Lower Mississippi RIVERKEEPER

Results of sampling performed by the Lower Mississippi River Keeper in St. Bernard Parish on October 26, 2010

by Wilma Subra
Subra Company

Paul Orr
Lower Mississippi River Keeper

Michael Orr
Louisiana Environmental Action Network

Tissue samples were collected from a cove, 1.4 miles from the southern end of a “spoil canal” south of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO). The sample of oysters contained 84 mg/kg of Petroleum Hydrocarbons and 2 Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) (3.6 ug/kg). The redfish sample contained 84 mg/kg Petroleum Hydrocarbons.

Michael and Paul processing oyster samples

A blue crab sample from the northeast side of Lake Machias in a shallow pond south of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) contained 147 mg/kg Petroleum Hydrocarbons and 3 PAHs (84.6 ug/kg).

Shrimp sample ready for the lab

Shrimp and oyster tissue samples collected from the East side of Lake Fortuna just off a small island in Pass Fernandez contained 96 mg/kg Petroleum Hydrocarbons and 5 PAHs (69.4 ug/kg) in the shrimp sample and 108 mg/kg Petroleum Hydrocarbons in the oyster sample.

View all of our BP spill field photos here.

We have all had frustrations with the response to the recent Gulf oil disaster. One such frustration that we at Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper felt early on was the lack of solid data about the impacts from the disaster. This frustration prompted us to begin an environmental sampling project.

LEAN/LMRK technical advisor, award winning chemist Wilma Subra, put together the sampling protocols. We coordinated with world-class commercial laboratories who would process the samples. We prepared Julia the LMRK patrol boat and were ready to go.

On August 2, 2010 we made our first sample collection trip. Since then we have made 8 sampling trips, from the western edge of Terrebonne Parish to the Louisiana/Mississippi line, and collected over 50 samples.

Samples of water, soil, plants and animals have been collected. As the project progressed we have decided to focus on seafood species as these have the greatest impact on people.

The following list details a few of our findings to date:

The high levels of petroleum hydrocarbons are troubling particularly since many of these species are consumed by people. It is our understanding that there should be no detectable levels of petroleum hydrocarbons in seafood.

It should be noted that none of the samples listed above were visibly contaminated nor did they have any unusual odors. The seafood species, in particular, appeared pristine. We have made an effort to test a broad sampling of areas across the coast.

Based on our sampling project we believe that the government's pronouncement that Gulf seafood is safe is premature.

This information is particularly valuable in determining possible public health concerns related to contamination from the oil disaster. Information gathered will help us to understand what possible precautions should be taken now and what actions are necessary to fully restore the environment of the impacted areas.

We hope that the results from our sampling project will help to fill in some of the unanswered questions about the impacts of this disaster. As a small nonprofit, our scale and scope is limited greatly by budget but it is our hope that this research contributes to an accurate, independent and publicly accessible analysis of the state of the Gulf environment.We are currently waiting for the results of two more trips worth of samples which are being processed at the lab.

We will continue to collect this important data as long as we can afford to. As always we will continue to assist the communities we serve and strive to find answers to the questions vital for maintaining healthy and sustainable coastal communities.

To help continue this project go here: http://www.indiegogo.com/Gulf-Seafood-Safe

HOW TO CLEAN UP AN OIL SPILL
THE MANUAL BP COULDN’T FIND

1. STEP ONE: Use an Oil Well Leak Solution
   1. Go around and/or over the wellhead
   2. One solution stabilizes pressure and ‘adheres’ to the ocean floor like a bandage over a wound while a chemical mixture is used to “clot” the oil
   3. The other solution is a large ring that sinks to the ocean floor over the wellhead, is connected through strong oil resistant mesh walls to a second ring that floats at the surface – allowing the oil to be captured from this large “hose”
      
      
2. STEP TWO: Use Separation Machinery
   1. Most tanker ships contain the machinery necessary to separate huge quantities of oil from water
   2. Mounted on a skimmer vessel, the machine takes oil-laden water from the sea and spins it at high speed in a central cylindrical chamber. The resulting centrifugal force pulls the water to the outer edges of the chamber, leaving the oil in the middle. Once separated, that oil is then captured and stored in onboard holding tanks, while the water flows back into the ocean.
   3. Separates water from oil at up to 3,000 gallons per minute; one of Kevin Costner’s V20 machines can clean up to 210,000 gallons of oily water per day; ability to extract all oil from gulf if used over the spill site
   4. The water is then more than 99% clean of crude
      
      
3. STEP THREE: Use Oxidation Technology to cleanse the more dispersed oil
   1. Employs a combination of ozone, ultrasound and high-voltage electricity to separate oil, gas and other contaminants from water through a process known as sonoluminescence
   2. This process is basic chemistry and physics and can separate oil from water, then eradicate all remaining co-mingled contaminants from the water after it's separated
      Leaves pure freshwater that can be bottled and oil that can be reused
   3. One tractor-trailer sized unit can process more than a million gallons of contaminated water a day
      
      
4. STEP FOUR: Use nontoxic dispersants at the outer edge of the spill site to ensure any unmanaged oil is safely going into the water
   1. Nontoxic, plant and water-based and biodegradable versions of Corexit are available
   2. They create a colloidal micelle to break down hydrocarbon bonds in oil, dispersing the oil and making it water soluble
   3. They are on EPA list, tested and approved, and have even been used by BP
      
      
5. STEP FIVE: Protect beaches, barrier islands and marshes with Solidifiers, Sorbents and Biomass
   1. Powders solidify oil and tar but not water are numerous and approved by EPA
   2. Sponges, fabrics, absorbent booms, and mats absorb oil, which can be wrung out (and captured) and then they can be re-used – some are even biodegradable
   3. Biomass fibrous grasses (like Kenaf), hay or BioChar are incredibly absorbent, leaving water clean and clear and once oiled, can be burned for energy
      
      
6. STEP SIX: Bioremediate any affected areas
   1. Speed up natural process of oil degradation by using naturally occurring microbes to break down hydrocarbon bonds in oil leaving carbon dioxide and water
   2. Nontoxic, not chemical based, rapid oxidation and biodegradation
   3. Can “eat” up to 100,000 ppm (10% oil in water) in as little as 24 hours
   4. Work on marshes, beaches, open water and protects marine and plant life
   5. Numerous, world-wide tested and EPA approved but you do not get to recollect oil

A document of the Oil Spill Prevention Alliance

In response to this summer's Gulf oil disaster a Think Tank was brought together in New Orleans, LA by award winning filmmaker Josh Tickell and his wife and partner Rebecca Tickell. A group of many talented, intelligent, and interesting individuals came together to pool their resources and knowledge to find solutions to the Gulf oil disaster. Having such diverse areas of expertise, life experiences, and viewpoints working together towards the same goal made the resultant solutions both well-informed and inventive; while also remaining acutely attuned to the sensitive issues surrounding the oil spill. The following document was developed from the Think Tank.

Oil Spill Prevention Alliance

Purpose and Direction

Create an effective collaborative structure for a quicker response in the evaluation, representation, and implementation of ideas and technologies.  Such an organization will empower people worldwide to help clean up present and future oil spills.

Core Message

By using a collaboration of current solution-based groups, quicker implementation of oil spill solutions can be obtained and implemented.

Direction and Purpose

1. Create a collaborative structure that can effectively contain and remove oil spill contaminants;
2. Work together with the party responsible for the spill to solve the problem;
3. Create a worldwide organization that can move in immediately to clean up oil spills (handbook);
4. Provide for clean up and oil spill control technology to be implemented;
5. Create a funneling process to test new technologies and get them into action immediately;
6. Expedite identification of scientifically sound and viable engineering processes, Implement a pilot study of their viability, and Scale usage of the process or product to fit the market or size of disaster;
7. Allow foreign entities and local entities to contribute immediately; and
8. Insist on transparency from Government and the responsible party.

How it works

1. Establish the Oil Cleanup Alliance;
2. Look for templates of other successful responses to similar disasters, and model after those who achieved effective results;
3. Create website with database of organizations and proposed solutions;
4. Create a strategy to pressure the United States State Department to quickly and in a more timely fashion vet international assistance as well as new clean up technologies;
5. Broaden who makes the decisions regarding who can help and what technologies are to be used; currently only the responsible party, the EPA, and the coastal states’ Departments of Environmental Quality are making these decisions;
6. Create a test verification site to immediately study the effectiveness of a proposed solution and provide an answer within a month ;
7. Work with fishermen, engineers and politicos to coordinate efforts on the test site;
8. Monitor the removal and disposal of the spill waste;
9. Monitor the efforts to protect and preserve the ecosystem;
10. Monitor the outreach efforts to protect the people and preserve their heritage;
11. Create a collaborative atmosphere on the website and within the organization; and
12. Pick the top proposed solutions to support financially and then push them through to implementation.

How to involve people:

1. Create a database of volunteers and associated teams and organizations;
2. Create a database of proposed solutions;
3. Invite panels of technical experts to review proposals, and solicit funding sponsors from public, corporate, and government sectors;
4. Broadcast a specific call to action distributed through every channel possible;
5. Inform all branches of media;
6. Employ the services of celebrities and musicians and any other notable people;
7. Implement outreach through our collaborative NGOs;
8. Use the resources of scientific communities; and
9. Utilize whatever other means available.

Real, Emotional, and Spiritual Benefits

The coalition will provide people with an avenue to be constructive, involved and empowered, rather than feeling isolated, helpless, frustrated, or angry, and will bring practical support to those affected by the disaster.

How to keep the alliance moving and growing

The organization has been created to address all future disasters. The following steps can be utilized to engage the public and expand the alliance’s ability to have a positive impact on people and the environment.

1. Utilize continuing web and social media presence, celebrity endorsement, political pressure, and international NGO involvement;
2. Provide regular dissemination of information about proposed solutions;
3. Maintain an ongoing network of volunteer databases;
4. Create a voluntourism program - people who want to help by means of coming here to boost the local economy;
5. Create a clear structure for ongoing volunteers to help people who have no specific qualifications;
6. Create a volunteer network;
7. Launch a media campaign;
8. Identify those who will set up the structure for this program and implement it; and
9. Create the online platform.

How to measure success:

We will measure the success of the alliance through methods and landmarks such as:

1. Assessment of long-term environmental and economic impact of each funded proposal;
2. Number of successful proposals implemented;
3. Amount of oil removed and recycled;
4. Number of wildlife recovered;
5. There is a consortium of NGO’s, local and global people/organizations working together with the Government and the responsible party to clean up the oil spill;
6. The oceans and coasts are cleaner;
7. The heritage and local culture have been saved;
8. The coastal population is growing;
9. A return of normality to human and marine life;
10. Skills and local technologies are preserved;
11. The local economy is booming;
12. Outside support is flowing in through money and volunteerism;
13. Whether the economy has been stimulated by outside support;
14. Global participation parties from all over the world are stationed at the site helping out; and
15. An opportunity to explore new systems that will work for coastal residents has been provided.

Participants

Clay Alexander
REACH BioDiesel

Mike Ballantine
Intl Tech Corp

Heather Emmert
EnvironmentAmerica

Dan Favre
Gulf Restoration Network

Jake Fontenot
Brainstorm

Beth Galante
Global Green NOLA

Sarah Grabert and Monica Luke
Southern Mutual Help Association

Richard Greene
Communication Coach

Lamara Heartwell and Shems Heartwell
ExxonMobil Heiress

Andreas Hoffmann
Green Light New Orleans

John G Moore
Energy and Environmental Policy Analyst

Jason Mraz
Musician

Jim Murosako
Abundant Seas

John Nistler and Joy Tessman
Gulf Recovery LLC

Marylee Orr
Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN)

Steve Roest
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

Joey Santley
ReSurf Foundation

Stephen Shelton and Troy Von Ottnot
LA CleanTech Network

Amy Smart
Actress

Wilma Subra
Subra Company

Josh Tickell
Filmmaker, Author and Environmentalist

Rebecca Tickell
Producer, Marketing Director, and Musician