This is CRIMINAL

The Health Dept has reopened the beaches for swimming in Pensacola.

www.pnj.com...

BTW, I think Buck Lee is an IDIOT!

I am so p*ssed right now I am shaking!!

How many ignorant parents are gong to think it is okay for their children to get into that water.

BTW, read the comments below the article, see what other locals have to say.

reply to post by Seraphina

There was no inspection from Health Department employees. No water testing.

Lee said he did tell the Health Department the beach is fine, based on a visual survey.

This is really getting ugly now. Our officials need to get their head out of their ass and do what they are paid to do. Its NOT safe out there to swim and id say maybe not even safe to walk barefoot.



[edit on 25-6-2010 by Digital_Reality]

There was no inspection from Health Department employees. No water testing.


This is insane - I hope people read the above line and know that this is criminal and not to go to the beach. I have a cousin in Pensacola, I will chat with her later today and get her take on the situation.

There was no inspection from Health Department employees. No water testing.

The fools at the health department did NOT even bother to test the water.
I'm speechless...

That is ridiculous! what good is the health department if they wont even inspect it themselves?!?

Would I want to swim in it? No. But everybody who puts a toe in the water is not going to drop dead.

I don't know what you are thinking. This is not "good for us", but it's not instantly fatal, either. Don't be so upset.

Sometimes while vacationing in Destin I would find my swimsuits would have oil spots on them when I got out of the water. I remember my father calling it "tar", and saying it came from ships which were being cleaned. Who knows.

It annoyed my mother, because she was having to replace our swimsuits so much, but we just stayed in the water anyway. We were fine.

Commerce is more important to them than anything else. It is the political motivation behind everything.

The officiates who make such declarations are, for the most part, supported by the very same people who stand to lose money from having the beaches closed. It's like Peter Benchley's "Jaws".

Since it is almost a foregone conclusion that the local, state, and federal government will be (as usual) completely indemnified for any liability in the matter, they don't see a reason to protect people in general from the consequences.

All of it will be relegated to civil litigation against BP which will either be capped as 'trivial' or 'frivolous' the potential revenue loss will thus be limited.

That's no help to the people who will become ill, or will face long-term consequences, but there you have it. Remember 9-11.

reply to post by ladyinwaiting


This is a far cry from an occasional tar ball washing to shore.

These parents are reacting in the same Ho-Hum fashion as some of my friends and family who I have been updating and warning about the chemical toxins in the spill.

I guess when one of these poor children burns to a crisp and fries because of the chemicals in the water...then they will learn. Sad to see parents be so incredibly stupid!

reply to post by ladyinwaiting


What you are referring to as "tar" on your beach suit does not compare to the magnitude of this. You may not drop dead instantly but it can kill you slowly.

Someone in the 'health department' needs a seriously urgent employment review, before dozens of people get ill or start dropping down dead from poisoning.

What a numpty.

reply to post by Digital_Reality


Maybe so, but I don't think the oil alone would be fatal. Maybe some of the additives, although I doubt they made it that far.

Not saying it's a good thing at all, just saying as long as the water is mostly clear I don't think it will be that damaging.

There may be a few days left before it's not "mostly clear"......after that, I imagine they will be closing the beaches.

They DO close the beaches there for sharks, and for strong tides. It would hurt their businesses also to having people hurt and killed on their beaches. Dead/Sick people =Bad for business.

reply to post by ladyinwaiting



Oil is a know carcinogen, and yes more than just tar balls are washing up. Slicks of crude oil are washing up as well.

I can't remember having our beaches ever close for sharks or high tides, we have a flag system....it's pretty much make your own judgment call on those situations, each man to themselves.

reply to post by ladyinwaiting



Care to come down and build sandcastles with your children on our beach after seeing the pictures that have been going around? There is no way they should be saying its safe to swim right now. Its only cosmetically cleaned up. Barely even that.

There are just too many things like this going on for me to deny that at this point they are just pushing us. They are just F*king with us.

It's almost as if they want us to revolt. Everyone is angry. Everyone. I think SHTF (again) soon.

reply to post by Maxmars


I think the 'Jaws' comparisson is the best I have heard so far. The movie is actually quite political and the plot-line closely resembles what is going on with this beach right now.

I only hope that they do not have similar (metaphorically speaking) endings.

Hm. Not sure I will continue to participate in providing statements for you guys to take your little cheap shots.

I'm not thrilled with this and I've spent many summers on those beaches. I love those beaches. I own property in Destin.

But I'm not going to panic over what is there now, nor pass judgment on those who are in the water. Tomorrow might be different. People have to make their own judgments. When the judgments become foolhardy, they will close the beaches.

Benzene and H2S are large components of the gasses found in deadly concentration at the surface level just over the water.
Benzene has NO safe level...zip, zero,zilch. It is neurotoxic and hepatotoxic at any level and can only be detected by sampling in low concentrations.
H2S is a toxic gas which kills by binding to hemoglobin thus starving the body for oxygen.
Both are deadly at levels that take DETECTION EQUIPMENT!!!
The water may be fine to look at but unless there is constant and continuous air quality monitoring I surely would stay away from sea level. both toxins like to creep along the low lying areas and form pockets.
I have personally worked in California retrieving cattle from near well heads that outgassed H2S that had died,in the seventies and even then there was a lot of detection equipment( the H2S alarm is how we knew where to go). main thing is those cows never knew what hit them.
Don't be a cow
N.

Benzene releases it's toxins when it's being burned.

Okay, nevermind.

Run out into the streets in a panic, tearing your hair out. Have everyone on the beach arrested for child endangerment. See how that works out for ya.

I might join you later, but now now.

Peace out.