Thursday, August 5, 2010

DEAD ZONES IN THE GULF AND GALVESTON BAY, NORTH AND SOUTH BACLIFF, SAN LEON, SHORELINE




DEAD ZONES IN THE GULF AND GALVESTON BAY, NORTH AND SOUTH BACLIFF, SAN LEON, SHORELINE 77518


Low-oxygen area now deeper into Texas waters Largest-ever Gulf dead zone spans from Galveston to Mississippi River


By ERIC BERGER HOUSTON CHRONICLE Aug. 3, 2010, 10:37PM

The dead zone off the Texas coast is larger this year than scientists have ever measured, stretching offshore from the Mississippi River to Galveston Island.

An area of low-oxygen water that threatens marine life, the dead zone is at its largest during the summer months.

Scientists have surveyed the Gulf dead zone for a quarter-century, and this year's 7,722-square-mile area of hypoxic water is among the five largest.

"It's been getting larger and larger over the last five to seven years," said Nancy Rabelais, a Louisiana scientist who leads efforts to annually map the dead zone. "As it's been getting larger, it's expanded farther into Texas waters.

"This is the largest such area off the upper Texas coast that we have found since we began this work in 1985."

Discharge from the Mississippi River, which carries nitrogen and phosphorous nutrients from Midwestern states, largely creates the dead zone.

These nutrients, partly from commercial fertilizers, spur the growth of algaeblooms which, after dying, sink to the bottom. There the bacteria which feast upon the algae also bloom, depleting oxygen in the water.

Fish and shellfish often can swim away from these areas but immobile organisms, such as clams, simply die without access to oxygen.

Scientists are beginning to try and quantify the economic effect of dead zones, primarily due to potential disruption of fisheries.

"There are a whole host of biological consequences for fish in hypoxic areas, and when you add up all those different things you might expect there will be less fish to catch," said Martin Smith, an environmental economist at Duke University.

In recent years Smith has studied the effects of hypoxia on North Carolina fisheries at the mouth of the Neuse River, and he said low-oxygen water may have reduced catches by 10 to 15 percent.

Long-term worries Smith is part of a team that recently received a four-year, $700,000 grant to perform the first extensive study of the economic consequences of the Gulf dead zone.

In the short term it may benefit some fisheries, he said, because some species such as shrimp may be more tightly clustered at the edge of hypoxic areas, making them easier to catch.

Nevertheless there are long-term concerns about areas of low-oxygen water because they may reduce the reproduction of fish, or slow their growth rates.

"One would expect that if there's less dissolved oxygen, as the severity of the problem worsens, the consequences are going to get worse, too," he said. "But we're not going to answer that question scientifically until we do the study."

Common in summer Texas has seen dead zones before. Excessive rainfall in 2007 caused the Brazos River to discharge more than twice as much water into the Gulf of Mexico than previously measured since at least 1967.

This large amount of fresh water carrying nitrates led to the creation of a temporary 1,750-square-mile area of oxygen-depleted water, stretching from Freeport to Matagorda Bay.

And the Gulf's summer dead zone — such areas occur most commonly in the summer when winds are lightest - has stretched along the upper Texas coast before.

Now it appears that, absent tropical weather in the summer to break up dead zones by mixing the water, dead zones will become permanent summertime fixtures.

"There's still room for it to grow," Rabelais said. "It just has to do with the pressure of more people and nutrients. It means lower water quality, and larger algae blooms. It's certainly not a good thing."

eric.berger@chron.com



Subject: deadzone reply tss

WE have a dead zone right here in Bacliff Texas, on Galveston Bay, caused by ZERO oxygen level towards the bottom, flowing out of the Reliant spillway park, due to treated sewer being dumped into the discharge canal. you can see the pipe from google search. i was told by TPWD, from that pipe down to the mouth of the bay, via the discharge pipe, there is a blue green algae that has created the ZERO oxygen levels towards the bottom. the ZERO oxygen levels once the water discharges into the bay, runs both North and South up and down Bacliff, and San Leon shore line. Both FLOUNDER AND STINGRAYS have been seen floating belly up in large numbers. this has been going on for about 4 or 5 years, every year about this same time we saw it this year, and is generally seen around no tide movement days. BUT, we have had a significant reduction in the numbers of flounders in our area over this same time frame. i guess that's why we smell fece's in Galveston bay from time to time also. isn't progress wonderful. ...not///

check out the next addition of the SEABREEZE newspaper.

stupid is, as stupid does, and sometimes, you just can't fix stupid...

please see article ;

August 6, 2010

GOT FLOUNDER? Not in San Leon...



GOT FLOUNDER? Not in San Leon...

Got Flounder? Not in San Leon.

During the month of July, flounder and stingray have been floating up dead all along the San Leon/Bacliff shoreline on the north side. Our freelance reporter, Terry Singeltary, ob- served dead flounder floating by in groups of twos and three's with an occasional five or six. These are big, mature flounder, from two to seven pounds. Along with these flounder, dead stingrays have been seen floating by. Mr. Bobby Redfield, who lives on Bayshore Drive, also observed the same thing and gave me a call. This went on for several days. We received eight more calls where someone people left messages regarding dead flounder floating around the spillway, but did not leave their names and numbers. Our reporter contacted Lance Robinson, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Biologist located at the Dickinson office and expressed his concern about the destruction of these fish. Mr. Robinson said that they were aware of this problem and knew the cause. It turns out that a water treatment plant in the Bacliff area has a discharge pipeline that dumps into the HL&P outlet canal and goes out by way of the spillway and follows the tide. Since there is no longer any pressured flow discharging from HL&P, the chemicals from this treated water build up, removing all of the oxygen from the bottom of the water along the shoreline. The fish that live on the bottom of the bay, like flounder and stingray, cannot survive. This has been going on for years and has not been addressed. With the three sewer plants dumping into Dickinson Bayou and the de- pletion of flounder it makes you wonder why anyone in their right mind would want to put another sewer plant dumping into our precious, fragile resources. Mr. Robinson said they were having a meeting on this very subject. The meeting was to take place one week ago from this newspaper printing. Our reporter has put a call in to Mr. Robinson three days prior to this publication and at this time has not been called back. Maybe the Texas Parks and Wildlife has to contact the CCA and ask them how they should handle it. As we know more, you will know more. Do you fisherman ever wonder why there may be a shortage of flounder? With all of the sewer plants up and down the Texas coast dumping water treatment chemicals into our bays, creeks, rivers, bayous, estuaries, it's no wonder that the flounder are disappearing. What are you going to do about it Texas Parks & Wildlife? Are you going to keep cutting back the limits with the fisherman until you stop fishing for flounder forever, or are you actually going to address the problem? It's time for you Texas fishermen to wake up and let your voices be heard.






http://seabreezenews.com/issue/Page_16.pdf





TSS

Monday, July 5, 2010

B.P. Gulf Oil Spill Tar Balls Hit Texas Beaches Galveston and Bolivar


GALVESTON, Texas, July 5, 2010

Gulf Oil Spill Tar Balls Hit Texas Beaches

State Says Responders Have Recovered About 35 Gallons of Waste Material Tainted by Oil on Beaches

(AP) A top Texas official said Monday that tar balls from the Gulf oil spill have been found on state beaches, marking the first known evidence that gushing crude from the Deepwater Horizon well has now reached all the Gulf states.

Special Section: Disaster in the Gulf

http://www.cbsnews.com/2718-201_162-558.html




Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson said two crews were removing tar balls found on the Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston Island on Sunday.

"We've said since day one that if and when we have an impact from Deepwater Horizon, it would be in the form of tarballs," Patterson said in a news release. "This shows that our modeling is accurate. Any Texas shores impacted by the Deepwater spill will be cleaned up quickly and BP will be picking up the tab."

The state said responders have recovered about 35 gallons of waste material tainted by the oil from the two sites.

Signs of landfall by oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill had previously only been reported in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.

The distance between the western-most reach of the spill in Texas and the eastern-most reports of oil in Florida is about 550 miles.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/07/05/national/main6649045.shtml





oh hell,

I see right out of the starting gates they are wanting to blame the tankers on bringing this B.P. oil globs to our Texas beaches. so, back to my question (part of this was omitted in the Galveston Daily News comment submission that was published due to comment length limit), BUT WHAT ABOUT Galveston Bay and all it's estuaries ?


tarball...(flounder)



===================================

From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
T o:
Cc: letters@galvnews.com

Sent: Saturday, May 22, 2010 11:24 AM
Subject: do we need an Ike dike, or a BP dike ?

WHAT (if any), is the contingency plan we have to keep that BP oil from getting into Galveston Bay, and all it's estuary's, if it heads our way, and threatens our coast ?

PLEASE NOTE ; the booms do not seem to be working. I have seen them broke up and beached, with oil soaked birds trying to stay afloat on them. we know the entrance between the jetties can be a rough one, sometimes on a calm day, as with San Luis Pass.

SO what is the contingency plan to protect the cuts coming into Galveston bay, and keep the BP oil, or any oil, from entering ?

OUR BEACHES would be very vulnerable too, so another question would be, what is the contingency plan to keep the BP oil off our beaches from High Islands, to Corpus, and beyond, IF the oil was to come our way? the surf would break up any booms, so what plan is it you have for the beaches as well ?

===================================


Thursday, June 3, 2010






Galveston Daily News

Letters to the Editor

May 28, 2010

How Would We Deal With An Oil Spill Here?

Do we need an Ike dike, or a BP dike?

I watch in misery as I see what is happening to our kind neighbors to the east of us, and think to myself, there, but for the grace of God, go we.

All that would have to happen is a change in wind pattern or weather pattern and BP’s God-awful mess could be at our doorsteps in a minute.

What, if any, is the contingency plan to keep that BP oil from getting into Galveston Bay and all its estuaries, if it heads our way? Will the ship channel and cuts be closed to seal off the bay?

Our beaches would be vulnerable, too. What is the contingency plan to keep the BP oil off our beaches from High Island to Corpus Christi and beyond, if the oil were to come our way?

If an oil dispersant is used, how would we keep that from coming into Galveston Bay, and what harm is it to humans and wildlife, including fish?

These are just a few of many questions I would like answered before the BP oil slick, or any oil slick, is seen off our coast, not after it comes ashore.

Terry Singeltary Sr. Bacliff


http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=b8f097d3ec4f9965





ORIGINAL SUBMISSION ;


----- Original Message -----

From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
To:
Cc: letters@galvnews.com
Sent: Saturday, May 22, 2010 11:24 AM
Subject: do we need an Ike dike, or a BP dike ?

Greetings Mr. Taylor and The Galveston Daily News et al !

I have a few questions please, that I think someone needs to answer for the public.

I watch in misery and pain as I see what is happening to our Kind Neighbors to the East of us, and on around the Gulf Coast to Florida, and think to myself, there for the Grace of God, are us. all that would have to happen is a change in wind pattern, and or weather pattern, or maybe even an early tropical storm coming in from the Florida keys from east to west across the gulf. any of these scenario's would put that God awful mess at our door steps in a minute.

WHAT (if any), is the contingency plan we have to keep that BP oil from getting into Galveston Bay, and all it's estuary's, if it heads our way, and threatens our coast ?

PLEASE NOTE ; the booms do not seem to be working. I have seen them broke up and beached, with oil soaked birds trying to stay afloat on them. we know the entrance between the jetties can be a rough one, sometimes on a calm day, as with San Luis Pass.

SO what is the contingency plan to protect the cuts coming into Galveston bay, and keep the BP oil, or any oil, from entering ?

OUR BEACHES would be very vulnerable too, so another question would be, what is the contingency plan to keep the BP oil off our beaches from High Islands, to Corpus, and beyond, IF the oil was to come our way? the surf would break up any booms, so what plan is it you have for the beaches as well ?

IF OIL DISPERSANTS are used, how would we keep that from coming into Galveston Bay, and what harm would it be to our wildlife and fishing in general ?

THESE are just a few of many questions myself, and I am sure others would like to have answered, BEFORE the BP oil slick, or any oil slick, is seen off our coast. NOT after it is seen.

I am sure, somewhere there is a contingency plan. I am sure it is published somewhere, I would hope so anyway, and we should all have a copy of it for scrutiny, in case it is not sufficient to protect our Galveston Bay, and our Beaches. ...

sincerely concerned,

Terry S. Singeltary Sr. P.O. Box 42 Bacliff, Texas USA 77518


Sunday, May 30, 2010


DO WE NEED AN IKE DIKE, OR A B.P. DIKE, OR BOTH






Wednesday, June 2, 2010


OFFICIALS CLAIM PLAN IS IN PLACE IF OIL HITS TEXAS BEACHES Officials:





Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Will Bacterial Plague Follow Crude Oil Spill Along Gulf Coast?


http://galvestonbay.blogspot.com/2010/06/will-bacterial-plague-follow-crude-oil.html





Governor Perry comments ;


"I want to assure Texans we are taking aggressive actions." ...end


let's hope so. i have my doubts though. ...tarball (flounder)



Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
P.O. 42
Bacliff, Texas USA 77518

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Will Bacterial Plague Follow Crude Oil Spill Along Gulf Coast?



Will Bacterial Plague Follow Crude Oil Spill Along Gulf Coast?


By PAUL VOOSEN of Greenwire

Published: June 17, 2010


Some bacteria in the Gulf of Mexico love eating oil as much as they like infecting humans.

A close relative of the bacteria infamous for seafood contaminations that often lead to fatal disease, the microbe Vibrio parahaemolyticus, is common in warm coastal waters like the Gulf. The long comma-shaped bacteria, slurped down with raw oysters, brings twisting cramps and nausea to 4,500 American shellfish aficionados each year.

But unlike some of its finicky peers, V. parahaemolyticus has a deep thirst for crude oil. "You can feed it exclusively oil," and it will thrive, said Jay Grimes, marine microbiologist at the University of Southern Mississippi.

As many have noticed, oil is not in short supply on the Gulf Coast.

Scientists have long known that the ultimate end of the crude oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico from the damaged BP PLC well will rest in the hands of marine bacteria, single-cell organisms that have been purging the seas of oil from natural seeps for millenia, having only recently added human folly to their cleanup resume. Without these bacteria, whose numbers surge in response to hydrocarbons, enough oil would leak each year to coat the world's oceans in a fine film, molecules deep.

Beneath this awareness, however, sit vast reserves of uncertainty. Microbiologists are unsure which bacteria, feeding off the oil, are already growing exponentially in the Gulf. They are curious how long the bacterial growth will last once the oil's hard remnants drift down into ocean sediment. And no one seems certain how the surge in microbial life will alter the intricate, disentangling web of the Gulf's already weakened ecology.

One of the more pressing questions involves Vibrios, which, until the oil spill, were one of the primary threats to the region's vital shellfish business. While parahaemolyticus rarely causes serious disease, another Vibrio species, vulnificus, kills dozens of Americans each year, largely through seafood contamination. The disease, only recently discovered, has caused fierce debate between health officials and local Gulf politicians over raw oysters, the primary carriers of the disease.

Since Vibrio populations swell in the summer -- they love the heat -- this year there is a likely possibility, scientists say, that Vibrio growth could be further spurred, directly or indirectly, in response to the oil and the organic flotsam it has left behind.

"The question is: Will there be an inadvertent enhancement of the growth of these potential human pathogens?" said Rita Colwell, former director of the National Science Foundation and an expert in marine microbial life. "It's a question, and the answer is uncertain."

So far, hard evidence is scant. Grimes recently examined an oiled water sample taken by the research ship Pelican. The oil, likely exposed to dispersant, was finely divided. Using gene-staining technology, Grimes discovered several microbes attached to the droplet. Now glowing blue, they had been gorging. At least one was a Vibrio.

"There's no question bacteria, in general, increase following spills, and this includes Vibrios," said Jim Oliver, a Vibrio specialist at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. Whether the pathogenic Vibrios "significantly increase is unsure, I would say, but they are coastal bacteria ... so [they] could well increase either as a direct result of oil degradation or as a side effect of the added nutrient levels."

The ingredients are there for heightened concern, Oliver added. The carcasses of bacteria feeding off the oil will increase overall nutrient levels as sweltering summer temperatures hit their peak. While there are natural controls, like bacterial viruses and protozoa, that can check Vibrio growth, those can be overwhelmed, studies have shown. And because of the cleanup, more people could be coming into direct contact with the bacteria.

"I think that combination could lead to very serious public health concerns," Oliver said.

FDA aware of threat

Already, the spill is stressing and killing marine life, covering oyster cages in oily films, Oliver's Gulf colleagues tell him. The most common vector for seafood contamination, the oysters that survive the crude could see their immune systems weakened, potentially leaving them easy prey for bacteria. And what if their offspring are weakened?

There are few answers, said Doug Bartlett, a microbiologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Mostly questions. "If the oil is killing all these marine animals and if the marine animals are highly compromised, would they be more likely to succumb to infectious disease?" he said.

The Food and Drug Administration is aware of the Vibrio threat but believes the bacteria's numbers will decline in parallel with the oil, said Meghan Scott, an FDA spokeswoman. Currently, most oyster reefs within the spill's reach are closed as part of the federal response, which has shuttered about a third of federal waters in the Gulf.

"Closure of oyster harvesting areas is based upon the presence of oil, and reopening cannot occur until the presence of oil is gone and shellfish have been tested by sensory and chemical analysis," Scott said. "Concurrent with acceptable test results for oil in oysters, Vibrio levels will have returned to background."

When harvesting resumes, Vibrio controls will be enforced by state shellfish control authorities. Those requirements have been the source of controversy in recent years, as last year FDA sought to reduce Vibrio-related deaths by tightening controls on raw oyster processing. Gulf fishermen and politicians fended off those standards, at least temporarily, citing economic concerns.

Without a doubt, higher Vibrio numbers would pale in comparison to the oil, which should remain the primary concern of emergency responders, given its potential to accumulate in wildlife and disrupt fish larvae. The synthetic dispersants used to break down the crude, making it available for microbes, are a close second. But there should be awareness that even as the oil recedes -- which, at times, seems an ever remote possibility -- its impact on the Gulf will linger, invisibly.

"I honestly don't know what is going to happen with regard to the oil spill," Scripps' Bartlett said. "It's very likely in the heavily impacted areas to have a strong influence on the composition of microbial communities. But gosh, I just don't have a good sense of where that all is going to go."

'Insufficient investment' in research

Marine microbiology has long been a meagerly funded field. Even when oil spills have been on politicians' agendas, most money has gone toward technological fixes like double-hulled tankers. As a result, microbiologists have few specific answers to offer on how the Gulf's bacterial life will change. Some lessons have been learned from spills in Japan, Alaska and France, but over the past 20 years, when biological tools have rapidly advanced, money has slipped out of reach.

"We are now reaping the sad result of insufficient investment in the kind of research that should have been happening all along," said Colwell, who was tapped this week to lead an independent panel advising where BP's promised $500 million in research funds should be invested.

Given the uncertainty, microbiologists are scrambling to reach the Gulf and sample waters near the former site of the Deepwater Horizon. Researchers from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Santa Barbara, backed in part by emergency federal grants, have set out on research ships like Cape Hatteras, Brooks McCall and Ocean Veritas to sample the ocean's smallest residents.

Few initial results are available, and much microbial activity has been inferred from a drop in oxygen levels in waters surrounding the spill. This plunge, however, even in the undersea plumes of oil-water mixture, has not been deep enough to limit the oxygen needed by microbes, according to Ken Lee, director of Canada's Centre for Offshore Oil, Gas and Energy Research. Lee has had researchers monitoring the spill for weeks.

"We've been monitoring oxygen profiles in the water column continuously," Lee said. Early tests likely used inaccurate equipment, he added, as "it doesn't look like there's a significant or any significant change in oxygen profiles at this time."

The undersea plumes are less dense than previous analogies may have suggested, Lee added. "It's certainly not salad dressing under water at depth," he said. "We've collected many samples for [analysis] and it appears that the concentrations are quite low."

There is evidence that the dispersants, despite whatever toxicity they may cause in the deep sea, are breaking down the oil into finer droplets than even the most efficient microbes, Lee added. Since most bacteria cannot live in oil and can only "stick their noses into it," as Oliver put it, increasing the surface area is critical to degradation. It is a tough call to use them in such volumes -- more than 1.3 million gallons so far -- but it may have been the right one, USM's Grimes added.

"As a microbiologist, I think the dispersants were the right way to go," Grimes said.

Colwell is not so certain, though, citing evidence that the dispersants could block vital nutrients from reaching oil-degrading bacteria. Much of the first $25 million pledged to Gulf-area research institutes from BP will investigate the effect of dispersants.

In these investigations, one of the more impressive bacteria that scientists expect to find in large numbers near the spill are Alcanivorax borkumensis, a microbe described only a decade ago by German scientists, or similar species. Alcanivorax are selective microbes, so focused on hydrocarbons that they can create their own surfactants, the detergent-like chemicals used by dispersants, to break apart oil.

Typically, bacteria that consume oil grow from less than 1 percent of the marine population to 10 percent or more, as seen in the Exxon Valdez spill. It is expected that microbe species similar to Alcanivorax constitute a large part of this primary growth, said Kenneth Timmis, a microbiologist at Germany's Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research who helped discover A. borkumensis.

"The unfortunate thing is Alcanivorax can only handle a small part of the problem," Timmis said. The bacteria target saturated hydrocarbons, simple chemical chains that constitute the major volume of the Gulf oil but are also the most likely to evaporate. It is small, he said, "but it's an important part of it."

Indeed, the word "oil" can mask the sheer complexity of crude, Colwell said. Recent studies have found more than 17,000 different chemical components in crude, spawning a term that mirrors the complexity of biology: petroleomics. Some bacteria, like the Alcanivorax, will degrade the simple components, while others, like some Vibrios, hanker for aromatic hydrocarbons like benzene, which are more stable and toxic.

"It's what we call a consortium activity," Colwell said, chains of bacteria that tag-team to devour the oil. "It's a complex system and we, in the 21st century, need to be thinking of systems. ... We have to understand sequential events. It requires a new way of thinking."

Nature's limits

While bacteria -- be they Alcanivorax, Vibrio or some other flagella-tailed bug -- will degrade much of the oil in the Gulf, they will encounter limits in their efforts. Even with enough dissolved oxygen in the water, it is likely that the nutrients needed by the microbes will be in scarce supply, if they are not already, scientists said.

"My guess is that biodegradation is limited by nutrients including nitrogen, phosphorus and iron," said Jim Spain, a microbial engineer at Georgia Institute of Technology. "There might be a time when addition of such nutrients could be helpful, but the caveat is that stimulation of photosynthesis -- algal blooms -- should be avoided."

Fertilization of the ocean should be explored, Colwell agreed. But, she added it should only be considered in a serious, science-based approach that knows exactly what is being added into contaminated waters with volumes calculated based on oil and microbial concentrations.

Soon enough, however, the Gulf will receive a dose of nutrients that it can do little to control. Each summer, runoff from the fertilizer-saturated farms of the Midwest sluices down and out the Mississippi River, typically causing a massive bloom in algae growth and, in turn, a "dead zone" without oxygen. How this runoff will interact with Gulf microbes is anyone's guess.

It could stimulate the hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria, Bartlett said. But if algae instead bloom, the local Vibrio population could also escape its normal limits. Bartlett saw such results during one bloom off the California coast, where the protozoa were no longer able to stop the growth of Vibrio, which can have an affinity for algae.

"The lesson from that is that under high nutrient conditions, it may be that the Vibrio numbers would go up," Bartlett said. "Though one might need to distinguish one algae from another. So we have more questions than answers."

In the end, there is just too much oil for bacteria to break down before large recalcitrant chunks of the crude -- resins and asphaltenes -- sink to the seafloor, coating marine life. The chemicals will then burrow into sediment and, while not very toxic, in such a oxygen-free environment, the oil will take many years to degrade, Helmholtz's Timmis said.

While efforts to limit the oil's spread are understandable, given the wildlife and ecosystem concerns, the high concentrations will make it much more difficult for bacteria to mitigate the oil, he said. The short-term fix complicates the long-term solution.

"It needs to be contained on one hand, and dispersed at the same moment," Timmis said.

For the oil that has not reached the shore, it will be "marine bacteria that will ultimately save the day," UNC's Oliver said. They will degrade the oil to water and carbon dioxide, he said, given time and the assistance of wind and waves.

But those days of clear seas remain on a distant horizon.

"This oil," Colwell said, "will be around for a long time."

Copyright 2010 E&E Publishing. All Rights Reserved.

http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/06/17/17greenwire-will-bacterial-plague-follow-crude-oil-spill-a-81599.html?pagewanted=all



see more on the Vibrio parahaemolyticus ;


What type of illness is caused by V. parahaemolyticus?

When ingested, V. parahaemolyticus causes watery diarrhea often with abdominal cramping, nausea, vomiting, fever and chills. Usually these symptoms occur within 24 hours of ingestion. Illness is usually self-limited and lasts 3 days. Severe disease is rare and occurs more commonly in persons with weakened immune systems. V. parahaemolyticus can also cause an infection of the skin when an open wound is exposed to warm seawater.

How does infection with V. parahaemolyticus occur?

Most people become infected by eating raw or undercooked shellfish, particularly oysters. Less commonly, this organism can cause an infection in the skin when an open wound is exposed to warm seawater.

snip... see full text ;

http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfbmd/diseases/vibriop/



The increasing trend of human incidences of gastroenteritis due to seafood contaminated with V. parahaemolyticus has gained significant national and worldwide attention. The Food Borne Diseases Active Surveillance Network reports that Vibrio infection rate has been the highest, 47%, from 1996 to 2004, compared to other bacterial infections, such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria, and E. coli (5). The significance of V. parahaemolyticus infection in humans has continued to rise since 2000 in the U.S. In 2006, the Council of State and Terrestrial Epidemiologists suggested all Vibrio illnesses, including non-cholera Vibrio illness, should be classified as nationally notifiable diseases (5).

A model for risk characterization based on the historical/surveillance data was developed by CDC's program Cholera and Other Vibrio Illness Surveillance System (COVISS). In the study conducted from 1998 to 2002, 62% of V. parahaemolyticus illnesses was due to contaminated oyster consumption and wound associated (58).

The Pacific Coast States were the site of the highest number of reported V. parahaemolyticus by the state of residence from a report from the CDC (58); however, there was no direct relation to the oyster harvesting sites. As a result, residents of the Pacific Coast states, such as Washington and Oregon, consumed oysters harvested from various sites in nation as well as other states. This study also found that most oyster-linked V. parahaemolyticus illnesses were associated with harvesting areas in the following order: Gulf Coast oysters, Pacific Northwest oysters, Atlantic oysters, and other states (58). Elston from Aqua Technics in Sequim argues that the consequence of warming of the ocean water due to El Niño effect might be correlated with the sudden growth of bacteria near shore and possible increase of Vibrio contamination should be highly considered (18). Food safety concerns are raised since various microorganisms would be contained while the digestive organ of the shellfish filters the seawater, and entire raw or lightly cooked animals are often consumed by people (16).

The general symptoms due to consumed raw or inadequately cooked seafood infected with V. parahaemolyticus are watery diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, fever and chills lasting one to three days with onset often within twenty four hours (5, 65). According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, although there is no treatment necessary in most cases of V. parahaemolyticus infections, it is recommended to patients for drinking lots of liquids in order to restore the lost fluids from diarrhea symptoms. In harsh cases, antibiotics that are susceptible to the microorganisms are used, and they are tetracylcline or ciprofloxacin (6).

Raw or improperly cooked seafood products during warmer seasons lead to higher rates of the world outbreaks of V. parahaemolyticus. According to Kaysner, the bacterial contamination could be possibly eliminated by proper heating and cooking practice in dealing with seafood (33). Research conducted in 1970 by Vanderzant and colleagues focused on an isolation of V. parahaemolyticus from the shrimps harvested from the Gulf Coast and found that after heat treatment of a shrimp homogenate containing V. parahaemolyticus for a minute at 100 oC , no survival of bacteria was found after an hour (60). In live crabs, the bacteria were destroyed after exposure to steam for 15 minutes between 72 oC to 75 oC (26).

see full text ;

http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/jspui/bitstream/1957/11165/1/JeehyeLee.pdf



Epidemiology and Infection Cambridge University Press Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010 doi:10.1017/S0950268810001354

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Original Papers

Vibrio illness in Florida, 1998–2007

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K. E. WEISa1a2 c1, R. M. HAMMONDa2, R. HUTCHINSONa2 and C. G. M. BLACKMOREa2

a1 Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists Applied Epidemiology Fellowship, Atlanta, GA, USA a2 Bureau of Environmental Public Health Medicine, Division of Environmental Health, Florida Department of Health, Tallahassee, FL, USA

SUMMARY This study characterized the current epidemiology of vibrio infections in Florida and examined cases reported from 1998 to 2007. Logistic regression was used to determine risk of death. There were 834 vibrio infections in 825 individuals (average annual incidence rate 4·8/1 000 000). Common Vibrio species reported were Vibrio vulnificus (33%), V. parahaemolyticus (29%), and V. alginolyticus (16%). Most exposures were attributed to wounds (42%), and the most common clinical syndromes were wound infections (45%) and gastroenteritis (42%). Almost half of individuals reported an underlying health condition. Risk of death was associated with any underlying condition and increased with the number of conditions (P<0·0001).



http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=7806086



Deadly flesh-eating bacteria along coast

August 05, 2009 5:50 PM Jessica Holloway BEAUMONT- The state health department is warning residents about a flesh-eating bacteria in coastal regions that have killed two people so far this year.

The bacteria is called Vibrio, and beach-goers and fishermen should be aware, says the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Five cases and two deaths have occurred in 2009. Last year, 17 cases and seven deaths were reported.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a bacterium commonly found in coastal waters and can make people ill by causing a serious skin infection if it enters an opening in the skin.

This usually happens when a person with a cut or abrasion swims or fishes in seawater containing a high number of the bacteria, according to the health department’s Web site.

Therefore, people with cuts or abrasions should avoid the water until their skin is healed.

Nelda Muirhead, of Beaumont, said she lost her 42-year-old son to Vibrio in 2004 after he visited Crystal Beach.

She said her son's feet began hurting immediately after his visit to the beach, that the bacteria spread across his body, and he died two weeks later, leaving behind two children.

Muirhead said she wants to help the health department spread the warning about Vibrio.

"Even when the bacteria sign is up at the beach, there are people still in the water," she said.

To learn more about the flesh-eating bacteria, click here http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/preparedness/factsheet_vibrio.pdf.



http://www.kfdm.com/articles/flesh-33329-along-warns.html




Flesh-eating bacteria a concern in local waters


Posted July 8, 2009 at 11:13 p.m.

CORPUS CHRISTI — I was wading that sandy shelf along the east side of the Lydia Ann Channel this past week and nearly stepped on a stingray.

I’d been shuffling my feet along the hard bottom when the toe of my boot caught the outer rim of a small depression, causing me to stumble slightly. The bottom of my boot skipped across the hole and landed on the other side, barely tickling the wingtip of a stingray about the size of a 45 rpm record.

The little tan ray scooted away, leaving behind a puff of sand and my rapid heartbeat. I’m not sure the stinger of this ray could have reached beyond the Kevlar shield that protects my ankle and foot. I wear Foreverlast low-style reef boots, which provide just enough confidence and protection for a diligent feet shuffler such as me. Those shin protectors are too cumbersome for my comfort.

A larger stingray could easily plant its barb above my armor. This recently happened to a friend in Port Mansfield. Some of you probably have seen the photos of Mike McBride’s festering foot. These gruesome images circulated on the Internet about six weeks ago.

But Mike’s injuries went much deeper than the stingray’s barb. It’s the ensuing infection that got him into life-threatening trouble.

As of this week Mike still is suffering through a painful recovery from his wounds.

Doctors suspect it was the infamous flesh-eating Vibrio vulnificus bacteria that toppled this otherwise healthy angler. The stingray simply provided a fertile opening for the aggressive bacteria.

Within 26 hours Mike’s symptoms went from that of a simple puncture wound to a swelling, reddening foot that was hot to the touch. As the swelling worsened, the skin around the wound turned from red to purple to black. And then blisters began to pock the surface.

McBride went to the emergency room and didn’t leave the hospital for days.

“If I had gone into the emergency room at 5 instead of 11, there’s no doubt I wouldn’t be in this condition right now,” said McBride, who is hoping to be back on the water by October.

When McBride does return to fishing you can bet he’ll be wearing breathable waders.

Vibrio is the same bacteria that sometimes makes people sick from eating raw oysters. When ingested, our stomachs can handle the intrusion. The bacteria cannot penetrate healthy skin. But if this insidious microorganism enters the bloodstream through a break in the skin, the infection spreads rapidly and can result in amputation or death. Immediate treatment is the most effective cure.

If you cut yourself while fishing, saturate the wound with a bleach solution, hydrogen peroxide, hand sanitizer or other across the counter product such as Invisible Armor, Hibiclens or Hibistat.

The only vaccination against Vibrio or Staph is enlightenment. Don’t take lightly these bay-borne bacteria.

I’ve already described the symptoms. If you experience any of them, find an emergency room quickly. And for gosh sakes if you step on a stingray or gash your leg on a rock or oyster shell don’t invite bacteria in by keeping the wound submerged in the bay or surf.

Joanna Mott, a microbiologist, professor and chair of the Department of Life Sciences at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, said studies in 1996 and as recently as 2007 at the university revealed widespread occurrences of the bacteria in Oso Bay, Corpus Christi Bay, the Gulf of Mexico, Redfish Bay, Copano Bay, Nueces Bay, near Cole Park and near Bird Island in Upper Laguna Madre.

Most cases of Vibrio, and nearly all fatalities, involve high-risk patients who are elderly or with liver problems, deficient immune systems, diabetes, gastric disorders, cancer or steroid dependency. McBride suffered from none of these. Consuming alcohol also puts us at greater risk. But neglect and ignorance rank as the greatest risk factors.

David Sikes’ Outdoors column runs Thursday and Sunday. Contact David at 886-3616 or sikesd@caller.com.

© 2009 Corpus Christi Caller Times. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.



http://www.caller.com/news/2009/jul/08/flesh-eating-bacteria-a-concern-in-local-waters/




A Baytown man has died from illness caused by exposure to a rare pathogen often referred to as flesh-eating bacteria. Thomas Jesse Shurley, 52, died Tuesday night of multiple organ failure following a three-week battle against the infection. He had suffered a scrape on his knee while fishing in Galveston Bay on July 26, family members said. The bacteria, most often encountered in seawater, rapidly spread throughout his body, and even the amputation of his leg could not stop it.

“It's really a shock to the entire family,” said his daughter, Shaunte Angelo. “He was young and full of life. We never saw this coming.”

The incident occurred when Shurley was fishing alone close to shore in a small jon boat. The boat tipped over and he scraped his left knee while righting it. Shurley felt sick the next day but thought little of it. By Tuesday evening, his knee was so swollen and he felt so bad that friends took him to Baytown Methodist Hospital, fearing he had broken it.

“The doctors ran some tests and figured out what it was,” Angelo said. “They asked him if he wanted to lose his leg or his life. Of course, he chose his leg.”

The next day Shurley was taken by Life Flight to St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in the Texas Medical Center. He was placed on a ventilator and never regained full consciousness, his daughter said. Infected tissue was surgically removed, and later most of his leg. But there was little hope once the infection spread through his blood and most of his organs, she said.

He was taken off life support at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and died about five hours later.

snip...


http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/state/_Flesh-eating_bacteria_kills_angler_after_Galveston_Bay_trip__.html




SEE LEG INFECTION PHOTO'S ;


http://www.fishgame.com/print/print.aspx?ArticleID=4347



SEE FOOT INFECTION PHOTO'S


http://www.texags.com/main/forum.reply.asp?topic_id=1420970&forum_id=34




Flesh-eating bacteria migrating north Channel 11 KHOU-TV, July 30, 2007

CRYSTAL BEACH – Fishermen frequent Crystal Beach, getting waist deep in the Gulf to cast lines for speckled trout. But Steve Gilpatrick, 58, caught something else while fishing ankle deep in the surf he never expected. The Nacogdoches man contracted vibrio vulnificus, better known as flesh eating bacteria, on July 8 through a cut on his leg. What happened next is frightening. In less than a day, the fast moving bacteria moved up his leg discoloring it and painfully destroying his skin. Blisters soon developed a half-inch thick. The 58-year-old diabetic almost lost his leg -- and nearly his life. "They were able to keep him away from total organ failure,” Linda continued. “We were very close.” Flesh-eating bacteria lives in the warm Gulf waters. People rarely are infected. The Texas Department of Health said it only records a couple dozen cases a year. Twelve so far in 2007, said TDH spokesman Doug McBride. In fact, experts believe the real number of flesh-eating bacteria cases is much higher. What's worrisome though is this warm water bacteria is now being discovered in cold water, in places like Alaska, Sweden and along the eastern seaboard. "There's no question the water temperatures are increasing,” explained Dr. James Oliver, microbiologist, University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Gilpatrick is in stable condition in a second-floor care unit at the University of Texas Medical Branch. Doctors removed all the skin from his right leg and in five surgeries have started grafting new pieces on it.

http://www.caller.com/news/2009/jul/08/flesh-eating-bacteria-a-concern-in-local-waters/



Beachgoers should beware of bacteria

Brazoport Fact, July 19, 2007

Though summer months bring out more beachgoers and fishermen wading in area waters, it also fuels breeding grounds for a bacteria known as the "flesh-eating" bacteria. A Nacogdoches man contracted the rare Vibrio vulnificus bacterium July 8 while he was visiting Crystal Beach in Galveston County, the Associated Press reported. Steve Gilpatrick, 58, was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, a tissue-destroying disease caused by the bacteria. Gilpatrick’s physician, Dr. David Herndon, the chief of burn services and professor of surgery at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, said Tuesday the situation is life-threatening because the infection spread to Gilpatrick’s blood. Gilpatrick is suffering from multiple organ failure, and doctors are trying to save his leg.

Outlook better for man infected in Gulf

Galveston County Daily News, July 19, 2007

GALVESTON — Steve Gilpatrick finally got some good news Wednesday. Galveston doctors told the Nacogdoches man he would survive deadly bacteria that infected him in the Gulf and that he likely would keep the leg that the bug contaminated. "He’s still very sick," his wife, Linda Gilpatrick, said Wednesday in an interview from the University of Texas Medical Branch’s John Sealy Hospital. It was the first glimmer of hope after a terrifying week for the Gilpatricks. On July 8, Steve Gilpatrick briefly went fishing in ankle-deep water at Crystal Beach, his wife said. Gilpatrick, 58, is diabetic. He had a sore on his leg that had almost healed. He felt fine until the night of July 10, when he awoke with chills and a 103-degree fever. One of his legs was especially hot and it had turned purplish-red, said Linda Gilpatrick. Medical branch doctors quickly determined that he had been infected with vibrio vulnificus, a bacterium found in all seawater. The same bug can make people sick when they eat raw oysters, especially in summertime. Healthy people almost always are able to fight off a skin infection by vibrio vulnificus, but diabetics are doubly vulnerable, said Johnny Peterson, a medical branch microbiologist who studies the disease.

"Flesh-eating" bacteria infections rare

Galveston County Daily News, July 19, 2007

GALVESTON — One strain of a "flesh-eating"e; bacterium is grabbing headlines since it infected a Nacogdoches man last week during a visit to Crystal Beach. But experts say there are a several types of bacteria that destroy human flesh. What’s more, they say, infections like the most recent one are rare. But that doesn’t mean people shouldn’t take some commonsense precautions when they’re around seawater. Steve Gilpatrick, 58, is recovering at the University of Texas Medical Branch after suffering an infection of vibrio vulnificus that could well have been fatal. He became infected after walking in ankle-deep water on a Bolivar Peninsula beach. The vibrio vulnificus bacterium, which is related to the one that causes cholera, exists in all seawater. Populations of it are especially great along the Gulf in summer, when the water is warm. Even so, only about 300 cases of infection were documented in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou070727_tj_flesheaters.c6661f6e.html



Flesh-eating bacteria put man's life at risk

Houston Chronicle, July 18, 2007

GALVESTON — A Nacogdoches man who was infected by flesh-eating bacteria while swimming off Galveston County's Crystal Beach still faces the threat of losing a leg — and possibly his life — despite three surgeries. Steve Gilpatrick is fighting necrotizing fasciitis, a tissue-destroying disease caused by a bacterium called Vibrio vulnificus. The retired oil company marketing consultant also is suffering from multiple organ failure because the disease has caused a blood infection, his physician said Tuesday. Gilpatrick, 58, was listed in critical but stable condition. The bacterium thrives in warm salt water and is most prevalent during summer months. Swimmers with compromised immune systems, such as cancer patients or people with liver disease, are most susceptible to the disease. To be contracted through contaminated water, the bacteria need a point of entry, such as an open wound. Gilpatrick, who is diabetic, had an ulcer on his lower leg that he believed was nearly healed when he went swimming during a fishing trip on July 8, his wife said. His leg became infected three days later and he began running a high fever, spurring them to head for the emergency room. There also is a risk of death in patients whose Vibrio vulnificus infection spreads to the blood, as it has in Gilpatrick's case, said his physician, Dr. David Herndon, who is chief of burn services and professor of surgery at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. Herndon said he sees about one case of necrotizing fasciitis, which can be caused by several bacteria, each month. But Vibrio vulnificus infections are not as common, he said, noting that John Sealy Hospital receives only two or three cases in a year. The Texas Department of State Health Services reported 54 cases of Vibrio vulnificus infection in 2006. At least 16 were caused by water contact.

http://microbiology.utmb.edu/news/news2007.shtml




Flesh-Eating Bacteria Kills Louisiana Man Man Fell Overboard, Cut Hand

Posted: 9:39 am PDT July 23, 2007


COCODRIE, La. -- After flesh-eating bacteria claimed the life of his father, Michael Theriot is warning people against swimming in Louisiana bayous.

Related Link: More On Vibrio vulnificus

Last month, Michael Theriot Sr. was on the Robinson Canal in Cocodrie, La., when he fell overboard and cut his hand on a piece of tin.

From then on, he battled an infection of Vibrio vulnificus, a disease found during the summer months in warm salt water.

"Twenty-six days he stayed in the hospital on life support, from the time of the accident until he passed away on June 12," Theriot said.

Symptoms include fever, chills, diarrhea and intense stomach pain. Vibrio vulnificus can be treated with antibiotics, but it has to be treated early.

Or, as Theriot warned, don't go into the water at all.

"As we have seen in the last month, it can be very devastating," he said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said bloodstream infections are fatal in about 50 percent of cases.

http://www.kirotv.com/health/13736402/detail.html



Health, Science & Technology See other Health, Science & Technology Articles

Title: Flesh-Eating Bacteria Claims Life Of Texas Dentist

Source: healthtalk URL Source:

http://www.healthtalk.ca/flesh_eating_bacteria_08142004_2932.php


Published: Aug 14, 2004 Author: healthtalk Post Date: 2004-08-14 23:57:03 by TLBSHOW

A dentist from Houston, Texas, has died after becoming infected with a flesh-eating bacteria. Dr. Kenneth Dean Creamer, 52, became infected after suffering a cut to his leg while he was fishing near Port O'Connor, on the Gulf coast, according to officials.

Creamer was being treated since July 17, two days after he became infected with the saltwater bacteria vibrio vulnificus.

According to the Texas Department of Health, Creamer is the seventh vibrio vulnificus related death in Texas this year. The bacteria is common in warm Gulf waters.

If caught early enough, the infection can be successfully treated with antibiotics.

Vibrio vulnificus is a bacterium in the same family as those that cause cholera. It normally lives in warm seawater and is part of a group of vibrios that are called "halophilic" because they require salt.

Vibrio vulnificus can cause an infection of the skin when open wounds are exposed to warm seawater; these infections may lead to skin breakdown and ulceration. Persons who are immunocompromised are at higher risk for invasion of the organism into the bloodstream and potentially fatal complications.

http://wallycourie.com/1Classes%20Fall%2004/MicroBiology/flesh%20eating%20bacteria.htm



Oliver Johnson dies from flesh eating bacteria Environment, posted by the Dude, a resident of Half Moon Bay, on May 18, 2008 at 4:20 pm

Share It:

The truth be known...not covered in lies!!!!! can you deny his death! Readers beware of Bloggers covering the truth of sewage entering our ocean. Fight for your Ocean!!!!!

---------------------------------------------------------------------

April 6 2006

UH scientists note that the raw sewage that flowed out of the canal, and into the boat harbor and the ocean, would have provided nutrients for the deadly bacteria to suddenly flourish.

FLESH-EATING EFFECT

Two bacteria — Vibrio vulnificus and aeromonas identified in Johnson's wounds, according to the Health Department — are potentially deadly, and both can cause a flesh-eating effect.

"That would be an organism that can kill very quickly," said Roger Fujioka, a UH microbiologist familiar with the vibrio bacteria that grow in seawater. "It gets into the bloodstream."

It's the same bacteria that killed a man on the Big Island in 2001, after he swam in brackish hot springs.

Fujioka said the bacteria are in the water all the time, but in very low concentrations.

There aren't enough bacteria to create infections, he said, "until something unusual happens like the sewage spill."

Dr. Alan Tice, an infectious disease specialist with UH and Queen's, said several conditions combined in Johnson's case to increase the danger: the bacteria bloom because of the sewage spill; wounds Johnson suffered beforehand, giving bacteria easy access; and the fact he had been drinking, which could have reduced his liver's ability to filter them out.

snip...

http://talkabout.hmbreview.com/topic.php?t=2080




June 18, 2010

Wild Sharks, Redfish Harbor Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria ScienceDaily (June 18, 2010) — Researchers have found antibiotic-resistant bacteria in seven species of sharks and redfish captured in waters off Belize, Florida, Louisiana and Massachusetts. Most of these wild, free-swimming fish harbored several drug-resistant bacterial strains.

The study, published in the Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, found antibiotic-resistant bacteria in every fish species sampled.

The researchers also found multidrug-resistant bacteria in fish at nearly all of the study sites, said Mark Mitchell, a professor of veterinary clinical medicine at the University of Illinois and a senior author of the paper.

"Ultimately the idea of this study was to see if there were organisms out there that had exposures or resistance patterns to antibiotics that we might not expect," Mitchell said. "We found that there was resistance to antibiotics that these fish shouldn't be exposed to."

Among the animals sampled, nurse sharks in Belize and in the Florida Keys had the highest occurrence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. These sharks feed on crustaceans, small fish and other animals living in shallow waters close to shore.

Random mutations may account for drug-resistant bacteria in marine environments, Mitchell said, but there is a lot of evidence for a human origin.

"The shark population in Belize, for example, is a big tourist area, so there are people in the water right there," he said. "The sampling site is not far from a sewage plant, and so all those exposures we think are playing a role."

Sewage also is a problem in the Atlantic coastal waters of the United States, he said. Previous studies have shown that sewage outflows can leak antibiotic-resistant bacteria into the environment.

In the new study, the researchers looked for and found bacterial resistance to 13 antibacterial drugs in the fish. Patterns of resistance varied among the sites.

Bacteria from sharks off Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts and in offshore Louisiana were resistant to the fewest number of antibiotics, while sharks in the Florida Keys and Belize harbored bacteria that were resistant to amikacin, ceftazidime, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, penicillin, piperacillin, sulfamethoxazole and ticarcillin.

Redfish in the Louisiana offshore site hosted more varieties of drug-resistance than sharks in the same waters. This may reflect differences in their age (the redfish were more mature than the sharks), feeding or migratory habits, Mitchell said.

While the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in sharks and other fish does not necessarily harm them, Mitchell said, the findings point to a growing problem for human health.

"There are estimates of over 100,000 deaths from infections in hospitals per year, many of them from antibiotic-resistant organisms," Mitchell said. "And we're creating even more of these organisms out in the environment. … Unfortunately, as these things collect, there's probably a threshold at some point where there's going to be a spillover and it will start to affect us as a species."

People do eat sharks and redfish, Mitchell said, and now these fish represent a potential new route of exposure to drug-resistant bacteria. Sharks and redfish also are predators, and so may function as sentinels for human health.

"Some people might say, well, a bull shark in offshore Louisiana doesn't really have an influence on my health," Mitchell said. "But these fish eat what we eat. We're sharing the same food sources. There should be a concern for us as well."

This study was the thesis for first author Jason Blackburn, a former master's student at Louisiana State University now on the faculty at the University of Florida. The team included researchers from LSU, the University of Florida, the U. of I. and the University of Southern California.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100616161209.htm




GALVESTON BAY, swimming with the dolphins, PCBs, and FECAL MATTER


Greetings again kind friends and neighbors,


well, see there, i was not dreaming, i know what shit smells like when i smell it. i was not only fishing with the PCBs, i was also fishing in feces yesterday, right in our backyard, on Galveston Bay. wonder what the PCBs and the fact Galveston Bay is now being used as a toilet, just to flush feces down, wonder what that will do to bay front property values ??? the realtors and such keep telling me they call this progress. hmmm, some progress. yep, glad i threw that limit of specs away yesterday. that was the first time i had ever released a limit of specs, one by one off our pier. i don't like catch and release, especially when live shrimp is 10 dollars a pint. catch and put in freezer is my logo, and if you cannot do that, what's the use of going, especially when you smell like feces when you get out of the bay. oh well, business is booming, Bayport et al is running wide open, the shit channel is bigger and better, and Galveston Bay is now nothing more than a toilet full of feces, PCBs, and many other toxins, not to forget the deadly flesh eating bacteria Vibrio vulnificus, come on down and get your bay front, water front, property now. ...TSS

p.s. as of this morning, no identifiable lesions, and or open wounds yet. ...TSS


July 18, 2008, 11:15PM


Buffalo Bayou tributary flushed Investigators trying to identify source of sewage


By ALLAN TURNER Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Hazardous materials workers began the laborious process of flushing a stagnant segment of Buffalo Bayou's Newman Branch on Friday after it was contaminated by raw sewage, possibly flowing from a broken pipe.

Most heavily contaminated was a section of the waterway between Interstate 10 and Memorial Drive.

Investigators from the city health department and other agencies arrived at the scene early Friday afternoon after nearby residents complained of the stench. The process of flushing the bayou with water from fire hydrants began at midafternoon.

Today, hazardous material workers plan to siphon scum from atop the water at a collection point set up with booms near the Memorial bridge.

Stephen Dicker, an investigator with Houston Police Department's environmental crimes unit, said workers trying to identify the source of the leak were hampered by the uncertainty of the location of underground sewer pipes


MORE PHOTO'S ;


http://www.texashuntfish.com/app/forum/19324/GALVESTON-BAY-FISH-CONSUMPTION-WARNING-and-ship-channel-dredging-for-BAYPORT



http://galvestonbay.blogspot.com/




Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
P.O. Box 42
Bacliff, Texas USA 77518
flounder9@verizon.net

Thursday, June 3, 2010

CAUGHT IN B.P. OIL







These photo's should disgust everyone. my good friend the pelican is in dire straights again, along with other birds and wildlife, again, thanks to man. ...TSS


June 3, 2010


Caught in the oil


A short entry - AP Photographer Charlie Riedel just filed the following images of seabirds caught in the oil slick on a beach on Louisiana's East Grand Terre Island. As BP engineers continue their efforts to cap the underwater flow of oil, landfall is becoming more frequent, and the effects more evident. (8 photos total)


http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/06/caught_in_the_oil.html




Wednesday, June 2, 2010

OFFICIALS CLAIM PLAN IS IN PLACE IF OIL HITS TEXAS BEACHES


http://galvestonbay.blogspot.com/2010/06/officials-claim-plan-is-in-place-if-oil.html




Sunday, May 30, 2010

DO WE NEED AN IKE DIKE, OR A B.P. DIKE, OR BOTH

Documents Show Early Worries About Safety of Rig


http://galvestonbay.blogspot.com/2010/05/do-we-need-ike-dike-or-bp-dike-or-both.html




http://galvestonbay.blogspot.com/




Pelicans Soaring and B.P. Oil



watch the Pelicans outback ;



everybody wants to go to Heaven, but nobody wants to go now...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsCckM8fB78







TSS

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

OFFICIALS CLAIM PLAN IS IN PLACE IF OIL HITS TEXAS BEACHES

Officials: Plan in place if oil hits Texas beaches

By T.J. Aulds The Daily News Published June 2, 2010

The fish still are biting, the skies are clear, and beaches of Galveston and the Bolivar Peninsula are free of any oil residue from BP’s Deep Horizon spill off the Louisiana Coast.

Still, worried about perceptions the entire Gulf of Mexico is coated in oil, federal, state and local officials gathered to announce that, should the slick move this way, they were ready to respond.

“In my business, perception is more important than fact,” Galveston County Judge Jim Yarbrough said during a news conference that included top officials from Harris and Brazoria counties, as well as representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard, Texas General Land Office and the ports of Houston and Freeport.

The reality, Yarbrough said, was that none of the oil from the massive oil spill 400 miles away was headed toward Texas, and none was expected to.

There is, however, a comprehensive plan that calls for setting up booms along sensitive ecological areas along the coast, including estuaries and some beaches.

The more likely local consequence of the spill would be tar balls, not a top-water sheen such as is being seen in Louisiana.

Booms would be ineffective in stopping that threat, U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Marcus Wooding said.

The plan includes provisions to apply oil dispersing chemicals, as well as burning off oil, should the spill approach the state coast in any form other than tar balls.

The leaders pointed out this area had experience with past oil spills from sources closer to the Texas shore.

Wooding and the county leaders promised the 153-page plan, which has been tweaked because of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, should cover any contingency.

“We want people to be assured if things change we will be one step ahead if the oil starts to come to our coastal area,” Brazoria County Judge Joe King said.

Already the land office has positioned some booms along Bolivar Peninsula beaches, Richard Arnhart, regional director of the land office’s oil spill response division, said.

Those booms are catching little more than seaweed at this point, Arnhart said, but are providing a good test run should any surface oil drift this way.

For now, not even the seafood caught in the coastal waters near Galveston County is at risk, Kurt Koopmann, of the county’s health district, said.

Koopmann said the state was conducting regular tests of seafood and no health warnings had been issued.

The biggest risk of any of the oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill making its way to the Texas Coast actually is by ship. Wooding said a tanker that was to make port in Port Arthur last week went through some of the leaking oil, which coated the hull of the vessel.

He said when the captain realized what had happened, he reported the incident to the Coast Guard.

The ship anchored off the coast while booms were placed around the vessel and its hull cleaned before the ship made its way to the port, Wooding said.

There have been no other reports of ships having their hulls coated in the spilled oil, Wooding said.


Related Links


Read the region's oil spill response plan



http://wwwdb.glo.state.tx.us/oilspill/Atlas/atlas/acp/houston/msohoustongalvestongrp.pdf





http://galvestondailynews.com/story/157601





Officials say they're ready if oil reaches Texas


By HARVEY RICE Copyright 2010 Houston Chronicle

June 1, 2010, 9:15PM


GALVESTON — There is no indication that oil from the BP blowout off the Louisiana Coast is heading for Texas, but equipment and trained manpower are ready to deal with it if it does, officials said Tuesday.

Officials from Harris, Galveston and Brazoria counties called a news conference to reassure their constituents that the oil slick remains a long way from Texas. But they admitted unknowns exist, such as what would happen if a hurricane pushes the spill this way.

“It's not moving to the west, but the public is increasingly asking ... what happens if?” Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said. Because of the queries, officials decided, “We've got to have a meeting and tell everyone what is going on,” Emmett said.

Emmett said Harris County residents were unlikely to see oil even if it gets as far as Texas. “Galveston and Brazoria will bear the brunt,” he said.

Galveston County Judge Jim Yarbrough said the oil spill was far from Texas. “There is no reason for them not to come and enjoy the entire Texas coastline,” Yarbrough said.

On lookout for tar balls

If oil from the spill reaches Texas, it will likely be in the form of tar balls, said Capt. Marcus Woodring, U.S. Coast Guard sector commander for Houston-Galveston. He said tar balls found along Texas shores so far have been analyzed and are not from the spill. Tar balls are common along the Gulf Coast because of minor oil spills and natural seepage, he said.

As a precaution, floating barriers are already being placed in washout areas on the Bolivar Peninsula to protect the wetlands behind them, he said.

Shipping continues

Woodring said the spill is about 400 miles away and is being monitored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

He said shipping in the Houston area continues uninterrupted.

Richard Arnhart, regional director of the Texas General Land Office's oil spill response, said that his office monitored sensor-equipped buoys in the Gulf that would give an early warning of approaching oil. The buoys are able to a limited extent to monitor underwater plumes of oil, but not at great depths, he said.

The underwater oil plumes carried by deep currents remain one of the unknowns. Another is how a hurricane would affect the spill, Woodring said. “If it arrives here with a hurricane? That's a good question,” he said.

harvey.rice@chron.com



http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/deepwaterhorizon/7032107.html




Sunday, May 30, 2010

DO WE NEED AN IKE DIKE, OR A B.P. DIKE, OR BOTH

Documents Show Early Worries About Safety of Rig



http://galvestonbay.blogspot.com/2010/05/do-we-need-ike-dike-or-bp-dike-or-both.html





http://galvestonbay.blogspot.com/





Greetings,


BE very suspicious of Government (red, blue, and inbetweeners), or Industry officials telling you that everything is alright, under control, and most of all, is not harmful to humans or animals. don't believe me, just think Tobacco and Asbestos, or mad cow disease. I was oblivious of this for years, until I was forced to open my eyes, and what I have seen is complete ignorance and greed. for anyone interested, please follow the data below. ...kind regards, terry


Wednesday, July 30, 2008

TEXAS WINS TO BE NEXT BIG DUMPING GROUND FOR NUCLEAR WEAPONS RADIOACTIVE WASTE

IT seems a more correct headlines would have read ''Company bribes Governor Perry to bury nuclear waste and contaminate Texas''. Waste Control Specialists. The company is owned by Harold Simmons, a ''TOP DONOR TO GOV. RICK PERRY, WHO APPOINTS MEMBERS TO THE TCEQ.'' The good governor has sold out to the citizens of Texas for train car, after train car of nuclear waste from 'the mound' Monsanto plant in Miamisburg Ohio. It just so happens, my father-in-law, who is down visiting now with us, has pictures of those railroad cars just sitting and waiting to come down to Texas. Odd how I was watching the news today, about this small plane that had crashed, it had showed pictures of where it had crashed right up near a bunch of tractor-trailer cargo container boxes in a parking lot. What would keep this from happening with those radioactive toxic containers in Ohio, at 'the mound', and or in route to Texas? You see, it's been killing my father-in-law, he has been on oxygen for years, but his breathing is getting more and more labored now, even with the oxygen. He worked at 'the mound' for years and years, and he is now dying a slow death from asbestosis, among other ailments caused by working at 'the mound'. NOW here is what I just cannot understand. This material is so toxic, in trying to gain further medical assistance from the DOE, the evidence that was needed to show that indeed my father-in-law worked their i.e. work records, paperwork records, payment records etc., they told my father-in-law, that they could not dig those records up, that they were buried due to high nuclear contamination, it was just too toxic, and that he had to prove that he had worked there. In which he did finally prove, and did gain further assistance. ...

(see more photo's of railcars loaded with MOUND COLD WAR NUCLEAR AFTER-BIRTH headed to a nuclear dump in Texas...tss)


http://sciencebushwhacked.blogspot.com/2008/07/texas-wins-to-be-next-big-dumping.html



Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Company advances on plan for West Texas nuclear dump


http://sciencebushwhacked.blogspot.com/2008/08/company-advances-on-plan-for-west-texas.html



Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Transmissible Spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) animal and human TSE in North America 14th

ICID International Scientific Exchange Brochure -


http://transmissiblespongiformencephalopathy.blogspot.com/2010/02/transmissible-spongiform-encephalopathy.html



O.I.E. and U.S.D.A. ignore key data on human health risk from atypical BSE


To date the OIE/WAHO assumes that the human and animal health standards set out in the BSE chapter for classical BSE (C-Type) applies to all forms of BSE which include the H-type and L-type atypical forms. This assumption is scientifically not completely justified and accumulating evidence suggests that this may in fact not be the case. Molecular characterization and the spatial distribution pattern of histopathologic lesions and immunohistochemistry (IHC) signals are used to identify and characterize atypical BSE. Both the L-type and H-type atypical cases display significant differences in the conformation and spatial accumulation of the disease associated prion protein (PrPSc) in brains of afflicted cattle. Transmission studies in bovine transgenic and wild type mouse models support that the atypical BSE types might be unique strains because they have different incubation times and lesion profiles when compared to C-type BSE. When L-type BSE was inoculated into ovine transgenic mice and Syrian hamster the resulting molecular fingerprint had changed, either in the first or a subsequent passage, from L-type into C-type BSE. In addition, non-human primates are specifically susceptible for atypical BSE as demonstrated by an approximately 50% shortened incubation time for L-type BSE as compared to C-type. Considering the current scientific information available, it cannot be assumed that these different BSE types pose the same human health risks as C-type BSE or that these risks are mitigated by the same protective measures.


http://www.prionetcanada.ca/detail.aspx?menu=5&dt=293380&app=93&cat1=387&tp=20&lk=no&cat2



please see full text ;

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Atypical BSE in Cattle


http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2010/03/atypical-bse-in-cattle-position-post.html



Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy


http://transmissiblespongiformencephalopathy.blogspot.com/




Tuesday, June 1, 2010

USA cases of dpCJD rising with 24 cases so far in 2010


http://cjdtexas.blogspot.com/2010/06/usa-cases-of-dpcjd-rising-with-24-cases.html




CJD TEXAS 38 YEAR OLD FEMALE WORKED SLAUGHTERING CATTLE EXPOSED TO BRAIN AND SPINAL CORD MATTER


>>> Up until about 6 years ago, the pt worked at Tyson foods where she worked on the assembly line, slaughtering cattle and preparing them for packaging. She was exposed to brain and spinal cord matter when she would euthanize the cattle. <<<


Irma Linda Andablo CJD Victim, she died at 38 years old on February 6, 2010 in Mesquite Texas Irma Linda Andablo CJD Victim, she died at 38 years old on February 6, 2010 in Mesquite Texas.She left 6 Kids and a Husband.The Purpose of this web is to give information in Spanish to the Hispanic community, and to all the community who want's information about this terrible disease.-


Physician Discharge Summary, Parkland Hospital, Dallas Texas Admit Date: 12/29/2009

Discharge Date: 1/20/2010 Attending Provider: Greenberg, Benjamin Morris;

General Neurology Team: General Neurology Team


Linda was a Hispanic female with no past medical history presents with 14 months of incresing/progressive altered mental status, generalized weakness, inability to walk, loss of appetite, inability to speak, tremor and bowel/blader incontinence.She was, in her usual state of health up until February, 2009, when her husbans notes that she began forgetting things like names and short term memories. He also noticed mild/vague personality changes such as increased aggression. In March, she was involved in a hit and run MVA,although she was not injured. The police tracked her down and ticketed her. At that time, her son deployed to Iraq with the Army and her husband assumed her mentation changes were due to stress over these two events. Also in March, she began to have weakness in her legs, making it difficult to walk. Over the next few months, her mentation and personality changes worsened, getting to a point where she could no longer recognized her children. She was eating less and less. She was losing more weight. In the last 2-3 months, she reached the point where she could not walk without an assist, then 1 month ago, she stopped talking, only making grunting/aggressive sounds when anyone came near her. She also became both bowel and bladder incontinent, having to wear diapers. Her '"tremor'" and body jerks worsened and her hands assumed a sort of permanent grip position, leading her family to put tennis balls in her hands to protect her fingers. The husband says that they have lived in Nebraska for the past 21 years. They had seen a doctor there during the summer time who prescribed her Seroquel and Lexapro, Thinking these were sx of a mood disorder. However, the medications did not help and she continued to deteriorate clinically. Up until about 6 years ago, the pt worked at Tyson foods where she worked on the assembly line, slaughtering cattle and preparing them for packaging. She was exposed to brain and spinal cord matter when she would euthanize the cattle. The husband says that he does not know any fellow workers with a similar illness. He also says that she did not have any preceeding illness or travel.



http://www.recordandoalinda.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19:cjd-english-info&catid=9:cjd-ingles&Itemid=8



>>> Up until about 6 years ago, the pt worked at Tyson foods where she worked on the assembly line, slaughtering cattle and preparing them for packaging. She was exposed to brain and spinal cord matter when she would euthanize the cattle. <<<



please see full text ;

Monday, March 29, 2010

Irma Linda Andablo CJD Victim, she died at 38 years old on February 6, 2010 in Mesquite Texas


http://creutzfeldt-jakob-disease.blogspot.com/2010/03/irma-linda-andablo-cjd-victim-she-died.html




CJD TEXAS 38 YEAR OLD FEMALE WORKED SLAUGHTERING CATTLE EXPOSED TO BRAIN AND SPINAL CORD MATTER


http://cjdtexas.blogspot.com/2010/03/cjd-texas-38-year-old-female-worked.html




TSS

Sunday, May 30, 2010

DO WE NEED AN IKE DIKE, OR A B.P. DIKE, OR BOTH

Documents Show Early Worries About Safety of Rig


The Deepwater Horizon rig last month.

By IAN URBINA Published: May 29, 2010


WASHINGTON — Internal documents from BP show that there were serious problems and safety concerns with the Deepwater Horizon rig far earlier than those the company described to Congress last week.


The problems involved the well casing and the blowout preventer, which are considered critical pieces in the chain of events that led to the disaster on the rig.

The documents show that in March, after several weeks of problems on the rig, BP was struggling with a loss of “well control.” And as far back as 11 months ago, it was concerned about the well casing and the blowout preventer.

On June 22, for example, BP engineers expressed concerns that the metal casing the company wanted to use might collapse under high pressure.

“This would certainly be a worst-case scenario,” Mark E. Hafle, a senior drilling engineer at BP, warned in an internal report. “However, I have seen it happen so know it can occur.”

The company went ahead with the casing, but only after getting special permission from BP colleagues because it violated the company’s safety policies and design standards. The internal reports do not explain why the company allowed for an exception. BP documents released last week to The Times revealed that company officials knew the casing was the riskier of two options.

Though his report indicates that the company was aware of certain risks and that it made the exception, Mr. Hafle, testifying before a panel on Friday in Louisiana about the cause of the rig disaster, rejected the notion that the company had taken risks.

“Nobody believed there was going to be a safety issue,” Mr. Hafle told a six-member panel of Coast Guard and Minerals Management Service officials.

“All the risks had been addressed, all the concerns had been addressed, and we had a model that suggested if executed properly we would have a successful job,” he said.

Mr. Hafle, asked for comment by a reporter after his testimony Friday about the internal report, declined to answer questions.

BP’s concerns about the casing did not go away after Mr. Hafle’s 2009 report.

In April of this year, BP engineers concluded that the casing was “unlikely to be a successful cement job,” according to a document, referring to how the casing would be sealed to prevent gases from escaping up the well.

The document also says that the plan for casing the well is “unable to fulfill M.M.S. regulations,” referring to the Minerals Management Service.

A second version of the same document says “It is possible to obtain a successful cement job” and “It is possible to fulfill M.M.S. regulations.”

Andrew Gowers, a BP spokesman, said the second document was produced after further testing had been done.

On Tuesday Congress released a memorandum with preliminary findings from BP’s internal investigation, which indicated that there were warning signs immediately before the explosion on April 20, including equipment readings suggesting that gas was bubbling into the well, a potential sign of an impending blowout.

A parade of witnesses at hearings last week told about bad decisions and cut corners in the days and hours before the explosion of the rig, but BP’s internal documents provide a clearer picture of when company and federal officials saw problems emerging.

In addition to focusing on the casing, investigators are also focusing on the blowout preventer, a fail-safe device that was supposed to slice through a drill pipe in a last-ditch effort to close off the well when the disaster struck. The blowout preventer did not work, which is one of the reasons oil has continued to spill into the gulf, though the reason it failed remains unclear.

Federal drilling records and well reports obtained through the Freedom of Information Act and BP’s internal documents, including more than 50,000 pages of company e-mail messages, inspection reports, engineering studies and other company records obtained by The Times from Congressional investigators, shed new light on the extent and timing of problems with the blowout preventer and the casing long before the explosion.

Kendra Barkoff, a spokeswoman for the Interior Department, declined to answer questions about the casings, the blowout preventer and regulators’ oversight of the rig because those matters are part of a continuing investigation.

The documents show that in March, after problems on the rig that included drilling mud falling into the formation, sudden gas releases known as “kicks” and a pipe falling into the well, BP officials informed federal regulators that they were struggling with a loss of “well control.”

On at least three occasions, BP records indicate, the blowout preventer was leaking fluid, which the manufacturer of the device has said limits its ability to operate properly.

“The most important thing at a time like this is to stop everything and get the operation under control,” said Greg McCormack, director of the Petroleum Extension Service at the University of Texas, Austin, offering his assessment about the documents.

He added that he was surprised that regulators and company officials did not commence a review of whether drilling should continue after the well was brought under control.


(Page 2 of 2)

After informing regulators of their struggles, company officials asked for permission to delay their federally mandated test of the blowout preventer, which is supposed to occur every two weeks, until the problems were resolved, BP documents say.


At first, the minerals agency declined.

“Sorry, we cannot grant a departure on the B.O.P. test further than when you get the well under control,” wrote Frank Patton, a minerals agency official. But BP officials pressed harder, citing “major concerns” about doing the test the next day. And by 10:58 p.m., David Trocquet, another M.M.S. official, acquiesced.

“After further consideration,” Mr. Trocquet wrote, “an extension is approved to delay the B.O.P. test until the lower cement plug is set.”

When the blowout preventer was eventually tested again, it was tested at a lower pressure — 6,500 pounds per square inch — than the 10,000-pounds-per-square-inch tests used on the device before the delay. It tested at this lower pressure until the explosion.

A review of Minerals Management Service’s data of all B.O.P. tests done in deep water in the Gulf of Mexico for five years shows B.O.P. tests rarely dropped so sharply, and, in general, either continued at the same threshold or were done at increasing levels.

The manufacturer of the blowout preventer, Cameron, declined to say what the appropriate testing pressure was for the device.

In an e-mail message, Mr. Gowers of BP wrote that until their investigation was complete, it was premature to answer questions about the casings or the blowout preventer.

Even though the documents asking regulators about testing the blowout preventer are from BP, Mr. Gowers said that any questions regarding the device should be directed to Transocean, which owns the rig and, he said, was responsible for maintenance and testing of the device. Transocean officials declined to comment.

Bob Sherrill, an expert on blowout preventers and the owner of Blackwater Subsea, an engineering consulting firm, said the conditions on the rig in February and March and the language used by the operator referring to a loss of well control “sounds like they were facing a blowout scenario.”

Mr. Sherrill said federal regulators made the right call in delaying the blowout test, because doing a test before the well is stable risks gas kicks. But once the well was stable, he added, it would have made sense for regulators to investigate the problems further.

In April, the month the rig exploded, workers encountered obstructions in the well. Most of the problems were conveyed to federal regulators, according to federal records. Many of the incidents required that BP get a permit for a new tactic for dealing with the problem.

One of the final indications of such problems was an April 15 request for a permit to revise its plan to deal with a blockage, according to federal documents obtained from Congress by the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental advocacy group.

In the documents, company officials apologized to federal regulators for not having mentioned the type of casing they were using earlier, adding that they had “inadvertently” failed to include it. In the permit request, they did not disclose BP’s own internal concerns about the design of the casing.

Less than 10 minutes after the request was submitted, federal regulators approved the permit.


Robbie Brown contributed reporting from Kenner, La., and Andy Lehren from New York.

A version of this article appeared in print on May 30, 2010, on page A1 of the New York edition.



http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/us/30rig.html



http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/us/30rig.html?pagewanted=2





Galveston Daily News


Letters to the Editor


May 28, 2010


How Would We Deal With An Oil Spill Here?


Do we need an Ike dike, or a BP dike?



I watch in misery as I see what is happening to our kind neighbors to the east of us, and think to myself, there, but for the grace of God, go we.

All that would have to happen is a change in wind pattern or weather pattern and BP’s God-awful mess could be at our doorsteps in a minute.

What, if any, is the contingency plan to keep that BP oil from getting into Galveston Bay and all its estuaries, if it heads our way? Will the ship channel and cuts be closed to seal off the bay?

Our beaches would be vulnerable, too. What is the contingency plan to keep the BP oil off our beaches from High Island to Corpus Christi and beyond, if the oil were to come our way?

If an oil dispersant is used, how would we keep that from coming into Galveston Bay, and what harm is it to humans and wildlife, including fish?

These are just a few of many questions I would like answered before the BP oil slick, or any oil slick, is seen off our coast, not after it comes ashore.

Terry Singeltary Sr. Bacliff


http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=b8f097d3ec4f9965



Front Page May 27, 2010

STATE OF EMERGENCY

Oil throws entirely new twist into storm anxiety

Storm surge might deposit black goo on area shores


Lee


The 2010 hurricane season begins Tuesday. Gulf Breeze and Pensacola Beach residents know too well it is time to get prepared with home reinforcements, evacuation plans and stockpiles of water and non-perishable food items.

But local residents have never gone into a hurricane season with a catastrophic oil spill threatening the area’s pristine beaches and shores. The spill could grow exponentially more disastrous if the approaching hurricane season whips up massive, black waves and inundates beaches and coastal areas with oily water and debris.

“Hurricanes are bad,” said Buck Lee, Executive Director of the Santa Rosa Island Authority. “Hurricanes with oil are even worse.”

With just five days remaining until the Atlantic hurricane season, odds are more than 40 percent that a big storm could cross the giant spill spewing from beneath a ruptured well on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico.

Five weeks ago on April 20, a deadly blast rocked the British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon oil rig located about 50 miles southeast of New Orleans, killing 11 workers and leaving its uncontrolled well to gush millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf.

The last thing anyone in this area wants is a hurricane to make landfall here, especially storms as strong as virtual-Category 4 Ivan in 2004 and Category 3 Dennis in 2005. Ivan’s surge six years ago pushed water far inland into the rivers of the two-county Bay area. Water several feet deep covered Pensacola Beach for several hours, and Soundside Drive residences in south Santa Rosa County were swamped as well.

“A direct hit would not only mess up Pensacola Beach, but all of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties,” Lee said. “Remember, folks had water in their homes that lived just off Escambia Bay. Not only would there be water in their homes, there could be a touch of oil in there, too. We don’t know.”

In April, forecasters at Colorado State University said there was a 44 percent chance a hurricane would enter the Gulf of Mexico in the 2010 season, far greater than the 30 percent historic average. Some experts say early conditions are very similar to those that precipitated the terrible 2004 season.

“High winds may distribute oil over a wide area,” National Hurricane Center meteorologist Dennis Feltgen said. “Storm surges might carry oil inland, mixed with hurricane debris.”

Should a hurricane pass to the west of the main oil slick, areas of the Gulf in the right, northeast quadrant of the storm would be most vulnerable to wind and surge. Mix in millions of gallons of oil, and the consequences are almost unfathomable.

“On the flip side,” Lee said, “if a hurricane hit to the east of us, let’s say Fort Walton Beach or Panama City, then the counterclockwise wind would push the oil away from us. So it all depends on which side of the hurricane we’re on, if we have one.”

This year’s hurricane season – June 1 to Nov. 30 – is expected to be above average with 15 tropical storms of which eight could be hurricanes. Forecasters say a season with multiple storms could send oil farther inland.

“To think a storm surge could resuscitate a huge sum of oil (from the deep) and deposit it on land is truly catastrophic,” said Joe Jaworski, Mayor of Galveston, Texas, which was slammed by Hurricane Ike in 2008.

That storm caused coastal flooding on Pensacola Beach and parts of the Fairpoint Peninsula as it passed from east to west about 100 miles south of Pensacola Beach.

Last year, only two named tropical systems – Claudette and Ida – made landfall in the U.S., and both came ashore within 50 miles of Gulf Breeze, doing minimal damage.

Locally, residents should take note that several changes have been made regarding the 2010 hurricane season. These changes include hurricane classifications, evacuation zones and hurricane forecast information.

When it comes to hurricanes, it is important to understand that wind speed is not the only factor. Now, a number of factors will be considered when looking at evacuations; including the size of the storm, speed the storm is moving, wind speed and the overall storm surge.

Evacuation notification is not an exact science, and keeping your safety in mind, evacuation zones have been updated using storm surge information and the latest Light Detection and Ranging or LIDAR data collected during the 2009 hurricane evacuation study. The evacuation zones will now be identified using the letters A through E, instead of the storm category numbers of 1 through 5 that were previously used.

To find out how the evacuation zones will affect you, read pages 25 and 26 of the 2010 Santa Rosa County disaster guide or enter your home or business address on the interactive map found at www.santarosa. fl.gov/gis.

The Saffir-Simpson scale has also been updated for the 2010 hurricane season. In the past, the Saffir-Simpson scale was categorized by wind speed and storm surge; beginning this year, the hurricane categories will only reflect wind speed. This change was made due to the unreliability of predicting surge in relation to wind speed. Familiarize yourself with the new Saffir-Simpson scale as the new classifications might alter your plans.

Additionally, the National Weather Service has implemented a few changes in the way it provides hurricane forecast information. Residents will now be notified of tropical storm and hurricane watches 12 hours earlier than in previous years, within 48 hours of possible hurricane or tropical storm conditions may affect our area. Hurricane or tropical storm warnings are also now issued within 36 hours of a possible storm impact.

Other changes have been implemented as well, and can be viewed at www.srh.noaa. gov/mob.

HURRICANE SEASON PREPARATION

By following these simple steps, citizens can save lives, money, damage and distress:

¦ Make a family plan.

¦ Include in your plan how to care for family or friends with special needs and your pets.

¦ Set up an out-of-town contact for your family members to call in case you are separated.

¦ Evaluate your home and surroundings. Trim hazardous tree limbs and have a plan to secure items that could become deadly missiles in a storm.

¦ Harden and prepare your home with proper bracing and shutters.

¦ Make a disaster kit that has at least three days of drinking water and non-perishable food for each person and pet, vital prescription drugs, and any needed baby supplies.

¦ Also, include a flashlight, radio, extra batteries and cash. Prepare this kit ahead of time, and be sure to check your disaster kits for expired items.

¦ Equip your home and office with a NOAA weather radio. It just might save your life.

Citizens can automatically receive breaking news alerts from Santa Rosa County Emergency Management via e-mail or text message. Residents can sign up for the alert service or make changes in their current subscription online at

www.santarosa.fl.gov/emergency/publicwarning.html.


For more information, pick up the new 2010 disaster guide, which includes a shopping checklist, updated hurricane evacuation zones and the new hurricane classifications. You can find this free guide at county offices, libraries, major retailers in the county, or online at

www.santarosa.fl.gov, under the emergency management button.

– Santa Rosa County Emergency Management

2010 HURRICANE NAMES

Alex Fiona Karl Paula Bonnie Gaston Lisa Richard Colin Hermine Matthew Shary Danielle Igor Nicole Tomas Earl Julia Otto Virginie Walter

This is the same list used in the 2004 season with the exception of Colin, Fiona, Igor and Julia, which replaced the names of the four major hurricanes that made landfall in Florida in 2004: Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne, respectively.


http://www.gulfbreezenews.com/news/2010-05-27/Front_Page/Oil_throws_entirely_new_twist_into_storm_anxiety.html




UPDATE 1-Obama aide says US oil spill could last until August

Sun May 30, 2010 11:14am EDT


WASHINGTON May 30 (Reuters) - Oil could gush into the Gulf of Mexico from the BP BP.L. rig until August and the U.S. government is "preparing for the worst," Carol Browner, President Barack Obama's top adviser on energy and climate change, said on Sunday.

Speaking on the CBS TV show "Face The Nation," Browner said: "There could be oil coming up till August when the relief wells are done."

She said BP's latest effort to try to capture and contain oil would not provide a permanent solution or prevent some oil escaping into the sea even if the maneuver succeeded.

"We are prepared for the worst. We have been prepared from the beginning," she added. (Reporting by Alan Elsner, editing by Vicki Allen)


http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN3024392320100530?type=marketsNews




http://galvestonbay.blogspot.com/




Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
Bacliff, Texas USA 77518