BP Official Admits to Damage BENEATH THE SEA FLOOR

washingtonsblog.com ^ | Saturday, June 12, 2010

[GonzoII]

As I noted Tuesday, there is growing evidence that BP's oil well - technically called the "well casing" or "well bore" - has suffered damage beneath the level of the sea floor.

The evidence is growing stronger and stronger that there is substantial damage beneath the sea floor. Indeed, it appears that BP officials themselves have admitted to such damage. This has enormous impacts on both the amount of oil leaking into the Gulf, and the prospects for quickly stopping the leak this summer.

On May 31st, the Washington Post noted:

Sources at two companies involved with the well said that BP also discovered new damage inside the well below the seafloor and that, as a result, some of the drilling mud that was successfully forced into the well was going off to the side into rock formations.

"We discovered things that were broken in the sub-surface," said a BP official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. He said that mud was making it "out to the side, into the formation."

[tbw2]

What happens if the gulf floor collapses?

[Star Traveler]

You were saying ...

What happens if the gulf floor collapses?

I don't want to find out ... hoo-boy!

No, really..., I don't know but why find out? Whatever happens, I'm sure that some here will say, "It's no big deal! We've been hit by huge meteors too and the earth is still here!" ... LOL ...

Yeah..., but, I don't want to be around when it happens, doncha know ... :-)

[The Comedian]

WHERE did you come up with this???

Some of my "completely nuts ravings" cited right here, little man:

http://www.examiner.com/x-38220-Orlando-Independent-Examiner~y2010m6d15-Toxins-in-air-from-evaporating-oil-may-pose-greater-threat-to-Gulf-residents-than-oily-water

Excerpt:

A more recent report published by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) analyzes offshore air quality data released by BP. The findings replicate conclusions in earlier reports that the level of toxins in the air is unsafe for humans. "Nearly 70% (275 out of 399) of offshore air samples had detectable levels of hydrocarbons and nearly 1 in 5 (73 out of 399) had levels greater than 10 parts per million (ppm), which is an EPA cutoff level for further investigation. 6 samples exceed 100 ppm which in a previous monitoring summary was labeled as the action limit."

Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.

[isom35]

nuke it from orbit, just to be sure...

[razorback-bert]

H2S is generally mesured in parts per million and 5-10 is the safety margin.
10 to 50 ppm causes Headache ,Dizziness ‘Nausea and vomiting and Coughing and breathing difficulty.

5-200 ppm causes Severe respratory tract irritation
Eye irritation / acute conjunctivitis ,Shock ,Convulsions ‘Coma and Death in severe cases.

[Wonder Warthog]

All this link does is show that the media is just as gullible as you are. NONE of those levels is terribly dangerous. You are exposed to more than that (for the hydrocarbons) every time you fill up the gas tank on your car. And all 1.2 ppm of H2S does is cause a stink. It will NOT kill or injure you.

HERE is accurate information:

At some threshold level, believed to average around 300–350 ppm, the oxidative enzymes become overwhelmed. Many personal safety gas detectors, such as those used by utility, sewage and petrochemical workers, are set to alarm at as low as 5 to 10 ppm and to go into high alarm at 15 ppm."

Dude, I'm a chemist (PhD). I "know" about chemistry, and about the toxicity of chemicals. And I certainly know at least how to SPELL the words. NO American regulatory agency would mis-spell chemical names as are done in your post. Your source is bogus, as is the information contained therein. Not worth the electrons used to transmit it.

[John S Mosby]

Corexit is NOT toxic. It has been approved by the EPA for over 20 years and, with the exception of the exceptional flow rate of this blown well, it would be one of the most helpful items in dispersing thick crude so the skimmer can pick it up. Branding a chemical as toxic when it is not is factually dishonest- this is a proprietary agent that is completely biodegradable and enables oliophilic bacteria (that is oil loving bacteria in great abundance in the ocean) to attack the spill and digest it into natural by products. Facts are important. The inaction of the prez, his complete adherance to marxist crisis advantage to move a political agenda even as the well continues to pour out crude, is beyond description. He should be impeached, and God willing, he will be. He has had Federal authority to act in extreme speed to prevent this oil from ever reaching the shore— and he did nothing about it, and neither did career people in the agencies.

[The Comedian]

Dude, I'm a chemist (PhD). I "know" about chemistry, and about the toxicity of chemicals. And I certainly know at least how to SPELL the words. NO American regulatory agency would mis-spell chemical names as are done in your post. Your source is bogus, as is the information contained therein. Not worth the electrons used to transmit it.

Fair enough. I am not a chemist so I'll respect your criticism, and assume that the Orlando Indep. Examiner isn't as reliable a source as an anonymous chemistry PhD on the Internet who calls himself "Wonder Warthog". Nor did I correct the spelling of the post components I cobbled together (that was just me being sloppy).

I hope you are correct.

I will, however, stand by the conclusions that I am an expert in, and restate that the catastrophic nature of this event is quite a bit beyond what people believe at the moment.

Including you.

Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.