NASA says new radar will improve oil spill cleanups

October 29, 2012

PASADENA, California -- When oil is spreading over the sea from an accident such as 2010's BP Deepwater Horizon blowout, a key to quick cleanup is classifying the spill. Is it thick enough to threaten the environment now, or is it a thin sheen that means resources can be deployed somewhere else first?

Today, oil spills are classified visually by trained observers, but the effectiveness of that method is limited by the skill of those observers and their availability. If the experts aren't on-site, or the spill is too widespread, valuable time can be lost.

NASA says researchers in California have developed a method to use specialized 3-D imaging radar to do those classifications quickly. And because the radar can be mounted on a plane, it can be deployed quickly and stay in place over the spill longer.

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Fukushima Fish Still Radioactive

October 26, 2012

Fukushima's fish are still being exposed to radioactive cesium, but a scientist thinks they're safe to eat.

More than a year and a half after an earthquake and tsunami destroyed the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan, many fish in the area contain levels of radioactive cesium that are just as high as they were soon after the disaster.

The finding suggests that the region's coastal-dwelling fish are still being exposed to new sources of cesium, possibly from the seafloor or from contaminated groundwater that's flowing into the ocean. And even though most fish sampled in the new study had levels of cesium below safe limits for consumption, some fish contained surprisingly large amounts.

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BP caps, plugs equipment believed to be source of recent sheen in Gulf near site of 2010 spill

October 26, 2012

NEW ORLEANS –  BP PLC said Thursday it has capped and plugged an abandoned piece of equipment that is believed to be the source of a sheen spotted near the site of its massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
 
The London-based oil giant said it placed a 750-pound cap over an 86-ton steel container that the company had deployed in a failed effort to contain the spill. BP also inserted plugs on the top and sides of the container, which had been lowered over a leaking drill pipe in an effort to funnel oil to the surface.

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Emergency Services ‘Increasingly Charging’ for Spill Clean-Up

October 18, 2012

Budgetary belt-tightening is prompting an increasing number of fire services and other emergency responders to start levying clean-up charges on companies spilling hazardous materials, according to environmental claims management specialist Spill Center.
 
Many states and municipalities have statutes on the books that allow for the recovery of “necessary and reasonable” costs of spill response, according Spill Center. But, in the past, it has been common practice for emergency services to waive this bill and to provide clean-up, in most cases, at no cost to those responsible, Spill Center says.

Now, fire departments in places including New Jersey and Massachusetts have started to bill for this service, the company says.

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