How to Stop the BP OIl Leak

[Vizzy]

Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
The nuclear option is wishful thinking and will never work.

Exactly desperation is definitely entering into the equation with this catastrophe, and it IS a catastrophe of global proportions ...the next worry is that potential that the oil residue mixed into the water with the use of those very toxic dispersants could aerosolize and actually be picked up by evaporation and fall as rain....this situation is looking more dire and grim by the minute.

Any retard could have figured out that introducing a highly toxic substance into the environment on a huge scale could also be catastrophic as well... I think the ONLY reason why BP did this was to hide the oil beneath the water for so the general public wouldn't "see" it plain and clear.

At least the oil itself is natural substance (while still toxic) and will degrade over time, who the [censored] knows when this toxic dispersant will degrade, if ever.
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There are claims that cleanup workers were being sickened by the fumes from the oil they were exposed to. It just keeps getting worse and worse. The people of Pensacola and Destin area are next to get the oil.


Maybe the sickness is due to the mixture of the highly toxic dispersants and oil!

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: Vizzy
it IS a catastrophe of global proportions ...


Its bad, but its not even CLOSE to being a "catastrophe of global proportions." Heck, its not even anywhere NEAR as bad as Ixtoc 1 was, and I remember that well.

The effects will NEVER be felt "globally" at all. Its quite likely only about 1/4 of the Gulf of Mexico will actually be affected.

I'm all for getting it fixed quick, but let's not spread hysteria here... the Iceland volcano is MUCH more of a "global catastrophe" than this is.

And by the way... "dispersant" is just another word for "detergent." The smaller the oil droplets are kept, the faster natural bacteria can digest it and clean it out of the environment. This is a GOOD thing.

 

[Vizzy]

Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
[

Its bad, but its not even CLOSE to being a "catastrophe of global proportions." Heck, its not even anywhere NEAR as bad as Ixtoc 1 was, and I remember that well.



Actually as of now this thing is spewing 5 to 7 times more oil per day that the rig from 1979.

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The effects will NEVER be felt "globally" at all. Its quite likely only about 1/4 of the Gulf of Mexico will actually be affected.


Even NOAA says that the oil from this spill is nearing the loop current and will likely spread up the US coast line and into the mid atlantic eventually reaching the coast of Northern Europe.
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I'm all for getting it fixed quick, but let's not spread hysteria here... the Iceland volcano is MUCH more of a "global catastrophe" than this is.

Um considering that this will impact the worlds food chain I'd definitely say this is more critical than the Volcano will ever be.




Problem is that this specific detergent is highly toxic, nothing like your laundry detergent. And man made so it is likely that this stuff may have a half life of centuries. Not to mention that it will also enter into the food chain.

 

[Mr Nice]

Now that its hurricane season, could you imagine if a Category 4 or 5 hurricane sprayed a few states with all that nasty water.

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: 440Magnum

No, it wouldn't. The idea would be to detonate the nuke DEEP underground, not at the seafloor. The pressure is already astronomical, and the overpressure wouldn't displace a lot of rock or dirt. What it WOULD do is melt the rock and collapse the original well casing, creating a huge glass plug. The very "butt plug" you suggest, in fact!


Ever heard any of the works of Archimedes ?

How is it supposed to melt all the rock ? conductivity, while not fracturing it ?

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: Johnny
Should have called in a fleet of vacuum tankers 45 days ago to suck the stuff up as it was coming to the surface. As we use to say, they have really screwed the pooch on this one. The greenies are going to have a field day with this.


Exactly, why didn't they? Stupid if you ask me. The Greenies are not likely to let this be forgotten. I like the idea of a plug forced into the pipe, pack hydraulic cement into it, leaving room at the top to either crush it, or cap it off.

 

[Shannow]

There's lots of ideas that are easy to like.

Look at companies like Furmanite, who cap off leaks, and hot tap lines above ground.

Then think about doing these activities 5,000 feet away.

 

[Steve S]

All the wells in all the oceans . Why this one? If the results weren't so sad it would be funny. You can't be to severe on your largest political contributers$$$$$$$$$$$$ Get your flu shot.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: Vizzy
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
[

Its bad, but its not even CLOSE to being a "catastrophe of global proportions." Heck, its not even anywhere NEAR as bad as Ixtoc 1 was, and I remember that well.



Actually as of now this thing is spewing 5 to 7 times more oil per day that the rig from 1979.


Cite please? I beg to differ. Its not anywhere close to Ixtoc yet, nor will it be even if it continues unabated through August when the relief wells should be in place:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_spill#Largest_oil_spills

Despite the fact that this spill appears to be due to a colossal chain of errors and shouldn't have happened, the fact that its been over 30 years since Ixtoc without any comparable incident until now proves that drilling safety and technology really have come a long way. Drilling will never be 100% safe. Crossing a street isn't 100% safe. Changing your own oil isn't 100% safe. Driving to *get* your oil changed isn't 100% safe. People who demand for 100% safety will never find it in the real world.

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The effects will NEVER be felt "globally" at all. Its quite likely only about 1/4 of the Gulf of Mexico will actually be affected.


Even NOAA says that the oil from this spill is nearing the loop current and will likely spread up the US coast line and into the mid atlantic eventually reaching the coast of Northern Europe.

Of course instruments will be able to find traces of the oil wherever the gulf currents take it, but no one will ever even notice it in a practical sense over in Europe. Look we're still talking about THE OCEAN for cripe's sake. The total volume of crude released is going to be a tiny fraction of a percent of the volume of the ocean. Even the volum of oil Ixtoc released compared to the world's ocean was like someone spitting in an olympic swimming pool. Less, actually.

The faster it spreads the better, in some ways, because oil spills do the most damage where oil is trapped and concentrated- which is why the Valdez was such a disaster despite being "only" one tanker load of oil. It was dumped right on shore, in a confined area, with no way to be dispersed.

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I'm all for getting it fixed quick, but let's not spread hysteria here... the Iceland volcano is MUCH more of a "global catastrophe" than this is.

Um considering that this will impact the worlds food chain I'd definitely say this is more critical than the Volcano will ever be.

'
I disagree- we're ALL already breathing the nasties out of the volcano. Just look at the color of your sunsets this year.

Besides, how is the oil going to get into the food chain? Oil isn't particularly toxic, doesn't concentrate as it goes up the food chain the way, for example, pesticides do. Not that its a good thing, but any animal that's really profoundly affected by the oil is going to die and NOT be eaten by another animal. Again, let's stop being as hysterical and emotional as the newspapers and Hollywood are. We're technical and scientific people here, not feather-brained actresses like Pamela Anderson who think its "the end of the world."

The good news is the cap is making a dent in the volume of the oil that's escaping. Let's hope and pray they can keep making it more effective until the relief wells get drilled- I think that's something everyone can agree on.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum

No, it wouldn't. The idea would be to detonate the nuke DEEP underground, not at the seafloor. The pressure is already astronomical, and the overpressure wouldn't displace a lot of rock or dirt. What it WOULD do is melt the rock and collapse the original well casing, creating a huge glass plug. The very "butt plug" you suggest, in fact!


Ever heard any of the works of Archimedes ?

How is it supposed to melt all the rock ? conductivity, while not fracturing it ?


I'm not an expert, and I really don't condone the nuke idea... but in theory it can melt rock beyond the fracture zone because radiation travels right THROUGH rock at light speed and can melt it at a fair distance without conduction. There are high-speed photographs and videos of nuke tests from the 50s where distant objects can be seen bursting into flame at the instant the detonation occurs... *before* the fireball/concussion wave actually reached them.

Beyond a certain range (so the theory goes...) there's no longer enough heat to melt the rock so the molten plug is more-or-less contained by unaffected surrounding rock, all several miles below the seafloor.

 

[Shannow]

The thermal radiation is travelling at the speed of light, the shock wave travels at the speed of sound. Same reason you see the bat swing before you hear the "thock".

Problem is that rock isn't transparent, so the heat HAS to move through the normal laws of physics.

 

[SteveSRT8]

There's a lot more than just thermal radiation!

It's a full frequency cascade of everything you can think of all at once. Remember, we're destroying matter here.

I can't believe the inept or scripted response from our government.

They just plain suck at protecting us.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: Shannow

Problem is that rock isn't transparent, so the heat HAS to move through the normal laws of physics.


Right- rock is only SEMI-transparent to the broad spectrum of radiation emitted from a fission or fusion blast. If it were transparent, it wouldn't be heated by the radiation, which would pass right through it all the way to the surface of the earth. If it were completely opaque, then all the heating would have to be by conduction. But its some of both- rock nearest the blast is heated by the radiation it absorbs, but a great deal passes right through it and heats the rock further away... which also lets some pass through to heat rock still further away, etc.

 

[Vizzy]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
.

I can't believe the inept or scripted response from our government.

They just plain suck at protecting us.


Unfortunately "your" government is actually in the pocket of major corporations by way of lobbyists,and has been for almost a century. Google "beware of the military industrial complex"

And get educated about the reality of our world.

 

[Steve S]

Originally Posted By: Vizzy
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
.

I can't believe the inept or scripted response from our government.

They just plain suck at protecting us.


Unfortunately "your" government is actually in the pocket of major corporations by way of lobbyists,and has been for almost a century. Google "beware of the military industrial complex"

And get educated about the reality of our world.
YEP!!!! I doubt that enough will learn or care.

 

[VG30DETT]

Lol, the HD footage just came out...what a joke. The robots couldn't just unbolt that connection at the flange? Instead of a hat maybe drop down a hat/flange ended pipe hybrid?

 

[Shannow]

One of the techniques that we use a lot is to screw/bolt/clamp on an open valve, so there's no pressure acting on it, then close it to stop the flow.

Admittedly above sea level, but with temps up to 1000F, and pressures of 2,600psi.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Tim Tebow, Chuck Norris, and Jack Bauer.

Timmy will pray asking God to part the waters around the wellhead, then Chuck Norris and Jack Bauer will rappel down and shut it off. Problem solved. Sheesh.

 

[robert_west]

Put a wedding ring around it. Women stop putting out when they get a wedding ring

 

[addyguy]

Originally Posted By: robert_west
Put a wedding ring around it. Women stop putting out when they get a wedding ring


LOL!