Gulf Oil Spill: Where Has the Oil Gone?

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"Much of the up to 3 million barrels suspected to be remaining in the Gulf has largely gone off the radar."

Pelican eggs stained with oil sit in a nest on an island in Barataria Bay in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, 05/22/10. (photo: Gerald Herbert/AP)

Comments

+7 # Guest 2010-07-29 11:59

I HOLD THAT ONE THING ACCOMPLISHED BY SPRAYING NASTY DETERGENT ON THE SLICK WAS TO HIDE THE ABILITY TO MEASURE IT--ESPECIALLY FROM THE AIR--AND THUS WHAT THEY WOULD OWE IN FINES. JUST WATCH WHEN IT ALL GETS TO COURT! I BELIEVE BP WAS AWARE OF WHAT THE ADDED CHEMICAL COULD ALSO ADD TO THE TOXIC ENVIRONMENT, AND LIKE THE OTHER ITEMS INVOLVED IN THEIR HANDLING OF THE MESS, THEY SAID "TO HELL WITH EVERYTHING BUT CUTTING DOWN OUR CORPORATE COSTS". GREED ALWAYS RULES!

+1 # Guest 2010-07-29 12:39

HAL is right. In addition, those bacteria -- which will multiply enormously as they feed -- will deplete the oxygen from the gulf waters, thus killing off the marine species that serve as food for humans (and cats!) The debacle is far from over.

+1 # Guest 2010-07-29 12:55

Thanks, Hal. You took the words out of my mouth.

+2 # lyman 2010-07-30 07:00

A question for Mr. Jonsson:

1. Can you point to any expert on marine micro-organisms who can point specifically and concretely to any such organisms that can in fact digest oil? (The EPA spokesman interviewed by Keith Olbermann a day ago dismissed LSU's Ed Overton as a BP contractee. Perhaps his views can be verified by others with expertise in bio-degradation.) My friends with knowledge of chemistry are skeptical: not only are many hydrocarbon components of the spill -- e.g., benzenes, toluenes, and xylenes -- double-bonded ring compounds (and thus highly stable -- hard to break down); they are also quite harmful to DNA (that's why they are classified as carcinogens by the FDA and OSHA).

+3 # lyman 2010-07-30 07:00

Futher questions:

2. If indeed such micro-organisms do in fact exist, can it be estimated how efficient existing populations of them could work their way through the supply of sub-sea oil we now seem to be confronted with?
3. A question that emerges in connection with the previous one is: how will these organisms themselves be affected by the dispersant substances surrounding the oil droplets they are supposed to dispose of?
4. Finally, what is the estimate of the scenario that would ensue when the population of such organisms collapses after growing to the extent necessary for it to consume the oil that has been released?

0 # Guest 2010-07-31 13:19

lyman asked:

1. Can you point to any expert on marine micro-organisms who can point specifically and concretely to any such organisms that can in fact digest oil?

Yes. Read this:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-microbes-clean-up-oil-spills

Unfortunately, the bacteria is toxic to human beings:
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2010/07/will-oil-eating-bacteria-plague-the-

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