Dirty blizzard buried Deepwater Horizon oil

January 28, 2013

One-third of oil from 2010 spill may be mixed with sea-floor sediments.

Missing oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill may have ended up at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.

The Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010 spewed more than 600 million litres of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. While microbes processed the vast majority within months, US government assessments failed to account for the fate of about one-quarter of the spilled oil.

Read more:

Residents Near Chinese E-Waste Site Face Greater Cancer Risk

January 24, 2013

Residents living near an e-waste recycling site in China face elevated risks of lung cancer, according to a recent study co-authored by Oregon State University researchers.

Electronic trash, such as cell phones, computers and TVs, is often collected in dumps in developing countries and crudely incinerated to recover precious metals, including silver, gold, palladium and copper. The process is often primitive, releasing fumes with a range of toxic substances, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, a group of more than 100 chemicals.
 
PAHs, many of which are recognized as carcinogenic and linked to lung cancer when inhaled, were the focus of the study. Over the course of a year, researchers collected air samples from two rooftops in two areas in China.

Read more:

USCG is using what they learned from BP Oil Spill

January 25, 2013

The Coast Guard is using what they learned from the BP oil spill to get ready for any future disasters.

Bill Pearson/Reporting said, "It was very interesting to see first hand. The Coast Guard Cutter "Cypress" is stationed here at Naval Air Station Pensacola and today it's fifty plus member crew spent the day learning the latest emergency and hazmat clean-up procedures.

Those of us who were here during the BP oil spill remember how important "boom" was in protecting our shorelines.
  
Well it's not a simple process of just tossing the boom out into the water.

Read more:

No oil, chemical spill from stuck US Navy ship

January 24, 2013

APPROXIMATELY 1,000 square meters of the Tubbatah Reefs Natural Park in Sulu Sea was damaged after a United States Navy ship ran aground on the reef on January 18, while plans for its removal are still being studied, said Transportation and Communication Undersecretary Eduardo Oban Wednesday noon.
 
In a press conference, Oban said the Philippine Coast Guard and the Philippine Navy made an underwater survey as to the extent of the damage brought by the grounded US Navy minesweeper USS Guardian.
 
He said that based on the survey there was evident damage on the coral reef. He, however, said that no chemical and oil spill was reported.

Read more: