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Colombia Oil Spill to Reach Pacific Coast: Ecopetrol
The bombing of a crude oil pipeline in southwestern Colombia by the FARC guerrilla group earlier this week has caused a 20-kilometer (12.4-mile) oil spill that was expected to reach the Pacific coast, said a report quoting the CEO of the state-controlled Ecopetrol.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) attacked the 306-km Transandino pipeline, which stretches to the Pacific port of Tumaco, causing about 1,000,000 liters (~ 265,000 gallons) of oil to spill into the Caunapi River, a tributary of the Rosario River, and into Tumaco Bay in the southwestern department of Nariño, said the report.
The rivers are a source of drinking water and are also used for fishing.
The affected area could take up to 20 years to recover, assuming “a minimum recovery,” said Colombia’s Environment Minister.
The guerrillas also waylaid a convoy of 19 tanker trucks on Monday, and dumped about 757,000 liters (200,000 gallons) of crude oil on the roads in Putumayo department in the southwest of the country, bordering Ecuador and Peru, the report added.
The attack was the 20th against the oil company’s infrastructure this year, affecting more than 84,000 people, said Ecopetrol.
Another ruptured pipeline in California spills 21,000 gallons of oil into ocean, onto beaches
On May 19, 2015 the NOAA was notified of a 24-inch pipeline rupture that occurred earlier today near Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara County, CA [34°27.74′N, 120° 5.21′W.] An estimated 500 barrels (21,000 gallons, or 79,500 liters) of crude oil was released on the shoreside of Hwy 101 which then flowed into the Pacific Ocean. The source has since been secured. USCG personnel estimated the size of the sheen to be 3.5 NM [6.5km] along the beach and 50-100 yards into the water. Oil Spill Recovery Organizations are on-scene to conduct cleanup operations. California Department of Fish and Wildlife has ordered beach closures. [NOAA]
Japan’s Takata Recalls 33.8 Million Vehicles Worldwide Over Deadly Air Bags
More than 33.8 million cars and trucks have been recalled by Takata Corp., the largest recall in history, said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday.
“This is probably the most complex consumer safety recall in U.S. history,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.
The Japanese air bag manufacturer had previously refused to admit its air bag inflaters are defective and the air bags can explode violently, sending lethal metal fragments flying into the passenger compartment.
At least 10 major automakers—BMW, Fiat, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, and Toyota—have already issued recalls for about 17 million vehicles in the U.S. and more than 36 million globally.
The defect has reportedly caused at least six deaths and more than 100 injuries, including loss of sight.
Breached pipeline spills about 50,000 gallons of oil into Yellowstone River
An oil pipeline breach has spilled about 50,000 gallons of oil into the Yellowstone River about 9 miles upriver from Glendive, Montana, said state officials.
Some of the oil did enter the water, said a spokesman for Gov. Bullock.
Bridger Pipeline Co. said that they have shut down the 12-inch-wide pipeline, calling the breach an “unfortunate incident.”
The incident was a Déjà vu of 2011 ExxonMobil 12-inch Silvertip pipeline rupture breach near Laurel, when more than 60,000 gallons of oil contaminated an 85-mile stretch of riverbank.
BP Oil Spill in Gulf of Mexico
Judge Carl Barbier ruled Thursday that the fines for the 2010 BP massive oil spill were excessive, imposing a maximum ceiling of $13.7 billion, significantly lower than the $18 billion fine sought by prosecutors.
Relentless snowfall in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province has destroyed or damaged hundreds of homes, the official Xinhua reported authorities as saying.
“The inclement weather resulted in the death of 271 sheep, 92 large animals, damage to 644 houses and destroyed another 78. Meanwhile, 37 hectares (ha) of greenhouse vegetables were also destroyed.”
Oil spill causes “one of the worst” ecological disasters in Israel
A major oil spill, which occurred after a pipeline burst, has severely damaged a nature reserve in southern Israel.
Millions of liters of crude oil have escaped from a breach in the pipeline, severely damaging several kilometers of the Evrona Nature Reserve, and threatening to enter Jordan.
According to the local media, dozens of Jordanians have been hospitalized after suffering from hazardous gas inhalation.
Original caption: Handout aerial photograph provided by the Israeli Ministry of Environmental Protection shows a large oil spillage caused by an oil pipeline that breached during maintenance work in the Arava desert, southern Israel, on Dec. 4, 2014. An oil spill flooded overnight a desert nature reserve in southern Israel, causing “one of the worst” ecological disasters in Israel, officials and local media said Thursday. (Xinhua/JINI/ISRAELI ENVIROMENTAL PROTECTION MINSTRY)
The Houston Ship Channel remained closed on Sunday after a collision between an oil barge and a cargo ship, spilling about 640,000 liters (4,000 barrels) of heavy fuel oil.
The channel allows ships to sail from the Gulf Coast to inland terminals, accounting for up to 15 percent of crude delivery to the U.S. refineries.
Major oil spill in the Houston Ship Channel March 22, 2014. Source: U.S. Coast Guard handout/via Reuters.
“A local official said the channel was expected to be shut well into Monday. The official asked not to be identified as the information had not yet been made public,” Reuters reported.
By late Sunday, nearly 90 ships were waiting either to depart or to enter the port of Houston and/or Texas City, said the report.
Among the ships affected by the channel closure was the cruise ship Carnival Magic.
Ohio’s Oak Glen Nature Preserve smothered in crude oil after leak in Sunoco pipeline
Up to 40,000 liters of crude oil leaked into the Oak Glen Nature Preserve about 400 meters from the Great Miami River, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency estimates.
Stream of crude oil leaked from Sunoco pipeline runs across Oak Glen Nature Preserve in Ohio. Source: EPA.
“The leak, which occurred on a line operated by Mid-Valley Pipeline Co, a division of Sunoco, was discovered at 8:20 p.m. EDT on Monday (0020 GMT Tuesday). The company shut the line, which helped reduce the pressure of the leaking oil, an EPA spokeswoman said, but it was unclear if oil was still spewing from the pipe.” Reuters reported.
“The extent of impact to the resource is currently unknown,” according to a statement issued by the Great Parks of Hamilton County, which oversees the Oak Glen preserve. “The EPA is assessing the situation to determine appropriate action.”
Sunoco Logistics Asset Map. Source: Sunco website
The 1650-km pipeline runs from Longview, Texas (about 125 miles east of Dallas), to Samaria, Michigan about 12 miles north of Toledo, delivering crude oil to refineries, mostly in the U.S. Midwest, said the report.
Previous leaks
“A system-wide inspection of the 1,119-mile-long pipeline in 2009 resulted in the company paying a $48,700 fine in 2012 for failing to address corrosion problems in the pipeline at the Oregon refinery for three years.” CinCinnati.com said.
October 2008: Burlington, KY. About 500,000 liters of crude oil leaked.
January 2005: Carrollton, KY. At least 1 million liters of oil leaked into the Kentucky River.
According to Great Parks’ website the 364-acre Preserve comprises “rugged hills with a rich diversity of native trees, shrubs and wildflowers.”
Massive pipeline leak prompts mass evacuations in SW China
About 2,000 tons of gasoline escaped at a high-speed railway construction site after a construction tower collapsed snapping a pipeline in SW China’s Guizhou Province.
The pipeline damaged in the incident is owned by Sinopec, the country’s largest oil refiners, said a report.
“Three people have received medical treatment, and more than 110 are working to repair the broken pipe and clear the site, which is about 30 meters from the Shanghai-Kunming railway and has residential houses nearby.”
The local government has ordered mass evacuations of residents within a two kilometer radius of the incident site, and rail authorities have suspended train services.
Pipeline explosions last Friday killed 55 people and left 145 others injured, with nine additional passersby reported as missing in the coastal city of Qingdao, east China’s Shandong Province. Source: NEWS.CN. More images ...
Other Sinopec Pipeline’s Deadly Explosions
Meantime, the China PetroChemical Corporation (Sinopec) announced it had suspended two company executives following the deadly pipeline explosions last Friday
The blasts killed 55 people and left 145 others injured, with nine additional passersby reported as missing in the coastal city of Qingdao, east China’s Shandong Province.
Oil spill fourth largest in Thailand’s history: Energy Ministry!!
At least 50,000 liters of crude oil leaked from a pipeline in the Gulf of Thailand off the coast of Rayong, southeast of the capital Bangkok over the weekend.
The oil spill has now reached the popular Thai tourist resort of Ao Prao Beach on Koh Samet Island, said pipeline operator PTT Global Chemical, prompting evacuation of about a third of the tourists in the area.
Thai Oil Spill Reaches Tourist Island
PTT Global Chemical is part of Thailand’s biggest energy company, the state-controlled PTT Pcl.
PTT Exploration and Production, another subsidiary of the Thai oil monster, was blamed for “systemic shortcomings” after Australia’s worst offshore drilling disaster in 2009, when thousands of gallons of crude oil leaked into Timor Sea, covering tens of thousands of square kilometers, and reaching as far as the Indonesian islands.
Fukushima Nuke Plant Leaking Large Quantities of Radioactive Water
Up to 120 tons of radioactive water may have leaked from one of the seven underground storage tanks at Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, contaminating the surrounding ground, Tokyo Electric Power Co was reported as saying.
The storage tanks hold about 13,000 cubic meters of contaminated water, which TEPCO is transferring to other tanks nearby, Kyodo news wire quoted the utility as saying.
Third large oil spill in 7 days: Shell Pipeline ruptures in Texas
Thousands of gallons of oil have spilled from Shell Pipeline in West Columbia, Texas, the third incident of the kind in a week, said a report.
Manatee death toll rising in Florida despite Red Tide ebbing
Red Tide, a deadly algae bloom, has killed at least 241 manatees in Florida so far this year, surpassing the previous record of 151 deaths set in 1996.
The recent Red Tide bloom in the Gulf of Mexico began in September 2012 covering a 70-mile (113-km) stretch of southwest Florida’s coast from Sarasota County to Lee County, which is home to a large population of the state’s estimated 5,000 manatees, said a report.
Karenia brevis. Photo: FFWCC
Meanwhile, deaths of 85 manatees since July on Florida’s Atlantic coast remain a mystery. The mass die-off occurred in the Indian River Lagoon, Brevard County.
Lava spewes from the top of Mount Karangetang. Photo: AFP. Image may be subject to copyright.
One of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia, Karangetang, aka, Api Siau, is a located on the northern part of Siau Island.
Karangetang was one of the three volcanoes that erupted after the The Great East Japan Earthquake struck on March 11, 2011.
Frozen Britain
UK temperatures over the past week fell to among the coldest experienced in April for nearly 100 years, with maximum temperatures barely above the freezing in many parts of the southeast, reports said.
At -11.2ºC (11.8 degrees Fahrenheit), the village of Braemar in Scotland, about 90 km west of Aberdeen, held the joint coldest weather anywhere in the UK in April for nearly a century.
US Weather: Snow Impacting the Upper Midwest and Northern Great Lakes
‘A storm system moving through the Upper Midwest will bring a round of late-season winter weather to parts of the northern Great Lakes region on Saturday. The heaviest snow will fall from northeastern Minnesota through northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. These areas could see up to 6 inches of snow.’ NOAA reported.
Exxon’s Pegasus pipeline leaks 10,000 barrels of Canadian oil in Arkansas
More than 10,000 barrels of Canadian Wabasca heavy crude oil, described as “oil sands,” has leaked from Exxon’s Pegasus pipeline in Mayflower city, Arkansas.
The incident is categorized as a “major spill” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and 22 homes near the rupture point have been evacuated.
Exxon has shut down the pipeline, which can carry more than 90,000 barrels per day of crude oil from Pakota, Illinois, to Nederland, Texas, said a report.
“The Arkansas spill was the second incident this week where Canadian crude has spilled in the United States. On Wednesday, a train carrying Canadian crude derailed in Minnesota, spilling 15,000 gallons of oil.”
U.K. reports coldest Easter Sunday on record
Easter Sunday was the coldest Easter day on record, with the lowest temperature dipping to -12.5ºC (9.5ºF) in Braemar, in the Scottish Highlands, said a report.
Average U.K. temperatures for this time of year are between 10ºC and 13ºC, said the UK Met Office, adding that the entire month of March has been provisionally declared the coldest since 1962.
Report on Brisbane’s Wivenhoe Dam locked out for 30 years
“THOUSANDS of internal documents obtained during investigations by Queensland’s $15 million public inquiry into floods and the operation of Brisbane’s Wivenhoe Dam are being withheld from public access and scrutiny for 30 years by the state government.”
Deadly floods wreak havoc in Mauritius capital Port Louis
At least 10 people have died after a sudden extreme rain event triggered flash flooding in the Mauritian capital Port Louis (population: ~ 150,000), officials have said.
Some 152mm (6in) of rain fell in less than an hour, causing chaos in the city, reports said.
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DISASTER CALENDAR – March 31, 2013— SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,077 Days Left
Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,077 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human History
Crude oil spill from an ExxonMobil pipeline into Montana’s Yellowstone River forces evacuations of nearby residents: Report
The spill came from a crude oil pipeline that runs from Silver Tip to Billings, Montana, according to the ExxonMobil Pipeline Company.
Nearby residents in Laurel, Montana, were evacuated in the early hours the morning but were allowed to return to their homes later in the morning, according to Laurel City Fire and Ambulance services.
“Evacuation orders for all of Yellowstone County have been lifted,” the emergency services spokesman said.
The Yellowstone Falls in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Yellowstone River, a major tributary of the Missouri River, is about 1,120km (~700 miles) long and runs in the western United States. The river and its tributaries drain a wide area stretching from the Rocky Mountains across southern Montana and northern Wyoming. Photo credit: Scott Catron, GNU license.Click image to enlarge.
Cause of Rupture, Size of Rupture UNKNOWN!!
“Exxon said the cause of the rupture was not yet known and it was unclear how much oil had been released,” a report quoted the company as saying.
“We recognize the seriousness of this incident and are working hard to address it,” the company said.
Already, the Gulf oil spill and the subsequent application of dispersant have caused incalculable damage to seafood
Oysters, shrimp, crabs and other shellfish in the Gulf of Mexico generate at least $6.5 billion in revenues annually.
“It [oyster] is not only the economic engine of this region, it is a real indicator of the environmental and ecological health of the Gulf Coast area,” said Jamie R. Clark, former head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and executive VP of Defenders of Wildlife, a local conservation group.
NOAA Fishing Restriction News UPDATE:
NOAA has expanded commercial and recreational Fishing closure in oil-affected sections of Gulf of Mexico. The closed area restricts fishing in about 5 percent of the Gulf waters. The earlier closure, which came into effect last Sunday, covered less than 3 percent of the Gulf of Mexico federal waters. The fishing restriction will remain in place until May 17, NOAA said.
Oil Spill Reaches Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana
Light tan streamers snake across Chandeleur Sound in this detailed natural-color satellite image from May 5, 2010. The streamers surround Freemason Island and arc through Chandeleur Sound west of the Chandeleur Islands. The image is from the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite.
The Chandeleur Islands are low, sandy barrier islands that are constantly being reshaped by storms, wind, and waves. Together with the Breton Islands to their south, they form the Breton National Wildlife Refuge. A variety of seabirds and shorebirds inhabit the islands, including the endangered brown pelican, least tern, and piping plover. Thousands of brown pelicans and other shorebirds are currently nesting on the islands and sea turtle nesting season is approaching, says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Image and Caption: NASA E/O. Download large image (3 MB, JPEG)
This forecast is based on the NWS spot forecast from Friday, May 7 AM. Currents were obtained from the NOAA Gulf of Mexico, Texas A&M/TGLO, and NAVO/NRL models; and HFR measurements. The model was initialized from satellite imagery and analysis provided by NOAA/NESDIS obtained Thursday morning, and Thursday/Friday
overflight observations. The leading edge may contain tarballs that are not readily observable from the imagery (hence not included in the model initialization). Click image to enlarge.
News and Updates:
Two lines of oil booms are set up around one of the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana May 7, 2010 as seen from a plane used by the environmental group Mobile Baykeeper and Southwings to look at the damage caused by the oil spill. Credit: REUTERS/Brian Snyder. Image may be subject to copy right. Click image to enlarge.
Oysters, shrimp, crabs and other shellfish in the Gulf of Mexico generate at least $6.5 billion in revenues annually.
Oyster, high on the list of seafood gourmet, “is also the backbone of marine life along the U.S. Gulf Coast and among the most vulnerable creatures now threatened by a giant oil spill.” More at Spill could devastate U.S. Gulf Coast oyster reefs
BP says its best chance is to use the giant dome to contain and pump out the oil spill.
The 98-ton steel monstrosity has been lowered to the seabed about 1.5km below the surface with the container suspended over the leak . The is conducted using remote-controlled devices. “It will hover there until they are ready. They hope to lower to sea floor today, but they need to finish prepping the surface,” the Unified Command Center late update said. More at Containment dome suspended just above U.S. Gulf leak
Robots have fail to shut the valves on the leaking BP oil wellhead. BP said it has abandoned its efforts to close valves on the failed blowout preventer using underwater robots. “We’ve essentially used up all those options,” Doug Suttles, chief operating officer for BP US said. “We don’t want to do anything that would make the situation worse.” More at Robots fail to close valves at leaking BP oil well
Serial No 1,693. Starting April 2010, each entry on this blog has a unique serial number. If any of the numbers are missing, it may mean that the corresponding entry has been blocked by Google/the authorities in your country. Please drop us a line if you detect any anomaly/missing number(s).
Oil Well Beneath Sunken Deepwater Horizon Leaking 1,000 BPD
We thought it was a fairy tale as far as the capping of the well story went …
The oil well that was being pumped out by the doomed Deepwater Horizon oil rig is spewing crude oil at a rate of 1,000 barrels per day (bpd), the U.S. Coast Guard said on Saturday.
[Note: 1,000 barrels = 42,000 US gallons, or ~ 160,000 liters]
The well, located on the ocean floor, some 1,500m (~5,000 feet) beneath the ocean surface, is causing what the Coast Guard called a “very serious spill.”
A Coast Guard spokeswoman said a remote-controlled submarine detected oil leaking from both the riser and drill pipe.
“We are classifying this as a very serious spill and we are using all our resources to help contain it,” the Coast Guard Petty Officer Connie Terrell said.
The ill-fated Deepwater Horizon, owned by Transocean Ltd and operated by the oil Goliath BP, sank on Thursday. The rig had been burning for two days after exploding at about 10 p.m. CDT on Tuesday (02:00UTC Wednesday), about 66km (~ 41 miles) off the Louisiana.
The search for 11 crew members was abandoned on Friday. Four of the 17 crew members who were injured were said to be in critical condition.
As of Sunday an oil slick measuring about 1,600 square kilometers (~ 600 square miles), covered an area close to the US coast line. The slick is spreading north moving toward Mississippi and Alabama coastline, the U.S. Coast Guard reported.
On Saturday Fire-Earth Moderators said:“This situation, of course, could change because oil wells gushing at a rate of 8,000 barrels per day don’t heal automatically after a fire.”
Serial No 1,622. Starting April 2010, each entry on this blog has a unique serial number. If any of the numbers are missing, it may mean that the corresponding entry has been blocked by Google/the authorities in your country. Please drop us a line if you detect any anomaly/missing number(s).
Serial No 1,520. Starting today, each new post on this blog has been allocated a serial number. If any of the numbers is missing, it may mean the corresponding entry has been blocked by the authorities/Google in your country. Please drop us a line, if you detect any missing numbers.
submitted by a reader
Obama Hates Himself, His Kids, His Family and Rest of the World
He hates himself because he is emotionally unstable, has a weak character and has been trodden on all his life.
His hatred for rest of the world is all too evident in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has the blood of thousands of people on his hands, and it won’t wash off.
But, above all, he hates his kids. He couldn’t give a damn if they had a chance, a future, or not.
He has just unveiled plans for a “limited expansion” of offshore oil and gas drilling shamelessly disguised as winning Republican support for new strategies to fight climate change.
The moratoriums on offshore exploration which were secured in the 1980s are all out of the window. [This is what the President had earlier called “hope and change.”]
Oh, and he hates wildlife, especially in the coastal areas.
President B.O. is a pathological liar, too.
AssociatedPress — March 31, 2010 — Reversing a ban on oil and gas drilling off most U.S. shores, President Barack Obama announced an expansive new policy that could put oil and natural gas platforms in waters along the Atlantic coastline, the Gulf of Mexico and parts of Alaska.
If the national security of a country entails the health and well-being of its people, then Obama’s plan to expand offshore oil and gas drilling is a direct threat to the national security of the United States.
Here’s the unintelligent lies he delivered at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland recently:
“Today we’re announcing the expansion of offshore oil and gas exploration, but in ways that balance the need to harness domestic energy resources and the need to protect America’s natural resources.”
“Drilling alone can’t come close to meeting our long-term energy needs, and for the sake of our planet and our energy independence, we need to begin the transition to cleaner fuels now,” Obama said.
Just exactly what are our “long-term energy needs?” What exactly are your plans for saving the planet? What are “cleaner fuels?” How much cleaner are they? Exactly, how much of these cleaner fuels do you have in mind?
Note that everything is left vague and in a haze of uncertainty in the hope that somehow you’ll figure it out, making sense out of his utter nonsense. He hopes the majority will never catch on to the truth. Will you ever stop bullcrapping?
“I know that we can come together to pass comprehensive energy and climate legislation that’s going to foster new energy—new industries, create millions of new jobs, protect our planet, and help us become more energy independent,” Obama added.
What a load of hot doublespeak, Mr President.
“My administration will consider potential new areas for development in the mid and south Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico.”
Meanwhile, his administration announced the cancellation of oil and gas drilling leases in the Bristol Bay area [for now, at least!] as well as four other [useless, unwanted] leases in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas off the north coast of Alaska. The region will remain available to “future scientific research to assess their suitability for leasing.”
DOI Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Strategy – Lower 48 – Click image to enlarge.
DOI Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Strategy – Eastern Coast of Mexico Planning Area – Click image to enlarge.
DOI Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Strategy – Alaska Strategy – Click image to enlarge.
“There will be those who strongly disagree with this decision,” said Obama with a smirk.
No shit, Mr B.O.
What would his plan really mean
Continued addiction to oil
More intense, faster paces of climate change
Wilder climatic swings
Deadlier weather patterns
More oil spills
More sea and coastal pollution
Additional threats to marine life
More threats to the livelihood of coastal communities
May something have mercy on hid kids because, sure as climate change, nature will be inclement.
What was probably a sheen of oil calmed the waters of the Timor Sea and darkened the mirror-like reflection of the Sun when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image on September 17, 2009. The top image shows the wider area, with part of Western Australia at lower right. The colorful water near the shore is probably a mixture of sediment and phytoplankton. The bottom image is a close up of the area outlined in white.
The oil was leaking from a well that was damaged during drilling on August 21. According to news reports, chemicals that help the oil disperse are being dropped on the slick from airplanes. The light-colored streaks may be some combination of oil and dispersant.
Twice-daily images of the Timor Sea are available from the MODIS Rapid Response Team Website. Note that the slick will not be visible in every image; viewing conditions have to be perfect for a thin sheen of oil or droplets to be visible in photo-like satellite imagery. (See a previous image in this event for an explanation.)
NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data obtained from the Goddard Land Processes data archives (LAADS). Caption by Rebecca Lindsey.
A fractured pipeline spills 4million liters of crude oil into French nature reserve
Four million liters of crude oil [4,000 cubic meters, or 25,160 barrels, weighing approximately 3,500 metric tons] has spewed from a fractured pipeline into a nature reserve adjacent to the Camargue national park, in southern France.
More than 2 hectares [5 acres] of Coussouls de Crau nature reserve is covered in crude oil. The reserve which is close to the town of Saint-Martin-de-Crau, in the south of France, was created in 2001 and is home to tens of thousands of birds. Photo: AFP (dated August 8, 2009). Image may be subject to copyright.
Owned by the usual gang of big polluters including France’s Total, U.S. giant ExxonMobil and Britain’s BP, the pipeline was operated by the Societe du Pipeline Sud-Europeen (SPSE), which supplies oil refineries and a petrochemical plants in France, Germany and Switzerland.
The 40-year-old fractured underground pipe was a meter wide and buried 80 cm under the ground.
“This is a real ecological disaster,” junior environmental minister Chantal Jouanno told reporters after visiting the area in the far south of France. Reuters reported.
She held the pipeline operator, SPSE responsible for the disaster, and added: “We will have to draw the consequences for all the pipelines in France.”
Crude spill location map: Coussouls de Crau nature reserve, near the town of Saint-Martin-de-Crau, in south of France. Map: Google. Original map may be subject to copyright.
The leak which occurred at about 8.30 am (06:30 UCT) has reportedly covered more than 2 hectares of the Coussouls de Crau nature reserve close to the town of Saint-Martin-de-Crau, south of France.
“The site lies at the entrance to the Camargue park, a vast expanse of plains and marshland, famous for its wild horses and bulls, that [borders] the Mediterranean Sea.” Reuters reported.
Container ship leaked much more oil off Queensland coast than originally reported
Parts of Australia’s northeast coast of Queensland was declared a disaster area Friday after a massive oil spill from a damaged cargo ship, The Pacific Adventurer, contaminated numerous beaches.
Oil escapes: divers discovered further damage in the ship’s hull (Greens/Senator Bob Brown, via Abc News Au).
“Queensland state Premier Anna Bligh declared Moreton Island, Bribie Island and southern parts of the Sunshine Coast as disaster zones after a ship lost more than 30 tons of fuel when its hull was pierced by a container washed overboard.” A report said.
“It may well be the worst environmental disaster Queensland has ever seen,” Bligh told Australian Associated Press. “The ship was capable of carrying 100 tons of oil and the spill was now much larger than initial reports indicated.”
Map of Australia with a blow-up of southeast Queensland and the Sunshine Coast.The Sunshine Coast has a population of about 290,000 with an additional 50,000 visitors and seasonal workers.
“At least 60 kilometers (37 miles) of beach coastline had been covered by the slick, which came from the Hong Kong-flagged ship Pacific Adventurer after it was damaged on Tuesday in heavy seas generated by tropical cyclone Hamish.” The report said.
“If there is any grounds for prosecution of this ship and its owners, we will not hesitate to take that action. We will also be pursuing them for compensation as this is going to be a very big clean-up cost,” Bligh said.
Blackened sandy beach near Cape Moreton on Moreton Island, Queensland. Photo: AP. Image may be subject to copyright.
Ship owner Swire Shipping had previously stated that no more than 42,000 liters of oil escaped from the ship; however, they now say substantially more oil was spilled.
Popular tourist resorts including the coastal towns of Caloundra, Mooloolaba, Maroochydore and Noosa on Queensland’s Sunshine coast, have been affected by the large spill.
Tire tracks seen near Queensland. Photo: EPA. Image may be subject to copyright.
“It’s certainly bigger than the first reports I was getting in terms of the extent of it and the magnitude of what’s impacting our beaches,” Sunshine Coast Council Environment Manager Stephen Skull said.
Environmental Protection Agency, which has closed access to a number of beaches and camping grounds in the area, said the spill had already affected dozens of seabirds and turtles.
Disaster zone: Warana beach on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Photo: EPA. Image may be subject to copyright.
Meanwhile, the search is on for 31 containers of ammonium nitrate, used for making explosives and fertilizer, which were lost from the ship near Brisbane, Queensland’s regional capital.
“If the containers, which have 620 tons of ammonium nitrate, leak it could cause major algae blooms which would choke marine life in Moreton Bay,” say marine scientists.
Fire Earth 
