- @
- Followers:
No Tweets Found
CNN POLITICS ON FACEBOOK » | CNN POLITICS ON TWITTER »
Latest Updates: Gulf oil spill
[Updated 10:29 p.m.] The effort to place a massive containment dome over a gushing underwater wellhead in the Gulf of Mexico was dealt a setback when a large volume of hydrates - ice-like crystals formed when gas combines with water - accumulated inside the vessel, a BP official said
Saturday.
The dome was moved off to the side of the wellhead and is resting on the
seabed while crews work to overcome the challenge, a process expected to take at least two days, BP's chief operation officer Doug Suttles said.
Read the full story on CNN.com
[Updated 10:02 p.m.] A llama in north Texas is doing her part to help relief efforts by giving up the hair off her back, CNN affiliate WDSU reports.
Candycane's owner, Steve Berry, is donating her hair so it can be made into absorbent pads, or booms, to soak up oil in the Gulf of Mexico.
"Llamas don't have any oil in their hair," Berry, a retired Arlington firefighter and Hood County commissioner, told WDSU. "So not being oily it's a perfect absorbent."
Berry, a member of the South Central Llama Association, put out a call to other llama owners in the region, offering to give haircuts if need be, according to WDSU.
Each llama yields about four to five lbs. of wool, said Berry, who will ship it all the New Orleans, Louisiana.
[Updated 9:24 p.m.] Tar balls ranging in size from dimes to golf balls were found Saturday on the beach on Dauphin Island, Alabama, the Deepwater Horizon Incident Joint Information Center said.
Analysis of the tar balls to determine the origin of the oil may take up to 48 hours, the center said in a press release. Tar balls are occasionally found on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, residents told CNN. The tar balls were collected in a pom-pom shaped material known as snare boom that were placed around Dauphin Island.
Reports of tarballs can be made to the U.S. Coast Guard at any time at 1-800-448-5816.
[Updated 7:09 p.m.] By the numbers, to date, according to the Deepwater Horizon Incident Joint Information Center:
– 10,000: Number of deployed personnel currently responding to protect shoreline and wildlife.
– 270: Vessels responding on site, including skimmers, tugs, barges, and recovery vessels, to assist in containment and cleanup efforts, in addition to the dozens of aircraft, remotely operated vehicles, and multiple mobile offshore drilling units.
– 923,000: Approximate amount of boom in feet that have been deployed to contain the spill.
– 2.1 million: Gallons of an oil-water mix that have been recovered.
– 290,000: Gallons of dispersant have been deployed.
– 10: Staging areas set up to protect shoreline in Gulf Coast states that could be affected. The staging areas are in Biloxi, Mississippi; Panama City, Florida; Pensacola, Florida; Pascagoula, Mississippi; Dauphin Island, Alabama; Port Sulphur, Louisiana; Shell Beach, Louisiana; Slidell, Louisiana; Port Fourchon, Louisiana and Venice, Louisiana.
[Updated 5:38 p.m.] It was payday Saturday for some fishermen in Louisiana, but the check wasn't for what they pulled out of the water - it was for what they put into the water.
Parish officials handed out paychecks Saturday morning to fishermen who worked from May 1st to 4th laying boom in the contaminated waters where they usually go fishing and shrimping. They were the first locals hired by BP, the company that owns the well at the heart of the oil spill, to help clean up the Gulf. With so many in the fishing industry affected by the oil spill, St. Bernard's Parish has set up a rotation system for those looking for work. The lucky ones will find their name on the work schedule again before the end of the month.
The amount of the check depended on one's position - a captain was paid more than a deck hand. An additional check was cut for those who used their boats. Fisherman Rafe Regan said he earned $460 a day working as a captain. He also said he received $500 a day for using his boat. That may sound like good money for a day's work but Regan says during oyster season he can earn as much as $3600 a day.
Fisherman Bobby Lovell said he earned just enough money to cover the cost of pulling his crab traps out of the water. The traps are in an area that is now off limits to fishing. Lovell is so worried about supporting his family that he plans to show up at the marina every day in case an extra person is needed. Lovell thinks he may have some luck getting a spot on a boat tomorrow. He says his wife may not be too pleased because it's Mother's Day, but according to Lovell that is why he wants to go - someone is bound to stay home, he believes.
Ok are we overlloking the obvious?
try getting a well "pounderr"
hammer an open pipe big enough to encapsulate the wellhead.
put a cuttung edge on the first section so as to drive it into the seafloor until it is deep enough.
Try a huge ball valve on another attached section and simply close the vale?
Rick
EQUALIZE THE HEAD PRESSURE
LOWER A LARGE ENOUGH DIAMETER PIPE TO COVER THE WELL HEAD,THE OIL WILL FILL THE PIPE,AS THE OIL FILLS THE PIPE, THE WEIGHT OF THE OIL IN THE PIPE WILL EQUALIZE THE HEAD PRESSURE AND STOP THE OIL LEAK. IF THIS CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED, A SEALANT CAN THEN BE INTRODUCED INTO THE PIPE TO SEAL IT OFF. THIS METHOD HAS WORKED FOR ME BEFORE IN RUNAWAY ARTESIAN WELLS UNDERMINING A MAJOR HIGHWAY. OR HAS SOMEONE THOUGHT OF THIS ALREADY.
Subject: PRO-ACTIVE OIL SPILL CONTINGENCY PLAN, Dated: Mon, 5 May, 2010
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN; We will make this statement brief since we know that no one to date has been listening.
1. We found a pre-processed material and developed an action plan that would have extracted up to 95% of the oil spill contaminants from the surface waters of the Gulf of Mexico, before it hit land fall.
2. Our product was a, “Modified Oil Spill Environmental Sponge” dubbed M.O.S.E.S., it is a ¼” to ½” product that could be used to absorb oil contaminants from both “fresh water and salt water” surface oil spills. Our tests have concluded that one ton of product will absorb 125 gallons of oil in less than one hour. Simply put it will absorb approximately one half of its weight in oil. M.O.S.E.S. collects/absorbs oil not water. After saturation M.O.S.E.S. will only contain about 1.4% water. It creates no added impact on marine life or the environment. It also poses no threat to other kinds of wild life including humans. A fifteen minute test would have proven this process.
3. Our plan was full circle and would have included staging, seeding, re-claiming and re-processing all of the contaminated oil’s and seed materials back into re-usable fuels and commodities.
4. Due to the urgencies to reduce the impact on the environment and the magnitude of this spill, our plan would require partnering with the Coast Guard and other organizations that were already being used to provide staging, seeding and reclaim operations.
5. Seeding operations would have been handled in essentially the same way they were being done, with minor and/or no modifications to airborne or aquatic equipment that would handle spreading ¼” to ½” particulates.
6. Re-claim operations required the same booms, scoops, pumps and barge operations, that were being used.
7. Re-processing operations proposed a permanent emissions free plant for processing oil, sand and other like materials into re-usable fuels and commodities. The plant would take approximately ninety to one hundred and fifty days to construct and would become a permanent part of the states fast action response to future oil spills.
8. Our plan would have first, assisted with the on-going damage control operations in the gulf; second, it could have been put into operation within seven days; third, it would have become a $30,000,000.00 per year financial benefit to the communities that embraced staging and plant processing operations.
9. This plan would have greatly reduced the time and costs associated with this kind of oil spill in the future. We are confident that this type of pro-active plan would have become a template for other high risk (oceanic) areas.
So, why was this plan given no consideration at all? It is not a question of if another spill will happen but when. The only excuses we have been able to come up with that, we are sure you are going to here are, as follows:
a. BP the News Network and Government Agencies didn’t have the time to consider a pro-active long term plan?
b. “We are all crack pots” when, this technology is patented and the product could be tested in fifteen minutes?
c. “BP has it under control as they have done this before?” We think, crazy is doing the same things over and over again expecting different results! We need to get past these smoke screens and prepare for the future.
Thank you for your time and consideration. We would love to receive some constructive input.
Craig N. Barthelmas, Cell: [313] 682-1428, E-Mail: GE1RE22@aol.com
CC: BP., CNN, FOX 2, NOAA, Governors of: AL., FL., LA., MS., And TX.
I am writing this letter in the hopes that an idea I have will be of some aid to the efforts to contain the oil spill in the gulf. Though I am not really a scientist or engineer in the field. I am educated in math and electronics engineering, my true love is for physics, not surprisingly then this idea comes from some fundamental physics concepts, namely buoyancy.
The component assemblies of this idea come from existing technologies, perhaps modified with a little specific customizing. I do not have any engineering specifics regarding the breach. I can extrapolate parameters to reasonable degree based on 210,000 gals a day. The first calculation I performed was to convert gals. To cubic feet. 210,000 gals converts to 28000 ft3. The cube root of 28000 is approximately 30 feet. This means the daily amount of oil leaking fills a cube 30 ft long, 30 feet wide, 30 feet tall. Roughly a small three story house.
I converted this into cylindrical dimensions as well. A twenty foot diameter base ninety feet high holds 28000 cubic feet or 210000 gals. The same volume can be contained in a cylinder wit a forty foot diameter, twenty two feet high.
The core idea centers around rubber bladders. As I recall rubber bladders have been used in many large fuel and hazardous material containers as liners. As fuel or other material is pumped out the bladder collapses prevent the buildup of fumes. I think these bladders have been used in large fuel tanks aboard ships. In any event the manufacture of heavy gauge rubber bladders with the cylindrical specifications above would be no challenge.
Ultimately these rubber bladders could be configured to act as mini oil tankers from the sea floor. The idea is clearer if you envision a hot air balloon above ground. The oil will be funneled into a huge expandable rubber bladder. Once full it will float to the surface just like a hot air balloon. There are bmp. Images in the attachments to illustrate the overall idea, very simple. I really believe this method could handle even larger leaks.
I make an assumption the breach is about ten feet diameter. I would make the opening into the bladder one and a half times the diameter of the breach. I would return to the diving bell or dome design with some modifications. I would make the opening at the top closer to the diameter of the breach to prevent the effects of expansion forming methane ice. The oil bladder could then be docked to the dome and allowed to expand as it is filled with oil. Some compressed air could be used to aid inflation.
Ballast tee allows submersible to follow I beam track, to a point where it can lock on to dome. After it fills it follows I beam curve to point of release. As one moves off another bladder follows the track to the lock point, another unit is readied behind it. Basically we are filling rubber fuel tanks at the site of the leak and transporting them to the surface. As these bladders are not rigid they do not become clogged with methane ice, also making the opening into the bladder wider than the breach will reduce ice formations. I think it is a better idea than clogging the blowout valve. If the valve is clogged and lines rupture build a lot of these.
The device could be pumped out at the surface. I would recommend using a platform or ship with a large under water boom arm as illustrated. It would be better to keep the bladder upright at all times and design recovery equipment that would allow the control head to dock at natural depth. See attached file for diagrams.
In an effort to get the idea to BP engineers I intend to send this email to more than one source, if you receive it and forward it to Bp engineers please email me back so I know it has made it to them, thank you.
I couldn't agree more with Mr. Gruters (e-mail message below! I am a resident of coastal Louisiana and it doesn't look at all like BP is doing what it could be doing to prevent a horrible disaster about to put our culture and livelihood to death!
Complete negligence on the part of BP to not only prevent but most certainly to clean-up the spill!
dome is not necessary and wasting time – oil floats to surface and can be pumped into tankers/barges –
employ a floatation of existing tankers/barges starting at epicenter of shaft leak to recover (pump skim off surface oil)
possible "stop leak" would be explosion deep in old shaft using a missile
thank you
Michael Gruters – former faculty physics Princeton late 60'
p.s. the use of dispersing chemicals make surface removal impossible and poisons the sea – really stupid....
ATTENTION!! The PRO-ACTIVE OIL SPILL CONTINGENCY PLAN listed above will not plug oil leaks but, it will address five major problems; two of witch, are concerns that have not been addressed in the media or in the government.
1. It truly is a LONG TERM-CONTINGENCY PLAN. It will help the community rebuild revenues while providing a fast action operational plan for future oil spills. Yes! Future oil spills will surely occur, despite future prevention efforts!
2. This plan is full circle and would included staging, seeding, re-claiming and re-processing all of the contaminated oil’s, oil filled sands and seed materials back into re-usable fuels and commodities.
3. It creates no added impact on marine life or the environment. It also poses no threat to humans and/or other forms of wildlife. Oil, feed stock and sand processing are near emissions free processes.
4. It will generate $30,000,000.00 worth of new revenues for the communities that embrace staging and plant processing operations. The plant would remain in full operation after the clean-up is done.
5. It will also add about forty new jobs to the community. This is not only a plan to help with short term clean up’s, it will also have a positive long term and lasting effect on the community as well.
We all know that BP has been feeding us misinformation and then trying to mobilize volunteers to help minimize their cost. Yes! We sent BP and other agencies this plan. Operations of this nature have a price tag associated with them and so, it would appear that they have no wish to spend anything on spills they can’t control or that won’t go back into their pockets. The OMRS-100 technology is patented and, M.O.S.E.S. (The oil absorbent) can be tested in less than fifteen minutes!
As always our government is seeking a short term quickie (political talk) so we can get a long term scr**ing! Has anyone mentioned where they (BP) plan to put and/or dispose of all of that contaminated; oil, sand and material? We are pretty sure that without intervention it will be in somebody’s back yard, neatly hidden from sight, killing something else. Don’t you think that any oil spill plan should at least consider: Prevention, Mobilization, Extraction and Disposal Operations?
Thank you for your time. We would love to receive some constructive input from anyone who is as concerned as we are.
Craig N. Barthelmas, Verizon Cell: [313] 682-1428, E-Mail: GE1RE22@aol.com
BP is ignoring a proposal by Rotech which has a pump, S4000, that can suction 1500 barrels of oil a minute on a 22" line instead of what BP is doing now of 1800 barrels a day on a 6 5/8" line. These BP people are some of the best and brightest scientist, engineers, and construction people in the oil and gas industry. Why do they continue to ignore Rotech vice president, Dr. Hector Susman's proposal when he went directly to their response consultant, Wild Well, as did many of my colleagues with this proposal? To date a Wild Well consultant reminded me that Wild Well has the spill response contract. I pleaded with them to do the right thing and use the best method to fix this disaster. We have had no review, critique or implementation of this plan. The reason: They know this is the BEST plan and are too greedy or too proud to admit this fact. To say they are doing everything is a lie!!
Operations of this nature have a price tag associated with them and so, it would appear that they have no wish to spend anything on spills they can’t control or that won’t go back into their pockets.
I’m an inventor and I want to run three ideas out there. Simplicity is a virtue:
1. Can the end pipe be squeezed shut? Just like you can squeeze the tip of a hollow copper pipe shut with a pair of pliers? I have no idea what kind of tool could do the job but there are pneumatic devices like ‘The Jaws of Life” for extracting people from crashes cars that may work.
2. Or, Smash the pipe flat with a heavy weight, a giant flat piece of steel, it will reduce the flow.
3. Or, Bang it shut with a wrecking ball.
Patrick
Looks like my suggestion may have been a shared one with others.
On May 10th I put the idea of pouring cement into the well.
"Eddie Eagle
Here's a suggestion on how to try and cap the oil leak. How about using quick setting concrete or an ecologically clean substance poured into the gaps where the oil is flowing to try and plug them up. Concrete has the mass and could possibly form fit as it sets when poured in. Also concrete seems eco friendly as it's basically sand and water mix.
Eddie Eagle
Washington state
May 10, 2010 at 3:09 pm | Report abuse Report abuse | Reply"
I read this today on the BBC website.
"If the new procedure is used, heavy drilling fluids – such as mud – will be injected into the well about a mile (1.5km) underwater.
Engineers hope to follow this with cement, designed to seal the well.
The company has said they estimate a 60-70% chance of success. "
My hope is that this method will at least bring the situation under more control to apply further measures to repair the structural damage.
Eddie Eagle
Washington State
Why has this scenario never been contemplated by the oil company's until now, Why has the federal government failed in it's obligation to protect it's coast, and it's wildlife, this disaster should have been treated like a war from day one, utilizing all of the technology at it's disposal, including military! save the finger pointing until after the leak is stopped! it saddens me to know that the effects of this disaster are still going to be felt 20 years from now! the united states government has been in bed with the oil company's and special interest lobbyist for too long. and if pointing a finger helps to ease anybody mind about the decimation of the gulf coast. it should be pointed at the United States Government, for allowing the oil company's to drill , without any type of disaster plan, for this particular type of disaster.
here's just a cleanup idea, as the oil reaches the shore, use hay, hay will suck up the oil, out of the water like a sponge, then can be pick out of the water with heavy equipment on barges, and taken to disposal sites on land. it's not a hundred percent fix, but it would help were the skimmers can't get, and along the shoreline, and create jobs for many people that have been put out of work by this disaster.
Now the BP consultants are coming to our team 39 days later for advice. They have destroyed my state's coastal fisheries and my communities way of life. Dr. Hector Susman and Jason Alford of the Rotech team are coming with pumps that suction 2,160,000 barrels in 24 hours with a de-iced cofferdam. BP and Wild Well get an armada of 100,000 barrel oil tankers now BP and Wild Well before we arrive. It won't take long to do the right thing now.
One inch and then gradually smaller diameter lead ball bearings need to be slowly poured down this broken unstable pipe which will plug it from the bottom, up, They can be poured in easily through a hose or pipe, and will self organize as they land, to start forming the seal that will end this disaster . Once the finest of the shot are finally poured the leak will be over and BP can get to cleaning up the mess. Also adding a final cement sealer on top of the lead. If steel ball bearings are used they could rust, expand, and eventually split the pipe, which might not matter though, if the well point it is far below the ocean floor. BP needs to forget about saving this well, and just drill a new one someday near this one if the govt will allow it. Please pass this on to someone who can help get this idea to fruition. If they mess with this and the pipe breaks off more below the ocean floor, they may never stop it, so while they have access to the pipe they need to take this positive action.
Mark Mossell of Portage In.
Subject: PRO-ACTIVE OIL SPILL CONTINGENCY PLAN, Dated: 1814, this is an oil spill contingency plan that has a proven extraction process. If British Petroleum’s hired goons stop authorized U.S. press from filming on American Soil just one more time, History may repeat its self!
In 1814 we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip, we took a little bacon and we took a little beans and we caught the bloody British in a town in New Orleans
We fired our guns and the British kept a-comin', there wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago we fired once more and they begin to runnin', on down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
We looked down the river and we see'd the British come, there must have been a hundred of'em, beatin' on the drums
They stepped so high, and they made their bugles ring, we stood by our cotton bales, and didn't say a thing
We fired our guns and the British kept a-comin', there wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago we fired once more and they begin to runnin', on down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
Old Hickory said we could take 'em by surprise if we didn't fire our muskets, 'Till we looked 'em in the eye, we held our fire 'Till we see'd their faces well Then we opened up our squirrel guns And really gave 'em – well we
Fired our guns and the British kept a-comin', there wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago we fired once more and they begin to runnin', on down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
Yeah, they ran through the briars And they ran through the brambles And they ran through the bushes Where the rabbit couldn't go They ran so fast That the hounds couldn't catch 'em On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
We fired our cannon 'til the barrel melted down So we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round We filled his head with cannon balls, and powdered his behind And when we touched the powder off the gator lost his mind
We fired our guns and the British kept a-comin', there wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago we fired once more and they begin to runnin', on down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
Yeah, they ran through the briars And they ran through the brambles And they ran through the bushes Where the rabbit couldn't go They ran so fast That hounds couldn't catch 'em On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. Go Johnny!
We posted a PRO-ACTIVE OIL SPILL CONTINGENCY PLAN, Dated: 10 May 2010, this is a post oil spill contingency plan that has a proven Oil Spill extraction process and a patented Hydro-Carbon (emissions free) recycling technology.
1. We’ve found a pre-processed material and developed an action plan that will extract up to 98% of oil spill contaminants from the surface waters of the Gulf of Mexico. It also includes contingencies for, re-processing all of the oil drenched materials back into re-usable fuels and commodities creating, long term renewable energy revenues for the community.
We all know that BP has been feeding us misinformation and then trying to minimize their cost by denying problems exist. Yes! We sent BP and other agencies our plan. Operations of this nature have a price tag associated with them and so, it would appear that they have no wish to spend anything on an oil spill they can’t control or that won’t go back into their pockets. This cannot be allowed to go on any longer! We have four suggestions to remedy this situation.
a. Executive orders from the president to keep BP within five miles of their oil rig to work on plugging their oil well.
b. Executive orders from the president keeping BP completely out of the state containment and clean-up process.
c. Executive orders from the president to keep BP paying for affected businesses and the state clean-up, on time.
d. Find a way to approve pro-active plans rapidly and, for God’s sake, make decisions without first consulting BP.
So far, BP has not plugged the oil well, contained the oil spill or even moved quickly to approve state contingency plans to keep oil off their shores. BP needs to plug their damned hole and pay the states for containment and clean-up operations.
Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Craig N. Barthelmas ge1re22@aol.com