Oil Spill in the Gulf

FAA Imposes Flight Restrictions Over Oil Spill Area

June 12, 2010

Cryptogon - In other words, no media related aircraft below 3000 feet.

Via: FAA:

All aircraft operations are prohibited except those flights authorized by ATC, routine flights supporting offshore oil operations; federal, state, local and military flight operations supporting oil spill recovery and reconstitution efforts; and air medical and law enforcement operations.

Flyover: Gulf Oil Spill

June 14, 2010

AOL Money and Finance - The FAA has announced a "no-fly" zone over most of the Gulf to protect the clean-up workers, they say. It looks like this video might be one of the last views of the spill from above.

BP Defies EPA Orders to Use Less Toxic Chemicals on Gulf Oil Spill (Live Oil Spill Video)

May 22, 2010

Examiner - British Petroleum has been using a toxic chemical called Corexit 9500 to try to break up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which was caused when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and sank last month. According to a Florida Emergency Response press release, more than 650,000 gallons of the chemical has been dumped into Gulf waters so far. Concerns by the US Environment Protection Agency about the toxicity of Corexit 9500 prompted them to order BP to stop using the chemical and switch to a less toxic one. The EPA fears that the Corexit may do more harm than good. However, BP told federal regulators that they have no intention of changing their present chemical brew, according to reports. The EPA is exploring its legal options on how they can force BP to comply ...

Gulf Oil Spill Chemical Dispersant Corexit Too Toxic, EPA Orders

BP has 24 hours to chose another form of dispersant as toxicity of Corexit raises concerns among scientists

May 20, 2010

Guardian - The Obama administration has ordered BP to use a less toxic form of chemical dispersant to break up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The decision, first reported in the Washington Post, comes only hours after Congress heard devastating testimony from BP executives and scientists on the high toxicity of two forms of Corexit, and their relative ineffectiveness against the type of crude now polluting the Gulf. The two versions of the chemical being used on the spill are banned in the UK because they are damaging to sealife.

The Washington Post reported this morning that the Environmental Protection Agency has given the oil company 24 hours to choose a less toxic form of dispersant. Once approved by the EPA, BP will have 72 hours to deploy the new chemicals.

The heavy reliance on chemical dispersants to break up the spill has raised increasing concern among scientists and environmentalists. More than 600,000 gallons of chemicals have been sprayed on the surface of the Gulf with another 55,000 injected directly into the oil billowing out of the ocean floor.

Scientists say the chemicals could be doing more for the oil company's PR, than the overall clean-up of the Gulf. The chemicals that break up the oil in small droplets help prevent giant tides of oil washing up on shore, with their disturbing images of oil-encrusted wildlife.

But they are carcinogenic, mutagenic, and highly toxic, and it is unclear how much damage they are causing to marine life in deep water – a risk acknowledged by the EPA chief, Lisa Jackson.

Corexit has never been used in such high quantities before, Jackson told Congress earlier this week.

"There has been a real reliance on them, maybe more than anybody thought would ever happen." Jackson said. She added: "I'm amazed by how little science there is on the issue."

It is also unclear what – if any – effect the use of Corexit has on the course of the spill, especially if it gets caught in the powerful loop current.

"The injection of dispersants are really likely to change the transport," Richard Camilli, an oceanographer at the Woods Hole Institute, told Congress this week.

The disclosure deepened fears in the scientific community that BP's mode of cleaning up the spill could be compounding the long-term environmental damage.

The scientists say there are more powerful, less toxic dispersants available than Corexit. Members of Congress suggested this week that BP chose Corexit because of links between the oil industry and the manufacturer, Nalco Holding. Nalco has a former BP executive on its board.

"Why would you use something that is much more toxic and much less effective, other than you have a corporate relationship with the manufacturer?" asked Jerrold Nadler, a Democratic congressman from New York told a hearing on Wednesday.

The EPA had approved 14 dispersants for use on the spill, including the two versions made by Corexit.

The controversy over Corexit also exposed the Obama administration to additional criticism that its scientific agencies have been too compliant with BP. In addition to sanctioning the use of Corexit, EPA has come under fire for withholding test results on the toxicity of the water close to shore.

Meanwhile, the national oceanic and atmospheric administration, which has charge of the oceans and forecasting, has been criticised for underestimating the scale of the disaster.

Independent scientists have dismissed Noaa's estimate that oil was flowing out of the ocean floor at 5,000 barrels a day, and say the agency has been slow to assess the damage caused by the underwater plume of oil.

Scientists studying newly released video footage of oil billowing out of the broken pipe on the ocean floor have put the flow rate as high as 100,000 barrels a day. The scientists are also demanding access to Noaa testing of deep water samples.

More Gulf of Mexico Fishing Areas Declared Off Limits Because of Massive Oil Spill

June 2, 2010

Associated Press - More federal fishing areas in the Gulf of Mexico have been declared off limits because of the massive oil spill.

Closing fishing is a precaution to ensure that seafood taken from the waters remain safe for consumers.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed Wednesday that the closed area represents more than 88,000 square miles. That is about 37 percent of Gulf of Mexico federal waters. It doesn't affect state waters.

The most significant closure includes an area off southwest Florida that covers waters just to the west of the Dry Tortugas.

NOAA also says it has reopened a 2,600-square-mile area of south of Louisiana. Oil was projected to be there but was never observed.

Gulf Oil Spill ‘Could Go Years’ If Not Dealt With
Tell Obama to Stop Using Toxic Chemicals in the Gulf Oil Spill
Chemicals used to fight Gulf of Mexico oil spill a trade-off
BP Official Admits to Damage Beneath Sea floor