water testing partners become available.

You can see more about us here:
OUR SITE (you can sign up for email alerts from the homepage):
http://www.testingthewater.org
ON FACEBOOK:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Testing-The-Gulf-Water-Citizens-Initiative/140820482616580
ON TWITTER:
http://www.twitter.com/testing_water


Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Project Gulf Impact: “Way more dispersant than ever before – large, thick oil plumes, freshly sprayed with poison”

http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2010/08/25/project-gulf-impact-dispersant-large-thick-oil-plumes-freshly-sprayed-poison-3622/

Project Impact Finding Way More Dispersants Than Ever Before Off Organge Beach Alabama

BP is harassing an independent scientists who is exposing a cover up of toxic levels of oil and Corexit of the coast of Orange Beach, Alabama.

The chemist has even reported that there are fresh containers of Corexit and BP has hired a “blackwater”-like mercenary squad to spray the dispersants at night in an uncontrolled manner.

Today The Intel Hub tells us that Project Gulf Impact has headed to the area to document the event and reports they are now finding way more Corexit in the water than ever before on top of fresh plumes of oil floating in the water.

Today, Project Gulf Impact is out on the waters in and around Orange Beach Alabama. What they have found is exactly the opposite of what BP and the federal government have told the American people. Not only did they find oil but they apparently found what looks to be freshly sprayed dispersant, still in powder form.

Why is this toxic dispersant still being sprayed? Warnings from scientists and independent journalists have indicated that Corexit could effect the gulf for at least twenty years.

“Dead fish in Alabama – cells ruptured with lots of corexit and dispersed oil all around….The oil is thick, dispersant already trying to hide it, with dead catfish in plumes.”

As I am writing this article, Project Gulf Impact is still out on the waters. They are documenting the existence of oil and dispersant and will be uploading more videos/pictures. This is absolutely disgusting.

As more and more people wake up, the corporate news will continue to change the story, demonizing all movements against the banks, and continually lying about the severity of the Gulf Oil Disaster.


Photo by Project Gulf Impact/Intel Hub © 2010

Read the rest and view more photos over at The Intel Hub…

Walking dead: Ongoing BP Gulf disaster may be killing millions

Walking dead: Ongoing BP Gulf disaster may be killing millions
http://www.helium.com/items/1929422-bp-gulf-disaster-may-be-killing-millions?page=3
by Terrence Aym
   
“I think the media now has to...tell the American people who’s getting money for poisoning the millions of people in the Gulf." - Hugh Kaufman, senior EPA analyst, admits millions have been poisoned in the Gulf states.

A biochemical bomb went off in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010—a bomb that was as dangerous and destructive as a nuclear blast.


An atom bomb’s death and destruction can be measured immediately after detonation while BP’s unintentional biochemical bomb is a slow-motion explosion that is driving a disaster that continues even now.

Lingering death, however, occurs with both types of explosions.

Millions exposed to uncontrolled hemorrhaging, lesions, cancers

Recently, enraged scientists have presented strong evidence that millions of Gulf area residents have been poisoned by the BP Gulf disaster. Worse, millions more could be exposed to long term poisoning from benzene contamination. Benzene exposure leads to cancers.

Yet other than those furious scientists few seemed to care.

Now, however, more frightening evidence has emerged that areas of the Gulf Coast may have been not only saturated with high levels of benzene, but hydrogen sulfide and radioactive hydrocarbon effluents too-three deadly substances that can cause disease and death years after the initial exposures. [Full report linked at end of article.]

The EPA and the ongoing news blackout

The curtain of silence that swiftly descended just days after the Deepwater Horizon blowout at the Macondo well has never been fully lifted. At the time, a no-man's land was created prohibiting fishermen, reporters, news helicopters and civilian sea and air craft from approaching the immediate disaster zone. The US Coast Guard and BP conducted joint operations feverishly attempting to quell the spreading disaster.

Reporters were threatened with arrest. News stories were yanked. Scientific reports buried. And data from the NOAA research vessel—initially sent to the region to take readings of the seafloor—was suppressed.

Yet, like the oil and gas, information leaked.

Beyond the oil gushing into the Gulf at a rate never before seen, deadly methane gas also flooded the region. The methane reached such high levels of density in the Gulf that brilliant scientists like Dr. John Kessler of Texas A&M recorded stunning readings of methane amounts one million times higher than normal.  His reports reached the media.

Although access to the forbidden zone has since been restored, a partial news blackout regarding the chemical readings and data that were measured in the Gulf waters and the Gulf states from April into August continues.

A conveyor belt of death: deep sea oil plume 22-miles long

Despite the "all-clear" pronouncements of talk radio commentators like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, the Gulf has not "magically cleaned itself up."

Poisons flooded into the Gulf for three months. Unabated, these poisons have affected the ecology of the region. Now more evidence is mounting that the delicate infrastructure of life inhabiting the Gulf continues to absorb much of the poison and is passing it on to unsuspecting humans. Reports that sea life in the Gulf have remained uncontaminated are being vigorously challenged.

And new reports are circulating the globe that the missing oil’s been found. A plume 22-miles long is suspended deep in the cold, dark waters of the Gulf. It’s not breaking up and it’s not being eaten by microbes.

It is, however, acting as a conveyor belt of death.

Cocktail of poisons

Some environmental experts are calling what’s pouring into the land, sea and air from the seabed breach ‘a chemical cocktail of poisons.’

Areas of methane dead zones devoid of oxygen are continuing to drive species of fish into foreign waters, are killing plankton and other tiny sea life that are the foundation for the entire food chain, and are polluting the air with cancer-causing chemicals and poisonous rainfalls.

And before the news blackout fully descended, the EPA released data that benzene levels in New Orleans had rocketed to as high as 3,000 parts per billion (ppb).

Benzene is extremely toxic, even short term exposure at low levels can cause agonizing illness and slow death from cancerous lesions and leukemia years later.  But 3,000ppb is far from a low reading.

Hydrogen sulfide was also detected by the EPA monitoring stations around the New Orleans area. The EPA reported hydrogen sulfide levels as high as 1200ppb. A normal, safe level falls between 5 to 10ppb.

Recently, Ron Kendall, an ecotoxicologist from Texas Tech University, was interviewed by National Geographic concerning the affect of the poisons released by the blown out well on bacteria and plankton in the Gulf.

The results were not looking good. Indications of a major, ongoing poisoning occurring in the Gulf were widespread. "This is what we've been worried about, because this is the base of the food chain," he told National Geographic.

 "Any effects on that level can work their way right on up."

Meaning right up the food chain to humans—many of whom have already been exposed to poisons from the air and water.

The bio-chemical time bomb

A hamstrung oil giant unable to stop a gigantic disaster; the federal government's inaction and misdirection; angry governors unable to get federal agencies to lend a hand; a Nobel Prize winning physicist appointed as the head of the task force dealing with the Gulf—a man who couldn't tell a drill bit from a drill press…

This is either a script for a bad Hollywood movie or a reality that could lead to the eventual premature death of millions.

Unfortunately, it's a reality. And the BP Gulf ticking time bomb continues to tick.

According to a report issued by Michael Harbart, Professor of internal medicine at Wayne State University and Kathleen Burns, Ph.D., Director of Sciencecorps, long-term exposure of the chemicals released by the ongoing BP Gulf disaster—at relatively low levels—should be avoided at all costs because "the potential for serious health damage is substantial.  Chronic health effects are typically evaluated for specific crude oil components and vary from cancer to permanent neurological damage.  They cover a range of diseases affecting all the organ systems..."
[Sciencecorps.org: "Gulf Oil Spill Health Hazards"]

In their JAMA paper, the “Health Effects of the Gulf Oil Spill,” Gina M. Solomon and Sarah Janssen categorically state that “The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico poses direct threats to human health…”

They further point to that infamous “cocktail of poisons” again naming benzene, hydrogen sulfide, toluene, and xylene among other toxic airborne contaminants that have been released over the residents of the Gulf coast community.  

Senior EPA analyst admits millions poisoned in Gulf

Recently—in an eye-opening interview with 'Democracy Now!'—Hugh Kaufman, a senior policy analyst at the EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, made this shocking admission:

"And I think the media now has to follow the money, just as they did in Watergate, and tell the American people who’s getting money for poisoning the millions of people in the Gulf."

As Alexander Higgins at 'Democracy Now!' points out: “Hugh Kaufman has been at the EPA since the Agency was created in the early 1970s, as an engineer, investigator and policy analyst. Prior to joining the EPA in the beginning of 1971, he was a captain in the US Air Force. He helped write all the Federal laws regulating the treatment, storage, disposal, and remediation of solid and hazardous waste. He has been the Chief Investigator on numerous contamination cases, including Love Canal and Times Beach.”

For more of the transcript and the EPA analyst’s video testimony go here.

The walking dead

Like those exposed to the Russian Chernobyl disaster, or the many thousands now sick and dying after exposure to the 9-11 Twin Towers toxic cloud, the people of the Gulf coast may have joined the ranks of the walking dead.

Experts cannot predict with any certainty that the poisons will be contained exclusively to the Gulf states. Weather patterns and the variable density of the substances could conceivably expand the Death Zone into parts of the Midwest and East coast of the United States.

What happened leading up to the Deepwater Horizon disaster can be debated as an accident or a folly, but what has happened to millions of people in the aftermath can be called nothing but criminal.

Now BP and the federal government have been attempting to assuage public concerns and claim that the Gulf disaster has been much ado about nothing.

Their claims are being met by skepticism. The response from Washington has been excuses.  Although that will be of little consolation to the children and adults that may contract leukemia or other debilitating diseases a mere handful of years from now.

Excuses are of little value to the dead.
...

Addendum

Benzene Exposure, Health Hazards and Toxicity

'Benzene and Other Toxic Solvents and Chemicals'

New Orleans' '4WWL TV News' report on EPA benzene levels [May 2010 before news blackout.]

BP releases benzene in Texas too:
For 40 days, flares burned 500,000 pounds of toxic chemicals over BP's Texas City refinery. Yet residents didn't know until weeks later that the flare released 17,000 pounds of cancer-causing benzene.

Hydrogen Sulfide Toxicity

Toxicity Chart of Hydrogen Sulfide

Toxicological profile for hydrogen sulfide

Radioactivity exposure: air, water, food supply

“Radioactive Hydrocarbon Effluent ...from oil and which possesses higher levels of radium isotopes. The deeper the petroleum reserves, the more likely the reservoirs of oil and methane in those geological formations will contain uranium, thorium or radium. Given the elevated levels of radioactivity at the source, the level of radioactivity associated with the hydrocarbon effluent coming out of the well will inevitably be impacted. Radium isotopes have inherent health risks that ought to be identified and properly disseminated. The concerned resident of the Gulf Coast may want to initiate him/herself in the area of health impacts due to long-term exposure to low grade radioactivity. Of course, the seafood, the waters and the beaches all provide different vehicles for such contamination to take place, each with varying consequences.'

Environmental and Health Impacts of the BP Gulf Oil Spill

Sources

Scientists plead dispersants not be used
Dispersants consensus statement [PDF]

"Will BP’s oil dispersants increase carcinogens in Gulf food chain?"
Release of carcinogens and toxins like benzene, lead and mercury into seawater, studies show.

Massive deep sea oil slick proven to exist

"BP oil spill 'more damaging, widespread' than first thought - study"
NEARLY 80 per cent of the crude oil released into the Gulf of Mexico remains in the area's ecosystem, researchers at the University of Georgia concluded yesterday in a report that contradicted the rosier estimates of the Obama Administration.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/bp-oil-spill-more-damaging-widespread-than-first-thought-study/story-e6frf7ko-1225906417606
"Researchers: 80% oil remains in Gulf"

"Huge pool of hydrocarbons lurks in Gulf of Mexico"
Oily plume in depths not being biodegraded

"Gulf oil spill: Giant underwater plume challenges optimism"

"Underwater oil belies all-clear call for gulf"

"Report Paints New Picture of Gulf Oil"

"Oil Plume Is Not Breaking Down Fast, Study Says"

"BP oil spill: scientists find giant plume of droplets 'missed' by official account"
A 22-mile plume of droplets from BP's Deepwater Horizon well in the Gulf of Mexico undermines claim that oil has degraded

"Deep Water Plume Persists Months after Oil Well Blowout"
Oil-eating microbes not significantly breaking down oil

"Scientists criticize White House minimization of Gulf disaster"

Carcinogens released in air, water and contaminated food

New Orleans 4WWL TV News report on EPA benzene levels [May 2010]

Sciencecorps.org: "Gulf Oil Spill Health Hazards"

Report: "Assessing the Effects of the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill on Human Health" - National Academies Press
Download entire report free

“Health Effects of the Gulf Oil Spill," Gina M. Solomon, MD, MPH; Sarah Janssen, MD, PhD, MPH - Journal of American Medical Association

Excerpt: “The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico poses direct threats to human health from inhalation...The main components of crude oil are aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons…benzene, toluene, and xylene—benzene is known to cause leukemia in humans, and toluene is a recognized teratogen at high doses. Naphthalene is listed by the National Toxicology Program as "reasonably anticipated to cause cancer in humans" based on olfactory neuroblastomas, nasal tumors, and lung cancers in animals. Oil can also release hydrogen sulfide gas and contains traces of heavy metals, as well as nonvolatile polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that can contaminate the food chain. Hydrogen sulfide gas is neurotoxic and has been linked to both acute and chronic CNS effects; PAHs include mutagens and probable carcinogens.”

"Assessing the Effects of the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill on Human Health" - National Academies Press
Chapter 3: Short and long term physical effects on human health, p43 - p74

"BP Oil Spill: Dealing with Uncertainty, Human Health and a Manhattan-Sized Toxic Soup"

"BP, NOAA, EPA Cover-Up: Neurotoxin Pesticide Dispersant Corexit's Lethal Effects"

"Toxic Oil Found Deep on Gulf Seafloor?"
Oil may be harming base of food web, early results suggest.

ALERT: "Environmental and Health Impacts of the BP Gulf Oil Spill"

"Gulf oil spill: scientists assess health effects"

"Death Song for the Gulf: Toxic Effects of BTEX Chemicals on Residents and Wildlife"

Report: "Crude oil and your health" [PDF]  

"Gulf carcinogens in food chain"

"BP oil poisons Gulf food chain"

Underwater 'River' of Oil Confirmed in Gulf

http://www.theenergyreport.com/pub/na/7179

Underwater 'River' of Oil Confirmed in Gulf
Bookmark and Share Source: Adam Sharp, Wealth Daily  08/23/2010
And just when things were looking up for the Gulf. . .a huge underwater oil plume has been discovered.

The hydrocarbon plume/river is 22 miles long, 1.2 miles wide and 650 feet high. It isn't pure crude, of course; it's more like a mix of oil and water.

Why isn't the oil floating to the top? Crude is lighter than water, so it usually does. . .But this spill is different. Apparently, the cold water and high pressure that exist at these depths are preventing it from coming to the surface. Dispersants may be playing a role, as well.

Here's a graphic of the plume, put together by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI):

oil plume

People are calling it a plume, but it looks more like a river to me.

The river of hydrocarbons is currently headed southwest, towards Mexico's coastline. That could cause a nasty international incident in a few months...

Fortunately, scientists say the plume's concentrations of toxic chemicals are dispersing as they travel.

But we're talking about benzene, mercury, and other really nasty chemicals. The full impact of these deepwater plumes is not yet understood.

Scientists from WHOI, along with the Coast Guard and other institutions, used an array of high-tech gadgets — including an autonomous unmanned vehicle (AUV) named the Sentry—along with mass spectrometers, to find and track the plume.

Dr. Richard Camilli of WHOI had this to say: "We've shown conclusively not only that a plume exists, but also defined its origin and near-field structure."

That certainly runs counter to most of the reports we've seen so far.

Dr. Samantha Joye, a marine science professor at the University of Georgia, told The New York Times: "The idea that 75% of the oil is gone and is of no further concern to the environment is just incorrect."

For now, we don't know if more plumes are lurking out there. The ocean currents at these depths are still somewhat of a mystery, even to scientists who study them for a living.

We can only hope for the best, and be glad that efforts to limit damage from the spill have picked up in recent months.

Just today I talked to a friend who is down in New Orleans, coordinating and working on the cleanup. He told me things have improved dramatically from the chaotic early days.

Thousands of bright folks are working around the clock to clean this one up.

Until next time,

Adam Sharp
Analyst, Wealth Daily

Underwater 'River' of Oil Confirmed in Gulf

FEDS ARE NOT TESTING SEAFOOD IN OILED AREAS

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

'It's as if a Nuclear Apocalypse has Gone Off in the Gulf'

This article misses the point and solely blames BP. While I think they should be blamed, they are not the only guilty party, the main people who should be held accountable are our leaders. Decades ago, our leaders sold our rights to the Gulf away by allowing 3700 oil rigs to operate in the Gulf. This is not a blame game, this doesn't even have anything to do with political party! But our leaders need to be held accountable! The Corexit is continuing to be sprayed and applied to the waters of the Gulf in a military operation using military bases to store the poison and military planes to disperse it. The Coast Guard is provided security for BP operations in the Gulf region.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/allison-kilkenny/its-as-if-a-nuclear-apoca_b_692509.html

http://www.opednews.com/articles/U-S-Air-Force-assisted-BP-by-Chyrisse-Tabone-P-100822-570.html

This is up to the people now as they have the info. Corporations are now getting protection from our military and our own people are being gassed. This is ecocide and genocide, let's not sugarcoat it.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

BP chemical dispersants pose risk to public health in Florida

BP chemical dispersants pose risk to public health in Florida

* August 22nd, 2010 8:53 pm ET

http://www.examiner.com/gulf-oil-spill-in-tampa-bay/bp-chemical-dispersants-pose-risk-to-public-health-florida

Independent toxicologists have issued a warning that includes data of concern for Florida residents. While the FDA has recently claimed that the chemical dispersant BP used in the Gulf oil spill did not pose a risk to public health, the new study says it does.

“Studies of other spills show that the toxic components of crude oil ‘bio-accumulate’ into the food chain and become highly toxic to marine reproduction and harmful when consumed by humans, even when dispersants are applied at the surface and the chemical toxins may be sufficiently diluted over time to pose only minimal risks, “ according to Gulf Oil Disaster Recovery.

Residents in Tampa Florida are at risk. The report said, “It is important that the public be vigilant and educate itself to these risks, as further compounding this misinformation from FDA are published news reports which show the government trying to discount university studies about the toxicity of the Gulf water column and seafood, and denying the continued use of dispersant spraying off the coast of Florida.”

The report added, “BP’s use of dispersants deep underwater in the Gulf, and on such a vast scale, represents the first time dispersants have been used in this manner. The greatly-reduced biodegradation in the DEEPWATER HORIZON case, resulting from lack of sunlight, extreme cold temperatures at 5000 feet, and other environmental factors significantly reduce the rate at which the dispersed crude components are degraded. The most potentially dangerous of the components in the Gulf’s toxic soup are ‘polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons’ (PAHs), dangerous cancer-causing chemicals which slowly break down after being ingested by marine life, persist in marine organisms and can be passed to both humans and other wildlife through consumption.“

BP Thugs Threating Independent Scientists That Have Found Corexit And Oil In BP Gulf Oil Spill Waters

BP Thugs Threating Independent Scientists That Have Found Corexit And Oil In BP Gulf Oil Spill Waters

I just received a phone call pointing from a member of Testings The Waters a citizen’s initiative to push for independent BP Gulf Oil Spill water testing who told me some alarming news. He pointed me over to a WKRG news report about independent water tests confirming that Corexit is being found in washing up in Orange Beach Alabama waters.

Transcripts
If tests results are true, the absorbent boom being brought to Margaret Longs house on Cotton Bayou may already be too late.

“My chemist found the corexit,” she yells to a neighbor. She first got suspicious when she saw something in the water she had never seen before. She even took photographs, “Some times it’s about the size of a half dollar. Some times it streams along and its like floating sand.”

When the opportunity arose she took some samples. “It was floating in the water. A boat goes by making a bigger wake than its suppose to and it came over the seawall and I had puddles of water along here.”

READ MORE AND SEE THE VIDEOS HERE:
http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2010/08/24/bp-thugs-threating-independent-scientists-corexit-oil-bp-gulf-oil-spill-waters-3479

Upside Down by Jack Johnson

U.S. Air Force assisted BP by spraying dispersants

U.S. Air Force assisted BP by spraying dispersants
http://www.opednews.com/articles/U-S-Air-Force-assisted-BP-by-Chyrisse-Tabone-P-100822-570.html
For OpEdNews: Chyrisse Tabone, Ph.D. - Writer

On May 26, 2010, the EPA produced a memo directing BP to reduce its use of the chemical dispersant Corexit (produced by Nalco) by 75 percent (the maximum allowed was 15,000 gallons/day). The memo requested elimination of surface spraying but allowed a caveat indicating rare exceptions would be considered by submitting a request in writing to the United States Coast Guard's Federal On-Scene Coordinator. While the EPA was appearing to regulate and clamp down on the spraying of Corexit other government agencies were assisting BP in spraying of the toxic dispersant. Yes, the U.S. Government was enabling a corporate entity in spraying a dispersant which has been banned in Europe.

Thanks to citizen journalists on the ground, more information is unfolding concerning "behind the scenes" activities involved in the BP oil spill crisis. Citizens like Sandra Howard are finding themselves torn between what is being reported, what is actually being observed, and the polite civility to "keep one's mouth shut." Fishers, shrimpers, hotels, restaurants, and more are dealing with not only the economic devastation but the possibility of public health effects from the oil and dispersants. Citizens like Ms. Howard have found themselves embroiled in the Ground Zero of the worst oil spill in the history of the planet. The good folks of Mississippi are becoming the "eyes and ears" of truth by revealing topics such as BPs handling of dispersants and the dumping of oil-soaked booms and skimmers in the Pecan Grove landfill.

On May 20, 2010, Ms. Howard obtained these photos taken at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The photos clearly show the dispersant spraying on behalf of BP as a U.S. military action. Also note, to date the dispersants are still being sprayed in Mississippi.

A military source indicates the dispersants were stored in the Nalco warehouse in Garyville, Louisiana and transported to Stennis Space Center for staging.

(Photos linked below by Sandra Howard)
http://hoodooed.blogspot.com/2010/08/plane-corexit-possibly-unloaded-from.html
http://hoodooed.blogspot.com/2010/08/blog-post.html

***COMMENT BY ANITA STEWART:
I can confirm that night time flight activity from MacDill AFB here in Tampa was very active from May onwards and still continuing. Many flights at night and possibly connected to dispersant spraying operations in the Gulf. Congressman Edward Markey said that the Gulf was literally CARPET BOMBED with dispersants (this is a military term).

Here is more:
http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2010/08/17/bp-workers-orderded-clean-oil-dispersants-sprayed-night-sink-oil-3027/
(There are videos at this link with eyewitness accounts and dispersant spraying from the cockpit of one of the AC involved in the mission. Their unit emblem, commands, checklist and ops are easily heard from the videotaping right in the cockpit.)
Lockheed Martin acknowledges DISPERSANT SPRAYING right in their newsletter:
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/data/assets/corporate/documents/LMToday_July10.pdf
But authorities, military, feds continue to deny but why shouldn't they?
This is ecocide and genocide and a crime against humanity.
Eyewitnesses from all over the Gulf Region say the night time flights are continuing.