commonground Covers The Oil Spill
The latest updates on the oil crisis from environmental reporter Jeff Cutler in the field
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Entry posted August 9, 2010 by Jeff Cutler
Part 2 of 2: (Video) Interview with Tulane Environmental Scientist - BP Oil Spill, Remediation, DispersantsHere is the second half of our discussion with Tulane's director of the Center for Applied Environmental Public Health, LuAnn White.
In part 2 of our interview, LuAnn will answer the questions below. Again, for your ease-of-viewing, I provided the approximate start time for each of the answers so you can find the info you want quickly.
8. A number of media reports have been filmed in Grand Isle and other coastal areas. The Mississippi delta estuary and ecosystem is huge, and it has a lot of backwater and surface area. Is there oil in there? Can it be remediated and/or recovered? Does it need to be? (start)9. It seems like current media coverage is falling into one of two very different categories, either highly optimistic (“the oil has disappeared”), or very dire (“the Gulf will take decades to recover”). What causes this split in the coverage? What is your outlook? (4:05)
10. What do you think the media was hoping to find when they came down to the Gulf Coast? (8:10)
11. What do you think will be the impact from this event on the region’s long term reliance on the oil and gas industry? (11:05)
12. Is now an exciting time to be a scientist? (14:30)
13. Talk for a moment about seafood safety and the processes used to ensure that toxins, including oil, haven’t affected food from the Gulf. (16:10)
- Part 1 of 2: (Video) Interview with Tulane Environmental Scientist - BP Oil Spill, Remediation, Dispersants
In a discussion this week with Tulane's director of the Center for Applied Environmental Public Health, LuAnn White, we got answers to questions brought forward by the community about dispersants, natural degradation of oil, and estuary remediation methods.
In part 1 of our interview, LuAnn will answer the following questions. Because the video is about 13 minutes long, I provided the approximate start time for each of the answers so you can find the info you want quickly.
- What types of scientists study the types of dynamics and systems at play when trying to track down where the oil has gone? (0:17)
- Recent reports are that as much as five million barrels of oil has been spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. Additionally, these reports say that only 800,000 were recovered with the rest being released into the Gulf waters. What can you say about the water column as it relates to where the oil has gone? (1:00)
- Explain what will happen to the oil that is now out in the gulf? How long will it be there and how will it break down? (3:20)
- Talk about the pools of oil - or the reported pools of oil that are under the surface of the water in the Gulf (6:30)
- Were oil dispersants used normally, and if so, for what types of applications? How do dispersants work? Do you think the recent alarm of over application of dispersants are well founded? (9:00)
- What Impact would a storm or a hurricane have on the oil that's still in the Gulf of Mexico? (11:40)
Stay tuned for the second installment of LuAnn's interview, which will be posted Monday. She's going to tell us why this spill is different-and not as bad- as the Exxon Valdez, and her experience dealing with the media. She'll even tell us about something completely new: there are professional "sniff testers" who determine whether seafood in the gulf is safe to eat! Hmm...smelling dead fish on a good day is probably still bad...
Note: You can also find the individual video clips of each question in the commonground Streaming Lounge.
- What types of scientists study the types of dynamics and systems at play when trying to track down where the oil has gone? (0:17)
- iOilSpill Goes to School, Then Speaks with Another EP
Today's calendar is full of great information gathering for you.
• In the morning we go to Tulane University to find out exactly how dispersants affect crude oil and the process oil goes through from the crust of the Earth all the way to your car's engine - on a technical/chemical level
• We'll speak with an EP in Baton Rouge and ask the questions you've posed in the forums and via email. Some topics include what absorbents are being used - burnable or degradable; why collected solids are going to landfills instead of addressing them locally with thermal treatment or bioreactors; and more.
Stay tuned!
- Inside Incident Command - BP Oil Spill Cleanup Figures
Update:
Dispersant is the word everyone's been saying lately so we contacted the EPA and Coast Guard to find out the amounts used and the chemical makeup of the dispersants in the cleanup effort. Incident Command also provided us with enough information for an entirely separate post.
Further, we asked for a video tour of the command center and they said they are not granting media access to film the command center at this time. But they did tell us the following about money and resources used in the cleanup.
• To date, there has been $4 billion spent on the response and cleanup efforts
• The Coast Guard and BP has put 30,075 people into action on the cleanup.
• These personnel are comprised of federal and civilian employees, contractors and volunteers.
Unfortunately, Incident Command was not able to give me a specific breakdown of monies spent on environmental consultants.
- The Word on Dispersants Used in the BP Oil Spill Cleanup
After speaking with the Joint Incident Command group this weekend, here’s an overview of what I’ve found out about dispersants used in the Gulf to control, contain and cleanup the BP oil spill...
- Dispersants are chemicals that can be used to break up oil and speed its natural degradation. They are generally less harmful than oil and biodegrade more quickly than untreated oil.
- According to EPA, dispersants have been useful in breaking up the oil offshore and preventing more oil from reaching fragile coasts and wetlands.
- BP has been allowed to use dispersants during this disaster because the spill was more than three miles from the shoreline. For this use, BP has been preauthorized to use approved dispersants. Conversely, BP has had to get daily approval from the Coast Guard and EPA to use dispersants in any surface applications.
*Each of these approvals and requests can be found at http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com
- The EPA has been testing for dispersants near the shore and has detected no dispersant compounds. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and EPA scientists are conducting rigorous ongoing monitoring and analysis of the effectiveness and toxicity of the dispersants used.
*As of the date of the EPA’s document, toxicity testing had not shown any significant effects of dispersants on aquatic life.
- Mobile air monitors (see photo) taking samples throughout the region have detected only very small amounts of compounds that may be related to dispersants.
- Coming Wednesday - Tulane University Expert on Oil Spill Impact Projections
On Wednesday (August 4)I'm meeting Dr. LuAnn White of Tulane University's Center for Applied Environmental Public Health. We're going to discuss how oil that begins in the earth's core makes the journey to the earth's surface.
During this video discussion with Dr. White, I'll also be delving into environmental factors of dispersing the oil, asking about other factors that might mitigate or accelerate impact to the environment, and pretty much anything else I choose.
- cg member Lisa Morrison speaks of Katrina, the BP Disaster and Oil Cleanup Efforts
I traveled to Biloxi, Mississippi to speak with Lisa Morrison of Compton Engineering. When we announced this project, Lisa reached out to the commonground team and said she'd be happy to talk with us and show us some projects she has been working on as a result of the spill. She discussed some of the environmental issues facing the area and the mindset of residents and the realities of being in a region that’s been hit hard by Katrina and now is being affected on many levels by the BP oil spill.
Click on the photo to give a listen.
Lisa showed me some of the work her company has been doing. Compton is responsible for various environmental consulting projects in the Gulf region and she showed us one project that keeps oil out of the wetlands....
As you can see from some of the video - especially the beginning - Biloxi Bay is pretty well protected from the open Gulf, so they haven’t been too affected by actual oil coming up on their beaches. What has affected folks in this town is the perception of oil-filled sand and the psychological effect of not knowing when to expect - if ever - more damaging results from the spill.
Thanks, Lisa, for your time and local expertise. As always, I look forward to comments and questions from the community.
- Orange Beach, Tourism and BP Oil Spill Impact and Cleanup Efforts on the Gulf Coast
Today, I'm in the car bright and early to go speak with folks in Alabama about the oil spill and the impact it's had on their community. Here's my plan for the day...
• Speak with tourism representatives from Orange Beach about how their region has been affected
• Tour a war-room; the actual staging area for environmental task forces addressing oil containment and cleanup. Hope to get a video on my tour to share.
• Visit with local business owners to see how they might benefit from having environmental consultants assist them in the challenges presented by the oil spill
- Audio: Legal Factors of the Oil Spill, BP's Reaction Responsibility, Environmental Due Diligence - Mike Carvalho
I spoke with Michael Carvalho, an environmental attorney based in Marietta, GA, about legal issues pertaining to the oil spill. Here's what we covered...
- There IS an opportunity for environmental professionals in the legal process because lawyers rely on skilled environmental consultants to advise them and to help them document the condition of sites - pre- and post-oil.
- Cases are likely to go on for years as they did in Alaska for the Valdez spill. There is still oil up there and there are still situations being litigated. Down here in the Gulf, we don't even know how long the impact will be felt.
- The process of using dispersants hasn't been well-researched and we don't know the long-term effect of these chemicals on the environment. This makes proceeding with care vital. Mike talks about not jumping to a settlement.
- Businesses will not see money unless they are proactive and go to court. The factors in that process include the possibility that BP will drag their feet. And further, that if a claim cannot be explicitly proven, it may not receive anything.
So, click on the photo here and the audio will launch.
Please leave your comments and questions right here on the blog. Thanks!
- Today in New Orleans - Jeff Cutler's Oil Spill Agenda for Friday
I'm wrapping up an exciting week of work (with one more to go) and there's still a lot left to do. On my docket today is:
• Process video and audio interviews (environmental lawyer, local engineer, and a wholesale fish company owner on on my list)
• See if Billy Nungesser has a boat for me and when I can get a ride into the Gulf to see the BP oil spill
• Finalize plans with Tulane University to video a professor detailing how oil breaks down in seawater
• Arrange interviews for next week
• Scour your questions and do my best to address them
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