BP sending Toxic Waste to Landfills .....

Officials Worried About The Gulf Cleanup Materials Sent To Their Landfills
By Susie Madrak Tuesday Jun 15, 2010 7:00am


They have good reason to worry. Even though BP claims otherwise, we just don't know for sure and you shouldn't just dump it anywhere (although I suspect they will, anyway):

About 35,000 bags — or 250 tons — of oily trash have been carted away from this beach, said Lt. Patrick Hanley of the Coast Guard, who is stationed at Port Fourchon. And as of Monday, more than 175,000 gallons of liquid waste — a combination of oil and water — had been sent to landfills, as had 11,276 cubic yards of solid waste, said Petty Officer Gail Dale, also of the Coast Guard, who works with at the command center in Houma.

Michael Condon, BP’s environmental unit leader, said that tests have shown that the material is not hazardous, and can safely be stored in landfills around the region that accept oil industry debris. The checklist and procedures involved, Mr. Condon said, are part of a process “we do very well and have done for a long time.”

But some local officials, environmental lawyers and residents who live near landfill sites are not convinced.

“There’s no way that isn’t toxic,” said Gladstone Jones III, a New Orleans lawyer who has spent much of his career trying to get compensation for plaintiffs he says have been harmed by exposure to toxic waste.

In fact, waste from oil exploration and production falls into a regulatory no man’s land, neither exactly benign nor toxic on its face. The compounds in oil most dangerous to human health — like benzene, a carcinogen — are volatile and tend to dissipate when crude oil reaches the ocean surface, or soon thereafter. But some toxicologists say it is impossible to know whether the toxic chemicals are entirely gone.


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Oil giant BP is facing a huge new challenge in disposing of the millions of gallons of potentially toxic oil sludge its crews are collecting from the Gulf of Mexico, according to industry experts and veterans of past spills.

Crews so far have skimmed and sucked up 21.1 million gallons of oil mixed with water, according to the Deepwater Horizon Unified Command. Because the out-of-control well may continue spewing for months, that total almost certainly will surge.

BP's plan for handling the gooey mess, written in conjunction with the Coast Guard, the Environmental Protection Agency and Louisiana officials, calls for reclaiming or recycling as much as possible.

Some experts said that approach is the best option for the environment, but it has not worked in previous spills. It is not profitable to refine sludge that has mixed with water and seagoing debris because it can actually ruin refineries, they said.

"It has no longer got any economic value. It has to be disposed of as garbage," said Marc Jones, a former Navy officer who helped oversee numerous oil spill cleanups, including the 1989 Exxon Valdez in Alaska. "The stuff that got recovered from the Exxon Valdez was just a nightmare."

So far, BP has released little information about what it has done with the skimmed oil.

Mike Condon, BP's environmental division chief, said Wednesday that at least four barges filled with the waste had been shipped to disposal facilities in Texas and Alabama.

more . . .
www.usatoday.com...

one place receiving this stuff:

About 35,000 bags — or 250 tons — of oily trash have been carted away from this beach, said Lt. Patrick Hanley of the Coast Guard, who is stationed at Port Fourchon. And as of Monday, more than 175,000 gallons of liquid waste — a combination of oil and water — had been sent to landfills, as had 11,276 cubic yards of solid waste, said Petty Officer Gail Dale, also of the Coast Guard, who works with at the command center in Houma.

Michael Condon, BP’s environmental unit leader, said that tests have shown that the material is not hazardous, and can safely be stored in landfills around the region that accept oil industry debris. The checklist and procedures involved, Mr. Condon said, are part of a process “we do very well and have done for a long time.”

But some local officials, environmental lawyers and residents who live near landfill sites are not convinced.

“There’s no way that isn’t toxic,” said Gladstone Jones III, a New Orleans lawyer who has spent much of his career trying to get compensation for plaintiffs he says have been harmed by exposure to toxic waste.

In fact, waste from oil exploration and production falls into a regulatory no man’s land, neither exactly benign nor toxic on its face. The compounds in oil most dangerous to human health — like benzene, a carcinogen — are volatile and tend to dissipate when crude oil reaches the ocean surface, or soon thereafter. But some toxicologists say it is impossible to know whether the toxic chemicals are entirely gone.

Marlin Ladner, a supervisor in Harrison County, Miss., spoke angrily about the prospect of debris from the spill being deposited in the local Pecan Grove landfill in his district.

His worry, he said, is that toxic material could leach into local aquifers from which more than 300 homes draw water.

“BP oil is responsible for polluting our sand beaches and our estuaries,” Mr. Ladner said.

Now, he added, “They pick it up, put it on trucks, take it four or five miles north and dump it on us again.”

more . . .
www.nytimes.com...

Whatever happened to honest Toxicology?

Most despised scientific field lately by chemical and energy corporations.....

I just wounder were else they can put all the waste from such a large spill

they shouldnt be dumping it on US soil!
(aint dumping in OUR oceans enough?!)
cart that sludge back to their BLOODY "motherland",
their main office of operations,
or to the upper management / executives BACKYARDS!!!
let them get a taste of what its like and what we've gotta deal with!



[edit on 18-6-2010 by buckjeep]

as far as i'm concerned, when the oil was miles below the surface of the ocean floor and no one had to deal with it - that's where it belonged in the first place.

What i mean is a bit like what they do with your oil when yea change it in your car, i mean why cant they break it down an recycle it instead of some landfill, anyone out there know any alternative to land fill..

reply to post by DCDAVECLARKE


Found this video detailing the dumping. 150 Tons a day!
This makes me sick!

Originally posted by buckjeep
they shouldnt be dumping it on US soil!
(aint dumping in OUR oceans enough?!)
cart that sludge back to their BLOODY "motherland",
their main office of operations,
or to the upper management / executives BACKYARDS!!!
let them get a taste of what its like and what we've gotta deal with!



[edit on 18-6-2010 by buckjeep]

BP has home offices in the US. And a large portion of their shares are owned by Americans.

The brittish bashing is counterproductive, as is most Nationalism.

Originally posted by DCDAVECLARKE
What i mean is a bit like what they do with your oil when yea change it in your car, i mean why cant they break it down an recycle it instead of some landfill, anyone out there know any alternative to land fill..

I agree. This is what the 'clean-up' entails. This is what everyone is clamoring for, because they dont want to accept that our beaches and marshes are just screwed. So it gets scraped away and burried in a plastic bag. Oh, the rich, gooey irony. Thats how Americans deal with all their problems. Wrap it in plastic and bury it in a landfill!

I have read somewhere that BP can process the oil from the beach, but a google search gives me no reference. And considering some say the crude is basically useless once it hits the beach, not to mention full of sand and corexitt, what else could possibly be done?

Well I am surprised that the toxic waste is not being dumped off the Somali coast like normal..

Originally posted by colec156
Well I am surprised that the toxic waste is not being dumped off the Somali coast like normal..

Exactly. And no one in the states would give a rats arse anymore.

second line.

reply to post by DCDAVECLARKE


This is my area as, I was a residual municipal waste hauler for many years. For the local economy it is a plus. Landfills generate a lot of income for a lot of people. The fact that it is a Waste Management owned fill is good. They are a pretty responsible company. Many horrifying things go into landfills on a daily basis however, not in this capacity. If the waste stays buried and is not subject to rupture this is relatively safe containment. If however the unthinkable happens, we have a whole new disaster. The unthinkable does happen, just ask BP...

Originally posted by jjjtir
Whatever happened to honest Toxicology?

Most despised scientific field lately by chemical and energy corporations.....

It's a myth

Reguarding the James Fox video. I know where this landfill is. As well as a few of the others mentioned along the coast. You can't even dump paint there, or motor oil, no household cleaners.
All they are certified for is household garbage. If you bring stuff to the landfill they check it to make sure your not sneaking in anything.
The dump on the video is at the head waters of the Bon Secour River which flows into Mobile Bay.
I just saw this friday night, believe me tomorrow I will be on the phone to find out who approved this. I have gallons of oil in a container on my proptery because I have no where to take it. I don't like it but what can I do. If they would run a truck once in awhile and pick up stuff like that it would be great.
So to sum it up they are walking all over all of our laws, rights and our future.
Oh yeah, those trucks are not supposed to be running at night.

Reguarding the James Fox video. I know where this landfill is. As well as a few of the others mentioned along the coast. You can't even dump paint there, or motor oil, no household cleaners.
All they are certified for is household garbage. If you bring stuff to the landfill they check it to make sure your not sneaking in anything.
The dump on the video is at the head waters of the Bon Secour River which flows into Mobile Bay.
I just saw this friday night, believe me tomorrow I will be on the phone to find out who approved this. I have gallons of oil in a container on my proptery because I have no where to take it. I don't like it but what can I do. If they would run a truck once in awhile and pick up stuff like that it would be great.
So to sum it up they are walking all over all of our laws, rights and our future.
Oh yeah, those trucks are not supposed to be running at night.

sad n sick to see BP is doing this. sounds like they wanna dispose of it in a qucik and sweep it under the rug manner* that oil will eventually find its way back into the lcoal water system. i know about motor oil , and a little about crude and diesel.
earlier this year, north in my city, is the Laurel resivior. my grandfather back in the 30's helped make it* They found a highly toxic chemical form a local gas staion known to leak gas for many years now, an EXXON station i know, just near the merritt parkway. thier wa an old 1930's landfill found near our nature meusuem center, and this checmial was found in some household waterways. turns out, the old landfill had cans of painthinner, and other chemcial stuff dumnped thier, throughout the 30's n 40's and up to the 70's. yup, made its way itno local household water. many of the home thier use wells* the city has gotten them on city water now, but not like city water is any healthier too ya know.

A picture of BP waste in the landfill.

[edit on 11-7-2010 by JBA2848]