Oil spill - the end of fresh Florida seafood?

[Shadow]

Originally Posted by Rich Z

Hmm, 5,000 gallons of crude per day coming up out of the hole equals 210,000 gallons PER DAY. That's about 146 gallons per minute being treated with only 9 gallons per minute of dispersant. Which one is going to win that battle?

Oh, and 210,000 gallons per day are coming out, and they only have an additional 230,000 gallons of dispersant available. Again, which one is going to win that battle.

How much dispersant is needed to effectively treat one gallon of crude oil?

I heard that the implementation of a second hole being drilled to block the flow could take three months (with good weather - we are going to be into hurricane season next month) to complete. By that time, there will have been nearly 20 MILLION gallons of crude out of that hole. And there are really no guarantees that even that will work.

Well hell Rich!!!
Lets just thorw up our hands and give up!!

The amount of dispersant needed is determined by a variety of factors to include:
-spill size (of course)
-wind speed
-wave height and action (swells vs. breaking seas)
-viscosity of the oil
-type of dispersant used.....
and much more.

Here's a little reading material that ought to keep you busy for the next, oh, 4-5 hours at least:
http://www.mms.gov/tarprojects/477/M...INAL170106.pdf

It's an old study but the results are still valid.

You don't try to match the dispersant to the flow

It's a topical application for the most part and is layered on.
You can (as they're doing) introduce it into the flow or stream, but you still do not have to match the flow.

The real problem is will the manufacturers be able to keep up with the demand over the haul?

It could very well be that this whole in the earth below the Gulf of Mexico just might be spewing out crude oil until there just is not more to come out of there. Then everyone is going to be waiting tensely to see if there is another shoe dropped.


I guess that's "possible" although I believe highly unlikely. I guess the next doom and gloom would be the cavity caused by the lack of crude, will cause a GIANT WHIRLPOOL that will create dry lake bed of Mexico, and flood the chit out of CHINA

I think Connie and I will change our plans of going to the beach this summer and go to the mountains or out west.

I might rethink the whole mountain thing too.....they've been having thier fair share of problems in Tennessee lately.
Our Airboat Rescue team has been contacted. We're just waiting to see WTF FEMA want's to do?

You know, just when we finally retire and can fully appreciate the beaches of Florida, I should have expected something like this would have happened. Now that we are talking about going out west instead, I expect that giant volcanic caldera surrounding Yellowstone will blow........
Damn Murphy...........

You know, some of those things are loooooong everdue

Go to the other coast.....less potential damage from this mess.

[gmjunkie]

Hell,Just come to the Mountains in NC,were only having Trimmers and Rock Slides!

[Rich Z]

Had someone post this on another of my sites...

This oil catastrophe could end up being the worst in the history of the world. Here are some comparisions.

The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989, when the Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker bound for Long Beach, California, hit Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef and spilled an estimated minimum 10.8 million US gallons (40.9 million litres) of crude oil. It is considered to be one of the most devastating human-caused environmental disasters ever to occur in history. As significant as the Valdez spill was -- the largest ever in US waters -- it ranks well down on the list of the world's largest oil spills in terms of volume released.

The Exon Valdez is probably the one that comes to mind to most americans.

Now check this out.

A List of 12 of the Largest Oil Spills in History

12. The Torrey Canyon Oil Spill - March 18, 1967
Location: Scilly Isles, UK
Amount of Oil Spilled: 25 - 36 million gallons
The Torrey Canyon was one of the first big supertankers. It was also the source of one of the first major oil spills. Although the ship was originally built to carry 60,000 tons, it was enlarged to a 120,000 ton capacity. She was carrying this full capacity of oil when she struck a reef off the coast of Cornwall.

The spill created an oil slick measuring 270 square miles. It contaminated approximately 180 miles of coastland and killed over 15,000 sea birds and enormous numbers of aquatic animals before the spill was finally contained.

11. The Sea Star Oil Spill - December 19, 1972
Location: Gulf of Oman
Amount of Oil Spilled: 35.3 million gallons
The South Korean supertanker, Sea Star, collided with a Brazilian tanker, the Horta Barbosa off the coast of Oman

10. Odyssey Oil Spill - November 10, 1988
Location: off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada
Amount of Oil Spilled: 40.7 million gallons
This spill occurred approximately 700 nautical miles off the coast of Newfoundland.

9. M/T Haven Tanker Oil Spill - April 11, 1991
Location: Genoa, Italy
Amount of Oil Spilled: 45 million gallons
This oil tanker exploded and sank off the coast of Italy killing six people and leaking its remaining oil into the Mediterranean for 12 years after the sinking. The source of the explosion was alleged to be the poor state of repair the ship was in. Supposedly the Haven was scrapped after being hit by a missile during the Iran-Iraq War and then put back into operation.

8. ABT Summer Oil Spill - May 28, 1991
Location: approximately 700 nautical miles off the coast of Angola
Amount of Oil Spilled: 51-81 million gallons
This ship exploded off the coast of Angola creating an oil leak that discharged massive quantities of oil into the
ocean.

7. Amoco Cadiz Oil Spill - March 16, 1978
Location: Portsall, France
Amount of Oil Spilled: 69 million gallons
One of the most notorious oil spills in history, the Amoco Cadiz was caught in a fierce winter storm that damaged its rudder. The ship put out a distress call that it was no longer able to maneuver. Several ships responded, but none were able to stop the massive ship from running aground. On March 17th, the gigantic supertanker broke in two sending all of its 69 million gallons of oil into the English Channel. The ship was later sunk by the French.

The wreck of the Amoco Cadiz is located HERE.

6. Castillo de Bellver Oil Spill - August 6, 1983
Location: Saldanha Bay, South Africa
Amount of Oil Spilled: 79 million gallons
The Castillo de Bellver caught fire approximately 70 miles north west of Cape Town, South Africa. The ship drifted before breaking in two 25 miles off the coast. The ships stern sank in deep water still carrying approximately 31 million gallons of oil. The bow section, was towed away and deliberately sunk.

To read more about the Castillo de Bellver Oil Spill, click HERE.

5. Nowruz Oil Field Spill - February 10 to September 18, 1983
Location: Persian Gulf, Iran
Amount of Oil Spilled: 80 million gallons
This spill was the result of a tanker collision with an oil platform. The platform tilted and was closed, but the weakened platform collapsed sending oil spewing into the Persian Gulf. Delays in getting the leak capped were caused by the ongoing Iran-Iraq War.

To read a detailed description of this oil leak and subsequent oil leaks in the Nowruz Oil Field, click HERE.

4. Kolva River Oil Spill - September 8, 1994
Location: Kolva River, Russia
Amount of Oil Spilled: 84 million gallons
A ruptured pipeline caused this enormous oil spill. The pipeline had been leaking for eight months, but the oil was contained by a dike. When the dike collapsed, it sent millions of gallons of oil into the Russian Arctic.

To read more about the Kolva River Oil Spill, click HERE.

3. Atlantic Empress Oil Spill - July 19, 1979
Location: Off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago
Amount of Oil Spilled: 90 million gallons
This Greek oil tanker was caught in a tropical storm and collided with another ship, the Aegean Captain. The damaged ship continued to lose oil before finally sinking on August 3,
1979.

2. Ixtoc 1 Oil Spill - June 3, 1979 - March 23, 1980
Location: Bay of Campeche off Ciudad del Carmen, Mexico
Amount of Oil Spilled: 140 million gallons
This oil spill didn't involve a tanker, but rather an offshore oil well. Pemex, a state-owned Mexican petroleum company was drilling an oil well when a blowout occurred. The oil ignited causing the drilling rig to collapse. Oil began gushing out of the well into the Gulf of Mexico at a rate of 10,000 to 30,000 barrels a day for almost an entire year beforeworkers were finally able to cap the well and stop the leak.

1. Arabian Gulf/Kuwait - January 19, 1991
Location: Persian Gulf, Kuwait
Amount of Oil Spilled: 380-520 million gallons
Ironically, the worst oil spill in human history wasn't the result of an accident. During the Gulf War, Iraqi forces, attempting to thwart a potential landing of American soldiers, opened the valves at an offshore oil terminal and dumped oil from several tankers. The oil they released created a 4-inch thick oil slick that covered 4000 square miles. To put it in perspective, that's enough oil to cover the entire state of Rhode Island one foot deep in oil.

How does the Exxon Valdez oil spill rank in comparison?
When the Exxon Valdez ran aground on March 24, 1989 off the coast of Alaska, it spilled 10.8 million gallons of oil along 1100 miles of Alaskan coast. The spill could have been much worse - the Valdez was carrying 53 million gallons.

In terms of sheer volume, the Exxon Valdez spill ranks as the 35th worst oil spill in history. As frightening as that spill was, it's even more frightening to consider that there are 34 oil spills even worse.


Here is a link.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...ry.html?cat=37

[CHASZ51]

Seems the dome trick has failed. It could be months before it's said and done.

And God help us if we get a early hurricane or TS in the gulf.

[Rich Z]

So their only viable solution now is the side drilling to relieve pressure? How does that work? In order to relieve the pressure, doesn't that mean they are going to have to have the means to draw out over 200,000 barrels of oil per day and PUT it all somewhere?

And that will take two months? Which puts us in mid July. Actually it will be pretty much a miracle if there are no hurricanes or tropical storms in the Gulf while this is going on.

So let's see a hurricane surge laden with oil sludge. Sounds just lovely....

[85vette]

I'm thinkin beach front property can be had pretty cheap right now here on the gulf coast....

[Vettephysician]

As usual, only the lawyers will come out "winners" in this one. I think we should take all the damned politicians out there and plug the hole with them. At least they'd be serving a useful purpose for once!

[als2052]

They are telling everyone to document any losses due to spill for litigation later...

[Shadow]

Originally Posted by als2052

They are telling everyone to document any losses due to spill for litigation later...

Of course they are...that's what lawyers do.....

A friend sent me a link to some SFor brains "expert" who was saying how "simple" it is to contain a spill. Apparently he was the "environmental investigator" for some lawyer suing BP on the Exxon Valdes...thus his "expertise"

"all you need is some rubber hose, you call them booms, and some skimmers"..I **** you not....that's a paraphrased statement from this bone head!

Of course he left out little things like:

Sea conditions,
Weather conditions
Wave action (chop/breaking or swells) and height
type of dispersant
yada yada yada.......f**kin' nimrods!!

And it's people like this that stir up hate and discontent (or further it) with thier self imposed "expertise", baiting the field for the lawyers!

BTW, we all know what an "expert is, right?

EX=Has Been
Spurt (phonetically)=A Drip under Pressure

[Shadow]

Originally Posted by Vettephysician

As usual, only the lawyers will come out "winners" in this one. I think we should take all the damned politicians out there and plug the hole with them. At least they'd be serving a useful purpose for once!

yep!