AUG 1, 2010 - A portion of the relief well has collapsed, forcing BP to retool that segment before they can be ready for a potential "Bottom Kill." Discussion on a possible "Static Kill" from the top is still being aired. Since the well is not flowing it will be easier to overcome the pressure. Yet now that the well has been capped, a lot of effort is being made to sweep the story off the news--out of sight, out of mind.
July 30, 2010 - EPA official Hugh Kaufman blew the whistle on BP and the government on MSNBC claiming that the oil that seems to have disappeared is in fact still hovering in the water column in a widely dispersed plume that is likely to remain in the Gulf for years. The amount of oil that actually reached the surface was only a small fraction of the total volume leaked. 95% or more remains beneath the surface in the vast “lake” of dispersed oil that Matt Simmons has been talking about. His claim that “We have poisoned the Gulf” certainly cannot be argued with, no matter what you may think of his other assertions. The use of Corexit dispersant, which BP rep Dudley claimed was “less toxic than dish soap”, has now caused hemorrhaging among cleanup workers and wildlife. It will remain a highly dangerous toxic element of the Gulf region, contaminating the water and rain for years. Called “we hides it” by oil industry insiders, Corexit was used to prevent oil from rising to the surface where it could be seen and threaten beaches. But this tactic also prevented it from being skimmed by ships and removed from the environment. There is no way to mitigate the remaining oil now that it has been dispersed. And I note BP continued to use Corexit even after being ordered to cease by the government, though their PR machine has been active claiming otherwise.
Kaufman believes the EPA is suppressing data on the toxicity of Corexit because “the public can’t handle” the information. “We’ve got hundreds of millions of gallons of oil spread out, mixed with 2 million gallons of dispersant,” said Kaufmann. “And so, what we have to do is accurately monitor the air and water and be very careful with the seafood. But we’ve now poisoned thousands of square miles of the Gulf... ” Other scientists are equally blunt on the subject. Toxicologist Dr. Riki Ott has advised that Gulf residents have three difficult choices now: 1) Leave the region as soon as possible, 2) Stay and wear a respirator, or 3) Become painfully ill.
July 27, 2010 - UPDATE: What’s Leaking? Thad Allen claimed the “seeps” found 3km from the BP well were from “another well,” and suggested it was the Texaco Rigel well. But an independent researcher has accurately mapped the sea floor to find that the Rigel well is only 2km from the BP site, and the area was scanned by US research ships weeks ago and found NO evidence of a seep there. According to Alexander Higgens: “Thomas Jefferson traveled directly over the area, created a highly detailed 3D model and did not detect any leaks near the well.”
Kaufman believes the EPA is suppressing data on the toxicity of Corexit because “the public can’t handle” the information. “We’ve got hundreds of millions of gallons of oil spread out, mixed with 2 million gallons of dispersant,” said Kaufmann. “And so, what we have to do is accurately monitor the air and water and be very careful with the seafood. But we’ve now poisoned thousands of square miles of the Gulf... ” Other scientists are equally blunt on the subject. Toxicologist Dr. Riki Ott has advised that Gulf residents have three difficult choices now: 1) Leave the region as soon as possible, 2) Stay and wear a respirator, or 3) Become painfully ill.
July 27, 2010 - UPDATE: What’s Leaking? Thad Allen claimed the “seeps” found 3km from the BP well were from “another well,” and suggested it was the Texaco Rigel well. But an independent researcher has accurately mapped the sea floor to find that the Rigel well is only 2km from the BP site, and the area was scanned by US research ships weeks ago and found NO evidence of a seep there. According to Alexander Higgens: “Thomas Jefferson traveled directly over the area, created a highly detailed 3D model and did not detect any leaks near the well.”
