The Effects Of Our Toxic Environmental Bio-Terrain On Life

By TRISHA SPRINGSTEAD | THE REAL AGENDA | MARCH 30, 2013

On April 20th, 2010, the largest man-made disaster in the history of the United States of America blasted the Gulf of Mexico. The Explosion of the Deep Water Horizon murdered 11 men and injured 17 more. This was not just your ordinary spill.

Despite all warnings to upper level management, BP did not listen and told these men to move forward and keep drilling, as the company was losing money with each passing day. The deaths of these men, with brothers, sisters, mothers, wives and children, were homicides. The crime scene spewed out poison of unprecedented proportions while the powers that be sprayed toxic chemicals in order to cover up the crime.

The men that died or were disabled from the Macondo blowout should be treated as war heroes, since the fate of these men is the same one soldiers face. These men were put in harm’s way by corporate and government decisions over “wars that are fought in places where their business interest runs.” [1]

The families of the brave men who died have not received any compensation from the perpetrators of this crime. Unfortunately, the death and injury has not been limited to the original victims. It is an ongoing tragedy that continues to expand in scope, affecting the health and the lives of millions more.

When the well exploded, I was researching a disease pandemic some call Morgellons. [2] This is not the name for this disease now. It is clearly Hyper-Toxicity, Degradation of the Bio-Terrain [3], Neurocutaneous Syndrome [4], and recently has surfaced as the BP Oil Gulf Plague [5].

Before I submit the evidence from this crime scene, I want to give you a heads-up on what I had been working on for years here in the Southern United States. I find it interesting that, in early 2006, I began pulling strange PCBs, fibers and other organisms out of the skin of humans and was just astounded. I wanted to know what this new disease was. I called an old professor of mine, as these samples I was viewing looked almost shrimp-like. He had never heard of this. His advice was to call the Department of Marine Biology in Washington, DC.

I was excited and very curious, and the next morning I dialed a phone number. In my enthusiasm at finding something that was so interesting, I began telling my story to the man who picked up the phone in D.C. He listened very intently. Then these words, that I shall never forget and in retrospect haunt me.

“Lady,” he said, “if you know anything about this disease, you start screaming and you keep screaming, because if you don’t and something happens to you, you will be missed.” He went on to say, “You have not reached the Department of Marine Biology. You have reached the Department of Geology. I want you to stay away from this god-forsaken town (D.C.). I have 3 years left in this hell-hole before I retire, so you scream – and don’t stop.” I began screaming like a wild woman then and heeding his advice, will not be silenced now.

I do not believe in accidents any more. This Scientist knew something, and he knew I was on to something. Could it be that this was a warning sign of things to come, and this honest Geologist knew something and had seen evidence of what I was relating?

The answers to these questions may never be forthcoming, but the Universe reveals things to us when we need to look at them. It is a shame that more scientists are not curious about the human condition, because people continue to be polluted by food [6], water [7], environment [8] and man’s greed to tear apart and alter the perfection of Mother Earth’s gifts.

Marine Toxicologist Dr. Riki Ott [9] helped countless individuals while fighting valiantly for the people of Alaska in the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez spill. She could have earned $250,000 a year in the employ of various companies, but instead choose to assist people and wildlife.

Dr. Ott worked diligently over years on books and documentaries which illustrate her knowledge and concerns. She duly warned us of the treatment that was inflicted upon the people by the Exxon Valdez spill. Now she has taken her time and her dime to come to the Gulf Region and educate people up and down the coastlines of our precious Gulf of Mexico.

It is the nature of an ignorant man to say, “Oh, this is just a little spill. We will just cover it up with a little poison and a few pesticides that won’t hurt anyone, and a few Genetically Modified Nematodes won’t hurt anyone, either.” On top of that tanker spill in Alaska, Exxon dumped Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s) called Pseudomonas Putida. [10]

After meeting Dr. Ott, I discovered that thousands were reporting symptoms of rashes, brain fog, neurological problems, crawling and biting and itching to Dr Ott’s group. The average life expectancy in Alaska where that spill occurred is 51 years, and that was just a tanker, mind you. The people were told by Exxon, “Oh don’t worry, we’ll take care of you and ‘NOT ONE DROP’ will be found when we are done.”

Exxon took good care of them all right – their way of life was almost destroyed. The divorce, alcoholism, suicide and a literal wedge that was driven between the people proved disastrous. That spill decimated the way of life for those people, their culture and their world. The one hope, though, is that the humans who live on in that region of Alaska are praying for us as we face eerily similar circumstances.

They were never fully nor even partially compensated for the havoc and hell that Exxon put them through. I highly recommend that you read Dr. Ott’s book, Not One Drop. Read this book and read it well, because history has repeated itself. [11] But there is a kicker here, and an elephant in the living rooms of this whole Gulf Region and indeed, the world.

The draconian powers-that-be sprayed Corexit (which is outlawed in many other countries, including England) and other organisms on that spill. They continue to spray even now on the waters of the Gulf and the East Coast of Florida by night. The amounts of poisons that were spewed into our precious air and water, and what is being added in a misguided attempt to rectify it, are not just chemicals but a very, very toxic soup.

They do not give a damn about the impact on the people who worked hard every day. The honest fishermen won’t sell you dirty fish. [12]
They are not lazy, they know it is poison. The world is unfortunately filled with smoke and mirrors. “Oh, a few dead here and a few spilling blood there and a few Cajuns whose life is tied to the sea won’t be missed.”

When BP, Halliburton and the money-grubbing corporations say they are going to take care of you, you better find a lawyer and a good friend, because they will not. History repeating, these beautiful souls are sick. They have rashes, brain fog, lesions, and families with no food. Suffering themselves, they refuse to compromise by going out and fishing to sell poison to you and your families.

The health and human impact of this spill is already driving wedges through the social fabric of society all along the coast. The depression deepens with each passing day, the alcoholism rates will skyrocket, the suicides will escalate and fighting among brothers will increase. [13] The sociological ramifications are already heightened between people.

Proud people have no work unless it is to work for the perceived enemy. This is just what BP and the Corporate Dynasties like to see. BP wants people so worn down that they have no fight in them, no air to breathe to yell, no doctors to treat these people who are ill. If we open clinics and treat these people that BP and Nalco poisoned, these people who are sick and dying, then the poisoners will have to take some responsibility, admitting that they made the wrong choices and caused HARM.

To the people who think they fooled us, I say, “We are not fooled by you liars.” To the people who are spraying Corexit and flying those planes of genocidal chemicals we say, “Find an Honest Job, because you are helping the devil do his deeds.” To the people who told us, “It’s gone – the spill has disappeared, there is just a little poison out there,” we say, “Dilution is not the solution to pollution.”

To the wealthy who did not want to see this wash up on their shores, so if not seen, it doesn’t exist, or the Universities taking billions to study this, I say, “TAKE CARE OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE DYING AND ARE GOING TO DIE. GO TO THEIR HOMES, THEIR SHORES AND THEIR ONCE-SACRED FISHING GROUNDS.” These people are the sidewalk scientists.

They have lived on the land for generations, and they know their terrain and the waters they love and respect. Get out of your institutions of delusion, your board rooms and legal money-laundering, ivy-covered ivory towers, and look at the full picture. If you lose the people, you have no stewards and in the end you will choke on greed, money and oil.

I now submit evidence from independent researchers who have honestly documented aspects of this crime scene that has devastated the health, safety and welfare of human beings and all life along the Gulf of Mexico. Estimates grounded in science predict that this will affect 10 to 20 million people in the United States of America. [14]

What really came out of that Gulf of Mexico Macondo well of so-called “Fossil Fuel” – a term used very loosely in the lexicon of oil geohazard professionals? If we knew what was in the mixture that we put in our gas tanks, we might think twice about this destruction in the Gulf – especially when it only supplies 10% maximum of our oil consumption in this country.

People exposed to these toxins are becoming sick very quickly and dying, their immune systems are highly compromised, they are bleeding from every orifice, bruising is occurring spontaneously, lesions are horrific, lung capacities are declining and hearts are enlarging with every moment we waste not paying attention to the human condition.

Dr. Tom Termotto, an Integrative Health Consultant, head of the Gulf Spill Remediative Task Force and prolific researcher and educator, has written compelling scientific articles on this subject. The information has been affirmed by other scientists. He poses this question: “What do you get when you mix oil & methane gas with oil dispersant (Corexit), with radioactive effluent, with surface-burning oil slicks (petroleum + dispersant), with lots of dead marine life of every sort and kind in the Gulf of Mexico during a hot and humid summer?”

His answer: “A toxic petrochemical stew which is neither safe to eat from, nor swim in. The affected beaches, wetlands, marshes and estuaries should also be viewed with great caution, or avoided altogether.” 15] Dr. Termotto goes on to list established facts to substantiate his conclusion. The origins for his citations are found in his article, a small portion of which is quoted below, and which I highly recommend be read in full.

“It only takes 1 barrel of oil to effectively pollute one million barrels of seawater. Using the 87 days till the geyser was controlled; an estimated 87 X 100,000 barrels per day totaling 8.7 million barrels of hydrocarbon effluent (oil + methane + particulates such as sand, stones, gravel, and other debris from deep down under) and its many derivatives were released.

This bio-accumulates within living organisms and will concentrate in adipose tissue in human beings. It contains many different chemical constituents that will break down, each of which possesses different levels of toxicity to marine and human life.

Crude oil is a mixture of many different kinds of organic compounds, many of which are highly toxic and cancer-causing (carcinogenic). Oil is acutely lethal to fish, that is, it kills fish quickly at a concentration of 4000 parts per million (ppm) or 0.4%. It only takes one quart of motor oil to make 250,000 gallons of ocean water toxic to wildlife. This would be a concentration of only 1 ppm. Crude oil and petroleum distillates cause birth defects.

Benzene is present in both crude oil and gasoline and is known to cause leukemia in humans. The compound is also known to lower the white blood cell count in humans, which would leave people exposed to it more susceptible to infections. Studies have linked benzene exposure in the mere parts per billion (ppb) ranges to terminal leukemia, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and other blood and immune system diseases within 5-15 years of exposure. Benzene exposure at below 1 part per million (1 ppm) causes hematotoxicity in exposed workers.”

Dr. Termotto also addresses the main health hazards associated with breathing methane. “Methane is not toxic below the lower explosive limit of 5% (50,000 ppm). However, when methane is present at high concentrations, it acts as an asphyxiant. Asphyxiants displace oxygen in the air and can cause symptoms of oxygen deprivation (asphyxiation).

The available oxygen should be a minimum of 18% or harmful effects will result. Methane displaces oxygen to 18% in air when present at 14% (140,000 ppm). It is not expected to cause unconsciousness (narcosis) due to central nervous system depression until it reaches much higher concentrations (30% or 300,000 ppm), well above the lower explosive limit and asphyxiating concentrations.

Effects of oxygen deficiency include:

12-16%……breathing and pulse rate are increased, with slight muscular incoordination;
10-14%……emotional upsets, abnormal fatigue from exertion, disturbed respiration;
6-10%……nausea and vomiting, inability to move freely, collapse, possible lack of consciousness;

Below 6%……convulsive movements, gasping, possible respiratory collapse and death.

Since exercise increases the body’s need for oxygen, symptoms will occur more quickly during exertion in an oxygen-deficient environment. Survivors of oxygen deprivation may show damage to some or all organs including the central nervous system and the brain.
These effects may or may not be reversible with time, depending on the degree and duration of the low oxygen and the amount of tissue injury.

Another significant environmental impact caused by methane is the rapid depletion of oxygen in the aquatic environment. This will have many adverse effects on all marine life, especially those aerobic microbes that assist in bio-degrading the petroleum. Their oil-eating effectiveness will surely be compromised, just as all other aerobic organisms will suffer due to hypoxia (insufficient oxygen).

Surface dispersant used:……1,072,514 gallons
Subsea dispersant used:……771,272 gallons
Total dispersant used:……1,843,786 gallons

But some scientists say the chemical mixture, which at one point was being released at a rate of about 70,000 gallons a day, causes more harm than good, and may have contributed to huge plumes of hydrocarbons below the ocean surface.

The fact that Corexit now seems to have been so widely used also poses the question of who, exactly, is calling the shots in our once pristine and sacred Gulf of Mexico?”

In a short YouTube clip, Dr. Riki Ott, John Walthen, Holt Web, Lorrie Williams, Cheri Foytlin and Sherry Alan present some crucial evidence of what was going on in December of 2010 along the shore lines of the Gulf of Mexico. [16]

On May 23, the EPA ordered BP to find a less toxic substance than Corexit for bio-remediating the oil. The Coast Guard gave BP seventy-four exemptions. The workers were not permitted to wear respirators and were told by BP management to take them off. Reporter Anderson Cooper and other mainstream media were told that they could not come within 65 feet to photograph any of the cleanup or spill [17], and this was on public land.

BP in fact made workers sign non-disclosures and warned that if they spoke of what they saw they would lose their jobs. They could not even tell anyone the identity of their employer, and were watched the whole time by BP supervisors and police officers.

I was up in that area, along with David Curtis, trying to obtain samples. During two of these attempts we were nearly arrested. If arrested, we would have been jailed and charged with a class 4 felony and each given a $40,000 fine. The FDA will tell you the seafood is safe, but independent scientists will tell you that 2,604,000 barrels of crude petroleum hydrocarbons came out of that Well From Hell. Even now as I write this, methane is still seeping from the Gulf floor.

I ask you, as one human being to another, would you eat the seafood, or let your child play in the waters? Would you trust the Government, the EPA, CDC and FDA, who are entrusted to look after the health, welfare and safety of our environment and our citizens, to tell us that the waters are safe and the spill is GONE? Here is the truth about the seafood:

· Oysters tested contained 9,780 mg of petroleum hydrocarbons
· Blue Crabs contained 2,230 mg of petroleum hydrocarbons
· Muscles contained 6,900 mg of petroleum hydrocarbons
· Flounder contained 21,575 mg of petroleum hydrocarbons
· Shrimp purchased by Mac McKenzie and studied by veteran chemist Bob Naman contained 193 ppm of petroleum hydrocarbons. [18]

As a concerned citizen, I know that this food is not safe. The smell and taste tests prove nothing. Just because you cannot see it or smell it does not mean it is not there. Many people do not want to believe that this could happen in the United States of America. While we have been busy minding others’ business all over the world and fighting wars in far countries, we have been terribly asleep at home.
We have allowed corporations to rule this country over the rights of the people.

On August 20, 2010, the CDC walked out on those people, just as they have walked out on others with Hyper-Toxicity aka NCS and Morgellons and Lyme Disease. They have let our own nation down, by not telling us the truth and by walking away from the humans suffering. We can additionally place many health care providers and heads of Health and Human Services in this same category.

In fact, sufferers in that spill have told me personally that doctors have called them depressed and delusional. Kindra Arneson, a whistleblower against BP’s tactics, went to doctors and was told that she was depressed. She was not depressed – she was sick. She insists they are still spraying Corexit on people of the Gulf Coast. The question she asks is, “What are we – some big science experiment?” [19]

Dahr Jamal, a dedicated reporter with Aljazeera News, interviewed Dr. Rodney Soto on January 5, 2011. [20] The following paragraphs are copied from that interview. Dr. Soto explained the health impacts on his patients. “Many of the chemicals present in the oil and dispersants are known to cause headaches, nausea, vomiting, kidney damage, altered renal functions, irritation of the digestive tract, lung damage, burning pain in the nose and throat, coughing, pulmonary edema, cancer, lack of muscle coordination, dizziness, confusion, irritation of the skin, eyes, nose, and throat, difficulty breathing, delayed reaction time, memory difficulties, stomach discomfort, liver and kidney damage, unconsciousness, tiredness/lethargy, irritation of the upper respiratory tract, and hematological disorders.”

Dr. Soto classifies two types of symptom groups: acute exposure that includes skin and respiratory problems; and a second, larger group of people with no symptoms, but who still have toxicity. He believes the pathways of exposure occur through air, skin, and contaminated seafood.

While there are many examples of acute exposures, Dr. Soto’s concern is that most residents who are being exposed will only show symptoms later. “This latter group develops symptoms over years,” he told Al Jazeera. “I’m concerned with the illnesses like cancer and brain degeneration for the future. This is very important because a lot of the population down here may not have symptoms.

But people are unaware they are ingesting chemicals that are certainly toxic to humans and have significant effect on the brain and hormonal systems.” Dr. Soto is most concerned about the long-term effects of the toxins, because they have “tremendous implications in the human immune system, hormonal function, and brain function.” The toxic compounds in the oil and dispersants are “liposoluble” – meaning they have a “high affinity for fat,” according to Dr. Soto.

“The human brain is 70 percent fat,” Dr. Soto added, “and these will similarly effect the immune cells, intestinal tract, breast, thyroid, prostate, glands, organs, and systems. This is also why this is so significant for children.” His particular concern for children involves toxins which cause “development of the depressed immune system and a resurgence of cancer.”

Dr. Soto believes that for residents along the area of the Gulf Coast affected by BP’s toxic chemicals, the solution is either to relocate or to engage in an intensive, long-term detoxification regime that includes systemic detoxification programs.”

You will see from my research and pictorials that the lesions and symptoms of these people are strikingly similar to those suffering from Morgellons, NCS, Hyper-Toxicity and Lyme Disease. Doctors continue to diagnose most of these patients with staph, but how do we know without a culture and sensitivity? This BP Oil Spill Plague is far worse.

Now, finally. the truth. We have ingested, sprayed into our environment and treated our bodies and homes with countless chemicals based on petrochemicals. Take a good look around. We have allowed science to tinker with the natural wonders of our world and disrupt the ecosystems of our Earth, skies, and waters – all in the cause of money and greed.

We have allowed our Government to run roughshod over our rights to choose what we eat, drink and choose to supplement in the forms of herbals and pharmaceuticals. It is no wonder everyone is sick. This is what we and our governmental regulatory bodies have allowed since the beginning of the Industrial Age. Our country has consequently become a toxic dump – created of the Corporations, by the Corporations and for the Corporations. If we do not speak up to educate and protest, then they will take more of our personal rights.

It is time to stop this madness, which benefits so few while harming so many.

B.K. Lim, a Geohazards specialist and researcher with over 30 years experience in the Oil and Gas Exploration industry, partnered with Dr. Tom Termotto to write an eye-opening article entitled “Phoenix Rising from the Gulf Part II”. [21]

They explain how our Government let this happen. The evidence and citations written in this piece are extremely lucid and revealing. The supporting documentation will be found within their article, parts of which are quoted here. In the responses section, B.K. Lim answered a question from Que.

Que asks, “It’s hard to imagine so many things going wrong at once, but I have trouble imagining a plot to make failure deliberate. It seems like an accumulation of poor decisions leading up to the blowout, failure of key safety devices, and a failure of people to act decisively because of a fear of overreacting.”

Lim replies, “Que, I too had trouble believing this disaster was allowed to happen until these facts surfaced: Interior Department’s Mineral Management Service (MMS) gave BP’s lease at Deepwater Horizon a categorical exclusion that exempted it from a detailed environmental impact analysis in 2009. What’s more, BP was engaged in lobbying efforts to expand such exemptions only eleven days before the April 20 explosion.”

“An acoustic switch could have averted the disaster, and, Kennedy said in 2000, the Minerals Management Service while weighing a comprehensive rule making for drilling safety, deemed the acoustic mechanism essential and proposed to mandate the mechanism on all gulf rigs. But between January and March of 2001, incoming Vice President Dick Cheney conducted secret meetings with over 100 oil industry officials allowing them to draft a wish-list of industry demands to be implemented by the oil-friendly administration.”

“Cheney also used that time to re-staff the Minerals Management Service with oil industry toadies including a cabal of his Wyoming carbon cronies. In 2003, newly reconstituted Minerals Management Service genuflected to the oil cartel by recommending the removal of the proposed requirement for acoustic switches.”

“If you combine that with:

– The massive shares sell-off by Tony Hayward & at least 4 other directors (London and New York), Goldman Sachs and many other executives unlisted

– Former EPA attorney Jeanne Pascal had been unsuccessful in debarring BP for the last 12 years (someone in TPTB blocking her effort)

– Clear bathymetric data and geological evidence that the Macondo Wells were the worst possible location to drill safely (or best possible location to look for trouble)

– Multiple near-disaster misses (out-of-well control situations) and so many red flags on the way to disaster

– Halliburton’s buy-out of Boots & Coots for $240.4 million on 12 April, 8 days before the blowout.

– Stockpile of millions of barrels of Corexit and still being manufactured by and in stock after it was removed from a list of approved treatments for oil spills in the U.K. more than a decade ago. Turns out that Rodney F. Chase, who sits on the board of Nalco, was also a BP board member. Likelihood that he still holds shares in both companies is very high. So it wasn’t JUST nepotism, it was a for-profit choice.

– BP had been investing a lot of research time and money to pursue genetic modifications that would enhance natural microbial abilities to eat up oil spills on both land and sea.”

“Anyone independent enough, would come to the logical conclusion that the battleground for a disaster was well prepared but not the prevention part (all the defenses left wide open). How come? Isn’t Prevention better than Cure? Perhaps CURE or Disaster is a better windfall for some, especially those who happened to know well before the disaster to prepare the coffins?”

“Sorry Que, the more I dug into this disaster, the dirtier is this oily business.” The Gulf of Mexico is Dying: A Special Report on the BP Gulf Oil Spill.

This fine man BK Lim has now become the target of an assassination attempt and other fine, caring scientists are missing and have been Murdered. We are no longer a Country of the people seeking the truth, but of the Corporations trying to control our information to the public. [22]

I’ve discovered that genetically modified organisms, be they insects, foods, seeds or other life, have no place in our world. I strongly believe it is wrong for man to think he can tinker with Nature and change life to his will without unforeseen and devastating consequences. That thinking reveals ignorant shortsightedness. We as a species have become resistant to chemicals made by man.

Our Medical system is based upon studies which focus on parts of a problem without looking at the human condition in the entirety. Likewise, our science does not see the whole picture of the water and our globe ­ it has been broken into fragments to study by universities with funding.
Inch by inch to miles by miles in the process, we lose pieces of the full spectrum of our universe which cannot be recovered. Our government, sciences, food, soil, water, seas and skies have become compromised through the ignorant pursuit of this attitude.

The continuing effects of this Spill and its ramifications on man and our world are tremendous. Man is a reflection of Nature. Every drop of water we drink, every morsel of food we eat, every breath we take, impacts us now and in future generations. We are tied to the soil, water, food, animals, birds and sea-life and to our Mother Earth. As we pollute our environment, we harm ourselves. It is not a question of Man overcoming Nature. There is no degree of separation between Nature and mankind. As a collective consciousness, we need to remember ­ this is an undeniable and irrefutable truth.

I thank that honest Geologist in D.C. who encouraged me to investigate, contribute, and inform, for his warnings years ago. I thank all that are mentioned above and cited, my husband, Richard W Springstead MD who has endured my tantrums and passion. Tom and BK Lim for showing me the truth. Jeff Rense, and James Arthur Janick I dedicate this labor of love to my mother, Phyllis Rummel and Hulda Clark, the truth seekers who set me on my path.

My sincere gratitude and respect to all the individuals whose efforts are mentioned, and more, whose research, passion and generosity inspire us all. We must claim back our terrain, within and without, physically, environmentally, emotionally and spiritually. I hope you will take a closer look at the evidence presented here and beyond, and apply that knowledge for the healing of ourselves and our “irreplaceable world”

Notes

1 Jackson Browne “Lives in the Balance”: http://www.jrp-graphics.com/jb/litb.html

2 Multiple Sources including:

Body Bugs Patrick Frazier for WSNV:

http://www.wsvn.com/features/articles/investigations/MI39689/
http://www.wsvn.com/features/articles/investigations/MI46364/
http://www.wsvn.com/features/articles/investigations/MI67897/

Barbara Minton for Natural News:

http://www.naturalnews.com/025757_disease_Morgellons_fiber.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/025786_disease_Morgellons_WHO.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/023004_Morgellons_disease_fiber.html

Dr. James Schaller:

http://www.personalconsult.com/pubindex.html#morgellons

Trisha Springstead RN, MS, click “Morgellons Help” at upper left:

http://www.espbotanicals.com
http://www.morgellonsfocus.com
http://morgellonspgpr.wordpress.com

3 Bengt Robbert & Arnel Lindgren: http://www.anuwater.com

Dr. Robert O. Young: http://www.phmiracleliving.com

Dr. Patrick: http://tinyurl.com/4md6h7r

4 Dr. Omar Amin, Study of 50 subjects with amalgam mercury and dental sealant toxicity:

http://www.parasitetesting.com/morgellons.cfm

5 Dahr Jamail:

http://bpoil.wordpress.com/2010/11/15/illness-plagues-gulf-residents-in-bps-aftermath-dahr-jamail/
Alex Jones: http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread624755/pg1

6 Dr. Jeffrey Smith: http://www.seedsofdeception.com

Michael Pollan: http://michaelpollan.com/media/interviews-and-profiles/

7 http://www.simplesteps.org/chemicals/hexavalent-chromium

8 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC344268/

9 Dr. Riki Ott: http://www.rikiott.com

10 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC235858/ and
http://tinyurl.com/469ca4j

11 Dr. Riki Ott, Not One Drop: http://www.rikiott.com/books.php

12 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQk3cSAcl6I

13 http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2007429,00.html

14 http://tinyurl.com/4fhgysf

15 http://worldwellnesssymposium.wordpress.com/2010/08/05/
environmental-and-health-impacts-of-the-bp-gulf-oil-spill/
http://phoenixrisingfromthegulf.wordpress.com/

16 http://morgellonsreport.com/2010/12/31/the-gulf-now/

17 Anderson Cooper for CNN: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/07/coast-guard-bans-reporters-oil-cleanup-sites/#

18 http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385×523115 &
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/07/marine-biologist-claims-coast-guard-involved-corexit-spraying/#

19 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54mmmu6YNzs

20 http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2010/12/20101230105158700342.html

21 https://phoenixrisingfromthegulf2.wordpress.com/2010/12/11/
bp-and-macondo-evidence-now-shifting-from-lihop-to-mihop/

22 http://oilgate.wordpress.com/2011/01/26/plaintiffs%e2%80%99-rico-case-statement-against-bp/

Trisha Springstead, RN, MS Biological Science

Trisha Springstead is a Registered Nurse licensed in Florida. Trained in medicine at Loma Linda University, UCSB, and Riverside State College. Over 36 years in the medical field, she’s worked in a myriad of specialties and was clinical educator for two HMA Hospitals and administrator.

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EPA Accused of Violating the Clean Water Act

Costing Billions in Environmental Damage

CEO Discusses Non-Toxic Oil Spill Cleanup Method on Fox Business Network, March 3

GULF RESCUE ALLIANCE | MARCH 2, 2013

In the wake of the ongoing civil trial with high stakes for BP over the 2010 Gulf oil spill, the OSEI Corporation Chairman puts a new slant on preventable devastation outlining how the oil giant could have saved billions in damages and Clean Water Act fines if the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had not stood in the way of science and spill response advancements.

Airing on Sunday, 3 March on Fox Business Network, the 21st Century Business TV Series will feature OSEI Corporation’s non-toxic oil spill cleanup method, Oil Spill Eater II (OSE II), bringing to light a cost-effective solution for oil companies operating anywhere in the world – from the Gulf’s warm waters to the icy clime of Alaska.

The show interviews OSEI CEO Steven Pedigo, inventor of OSE II, a biological enzyme that detoxifies and then converts oil and toxic waste into a natural food source for the enhanced native bacteria found in the area of a spill. The end result of this process is close to 100% of the oil fully removed from the environment. Pedigo tells about the 23-year history of his company and its successes in removing oil and other toxic spills in every type of environment, including difficult-to-reach, sensitive habitats. Pedigo has aggressively challenged the EPA for “violating the very Clean Water Act it is there to enforce by pre-approving toxic dispersants and tampering with science testing and results to justify inadequate oil spill cleanup protocols used on the BP Oil Spill.”

The EPA, along with other federal agencies who direct oil spill contingency plans are responsible for safeguarding U.S. natural resources and public health. Pedigo asserts that in stark contrast to their mandate, they have seemingly favored dangerous “cleanup” methods utilizing dispersants, which independent studies have shown to be more harmful to marine life and human health than the oil. During the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) crisis, Gulf State officials, deeply concerned over the excessive use of Corexit (the toxic chemical dispersant applied in unprecedented doses to Gulf waters to disperse and sink the oil into the water column), specifically requested the use of OSE II as an alternative method for addressing the spill. Despite repeated requests, including from BP itself, the EPA continued to enforce the use of dispersants and justify their destructive “tradeoffs” while blocking non-toxic solutions.

Amongst a large number of industry and independent science groups, an international environmental organization the Lawrence Anthony Earth Organization (LAEO) has investigated current oil spill methodologies and advocates for the use of OSE II as a first-response cleanup method. “The 21st Century Business TV Show featuring a product that has been safely used in 30 countries around the world and which has cleaned up over 23,000 oil spills, is a good starting point for raising public and industry awareness that there are better solutions out there which will save the oil and gas industry billions in clean up costs, damage claims and Clean Water Act fines, not to mention protecting human health and the environment. We encourage industry leaders, environmental groups and federal officials in this field to urgently review current methodology for the sake of all living organisms that rely on clean water,” said LAEO International President, Barbara Wiseman.

The LAEO is about to publish a position paper to educate emergency response professionals and industry stakeholders, calling for a ban on the use of dispersants while bringing to light alternative solutions. The paper highlights the specific category of Bioremediation technology that the EPA has approved and listed which has undergone years of field tests and use proving its efficacy at removing close to 100% of an oil spill through non-toxic means and at a fraction of traditional cost. Some of the most recent tests were conducted by, among others, a BP science team, and the Department of Interior, showing superior results.

“The former Administrator of NOAA Jane Lubchenco, EPA officials and other senior members of the interagency committee have publically admitted that in the end, only 8% of the spilled oil in the Gulf was actually removed, and seemingly ignore statistical realities by asserting they directed a ‘successful spill response,’ –which is an utter falsehood,” said Pedigo.

According to BP’s recent court filing, 810,000 barrels of ‘cleaned up oil’ never polluted the waters since it was recovered directly from the riser pipe although this amount is added into the cleanup statistics claimed by NOAA and the EPA, misleadingly inflating the actual numbers of spilled oil removed from the environment. Regardless, the disputed spill volume and removal figures raise the question – what happened to the remainder of the estimated 2 million barrels of oil plus dispersant chemicals left in the Gulf of Mexico and how are the continued appearing slicks and unnatural seeps from the fractured seabed floor in the Macondo zone being handled? “The EPA and Coast Guard seem to think that nature will take care of the rest and are taking no action; but independent science proves differently. An honest evaluation would show that the toxicity added by ‘clean up’ chemicals is a violation of Clean Water Act Law because these agents add pollutants to the environment and do not remove the oil, leaving dispersants and oil residing in the water column and the sea floor. The threat of Clean Water Act fines mistakenly encourage clean up systems that hide or make the oil volume rapidly undetectable,” continued Pedigo.

The TV program will explain how the OSE II process works and is environmentally safe using natures own bioremediation processes to effectively eliminate hazardous materials.

Click Link for Airing Schedule: http://21cbtv.com/clearance-report/

For More Information Contact: Susan Aarde
Susanaarde@gmail.com
Gulf Rescue Alliance

US to auction 20 million acres in Gulf of Mexico for oil, gas exploration

KUNA | NOVEMBER 28, 2012

The Obama administration on Tuesday announced it would auction off 20 million acres in the Western Gulf of Mexico for oil and natural gas exploration.

On Wednesday, New Orleans hosts Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 229, announced by the US Department of Interior in October. Up for auction are 141 blocks, compared to the 626 put up for sale in December 2011.

The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management estimated the lease sale could lead to the production of more than 116 million barrels of oil and more than 538 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

The sale is the first under the Obama administration’s new five year offshore leasing plan. Fifteen lease sales are scheduled under the 2012-17 lease program, including four Western Gulf lease sales, according to US government data.

“At President Obama’s direction, his Administration continues to implement a comprehensive, all-of-the-above energy strategy, expanding domestic production, reducing our dependence on foreign oil, and supporting jobs,” said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. “Developing public energy resources in the Gulf of Mexico continues to generate much needed revenue for local communities while helping to power our nation and fuel our economy.”

BP Oil Spill Disaster: The Growing Emergency, the Unpunished Crime

Two years and many millions of gallons of oil later — and still counting –, the Gulf is in worse condition than it was weeks after the Deepwater Horizon platform exploded on April 20, 2012.

By LUIS R. MIRANDA | THE REAL AGENDA | APRIL 20, 2012

The worst man-made disaster in the history of modern society is still ongoing, and the criminals responsible for it continue to be the sole guardians of the crime scene. Animal and plant life continue to die in the Gulf of Mexico due to the continues leakage of oil from the depths of the ocean floor while from above, planes continue to poison the waters with Corexit in an attempt to hide the fact that the oil spill is far from being over. The lies and the fraud carried out by the federal agencies in charge of coming to the rescue and British Petroleum, which swindled the public for many months became part of a coverup that had the main stream media as their best accomplices. Under reporting or completely ignoring the oil spill and its magnitude was the job of the corporate whore media, that followed the traditional don’t ask, don’t tell modus operandi, limiting themselves to report what they were told to report.

Two years and many millions of gallons of oil later, the Gulf is in worse condition than it was weeks after the Deepwater Horizon platform exploded on April 20, 2012. As we all remember, that explosion resulted in the immediate death of 11 workers, a tragedy that has grown exponentially since then. After multiple attempts to supposedly ‘cap the leaking well’, BP was caught lying with a straight face, even during congressional hearings. The large volume of information to be analyzed, the lack of expertise of those in charge of holding BP accountable and BP’s explicit intention to defraud the public has made it impossible, so far, to bring those responsible for committing one of the greatest out-in-the-open crimes in history to justice. In fact, BP has worked overtime to try to settle the crime outside of court with both the residents of the Gulf and the Federal Government. Unfortunately, the residents caved in by accepting what on the face appears to be a juicy compensation, but does not solve their main problem whatsoever. Earlier this year, a group of residents settled with BP for damages caused as a result of the oil spill, letting the multinational off the hook regarding legal responsibility.

The problem is, money will not solve the disaster now taking place in the Gulf of Mexico. The money those residents received will be long gone before any real solutions are provided to actually cap the leaking well, clean the waters of the Gulf and return the region to the state it was in before the explosion. As we have informed before, capping the well that BP tried to keep secret during congressional testimony and up until now, may be impossible. The leak that is now flooding the Gulf with oil and gases is not a traditional leak per se, but a major leak coming out of a fractured sea floor that experts believe is a direct consequence of an explosive detonation. Regardless of the cause, the fact is the oil is still leaking just as fast as life in the Gulf is fading away. Up until now, several documented reports from private citizens show that oil is still reaching the surface before it is rapidly dispersed with Corexit during night flights. Another fact that cannot be easily ignored is the death of hundreds of sea animals that are found on the beaches of the Gulf region. Sea Turtles and dolphins lying dead on the beaches at an unprecedented rate, more than at any time before in history, is a sign of the only certainty we can believe in right now: The US government and BP lied to the public.

Separate reports from people who visit the Gulf region on a daily basis to document the death sea animals there count the number of  dead turtles and dolphins by the hundreds. Oil on the surface of the ocean has been seen by people in planes and helicopters all over the Gulf. These same leaks were a rarity before April 20, 2010, but the so-called authorities say that the oil is coming from natural seepages out of the Gulf’s ocean floor. Scientists who have been shown the images, such as Dr. Ira Leifer, from University of California, say that the size and location of ocean surface oil are important enough to require another investigation. But not such an investigation is happening and as we said before, BP is spraying Corexit on a nightly basis to hide the new oil. Corexit, a product made by Nalco, is banned in 19 countries around the world, included the United Kingdom due to its high toxicity.

As The Real Agenda reported before, BP owns 70 percent of the leases for oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico. Those leases mean billions of dollars for the government, of course. But the reason why BP was left off the hook up until now goes way beyond a few billion dollars. BP was allowed to operate above all available standards of security and legality from the beginning. A detailed analysis of how the Gulf of Mexico Disaster happened gives us a clear picture of what this means.

A CHRONOLOGY OF THE DISASTER

The first gas well blowout that happened on April 20, 2010, was caused from shallow gas influx through leaks in the top hole section of the well caused by replacing drilling mud with sea water at 8,367ft BSL The light hydrocarbon influx came directly from the shallow gas-saturated weak sub-formation zone. After the initial gas surge, the top hole section quickly settled into a steady in-flow state. Light hydrocarbons then continued to flow into the top hole section of the well without affecting the stability.

From April 20-22, the Deepwater Horizon Platform experienced the explosions we all witnessed live or otherwise. These explosions followed the blowout from April 20. Even more explosions happened later as it was reported by firefighters at and close to the oil platform.

Early on April 22, underwater demolition charges were used to break the riser at 460ft from the BOP#1 end; 4540ft below water surface. This explosion caused the riser to bend in just 15 seconds, which is thought to have been aided by directional charges.

By the late afternoon on April 22, another deliberate detonation took place, which occurred around the sub-seabed level. According to experts who provided us with this information, the main objective was to demolish the third well and to induce a second bottom hole well blowout – BHWell-Blowout#2. However, an unintended result of this purposely set explosion, shook the shallow sub-seabed sediment resulting in a simultaneous massive discharge of hydrocarbons from the abnormal shallow hydrocarbon accumulations. The direct consequence of this explosion is what satellites images revealed on April 25, 2010: an oil slick of about 580 squared miles. At the time, the images suggested that hydrocarbons from the Macondo reservoir might be leaking through multiple cracks on the ocean floor.

Because of the numerous explosions, at the depths they took place, no one found out about the leaks until around April 24, 2010.

Later on April 22, almost right after the previous explosion, a new detonation went off at the second well that caused a complete breakdown od the cement plug at the bottom of that well. This resulted in the leakage of gas that might have depleted itself if BP had not messed it up later. Experts are sure that no big oil spill had happened if BP hadn’t caused such a spill artificially.The explosion that happened on the evening of the 22nd, started the massive oil spill we now know as the BO Oil Spill Disaster. This explosion ejected the Blowout Preventer out of the 3rd well, the one BP tried to keep secret for as long as they were able.

From the document BP drilled 3 wells at the Macondo Prospect:

“The original BOP is referred to as BOP#1 because there were at least 2 more BOPs brought into the Macondo prospect. BOP#2 replaced the broken BOP#1 and is now standing at NASA warehouse facility. No wonder NDV (Det Norske Veritas) were confused in their forensic examination of the fake BOP#2. Although DNV did not exactly say it, even their computer simulations and modeling could not fit in micro-details of BOP#1’s failure”

As it is now known, the Gulf was flooded with the largest amounts of oil after the detonation of BSB-Detonation#1 and BHWell-Blowout#2. (As shown by the satellite photo taken on 25 April 2010) Earlier on April 22, 2010, the satellite photo only showed the smoke from the Deepwater Horizon platform.

The latest of the detonations was conducted to achieve at least three goals, the document says: 1) to jam up the potential flow. This is confirmed by the jammed up 2 drill-pipes at the kink in the bent riser. 2) to weaken the well casing cement at the annulus. This is the reason why the detonation took place below the well casing level. 3) to breach the base cement plug to unleash the explosive hydraulic power of the reservoir.

The reservoir well detonation that occurred on August 1, 2010, was the last attempt to seal the leaking well after several previous attempts through the month of July. In this case, the detonation was caused by a nuclear device. Proof of this event is reflected by the unlikely shallow earthquake registered in Louisiana at about 11:34:29 Central Daylight Savings Time, just 12 minutes after the detonation. The epicenter of the quake was 5km deep exactly on the NW-SE fault line. Many people believe the nuclear explosion, although did not cause a complete activation of the New Madrid fault, it did cause to become unstable.  To this fact we can add that the wellhead at well A was still standing, which makes it an impossibility that well A was the leaking well. The oil was indeed coming out of well 3, now known as Well BE.

WHAT IS BP RESPONSIBLE FOR?

BP is in part — along with other entities and persons — responsible for committing various crimes against the people of the Gulf, violating local and federal laws, perjuring in front of Congress, hiding information from authorities and the public that prevented the realization of a complete and orderly investigation of the events that led to and that happened during and after the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster in 2010.

More specifically, BP is to blame for illegally drilling a 3rd oil well, the one it tried to hide in order to keep the crime secret from authorities and the public. The company drilled this third well without the proper permit, and it was precisely this well the one that caused the largest oil spill in the history of the oil industry. The third well was not approved by the Mineral Management Service (MMS) for exploration and/or drilling in the Macondo Prospect. According to ROV video, Well BE, was the only one of the three wells that BP drilled that reached the desired depth the company wanted to access the Macondo Reservoir, which later caused the underwater explosion.

BP perjured itself by testimony of their representatives before Congress by providing false evidence that BP had drilled only the permitted well (well A). This well was, according to evidence, drilled to a depth of 5,000 feet, way to shallow to reach the Macondo Reservoir. BP stopped works at well A because the drill it was using got jammed by the pressure formation collapse at the open section of the well bore. The collapse, experts say, could have been caused by gas saturation at sub-formations. BP informed the MMS that this well (well A) was leaking gases and oil. Well A was abandoned for safety reasons.This also confirms that the gas blowout that occurred on April 20, 2010, could have not come from well A.

Meanwhile, well B, drilled to a depth of 13, 305 feet, also way too shallow to reach the Macondo Reservoir, could not be drilled deeper because of similar drills jamming problems. According to geohazard experts, well B experienced even stronger pressure problems. Regarding this fact, Transocean is still suing BP for not informing the company about these type of problems. BP could have drilled at the same location using something called a bypass, which would have enabled the company to keep on perforating the sea bed around the same place but change trajectory at some point. BP had asked the MMS for a permit to do such a procedure, but never actually did it, neither on well A or B. Evidence and reasons for BP not to have done the by-pass range from the company’s own reports to safety and inefficiency.

BP also withheld vital information up to the explosion on April 22 that, experts agree, would have led to the speedy and safe control of the well. Such controls would have prevented the cement plug at the base from failing completely; avoided that the high-pressure oil gushed out of the reservoir directly into the well; stopped the gas blowout on April 20 that was caused by shallow gas influx within the first 9,000 ft; reduce or eliminate the danger posed by the shallow hydrocarbon influx into the upper section of the well, which had settled into a steady inflow. If British Petroleum had informed the reality of the situation, the result of the explosion on April 20, 2010 would have been less lethal indeed.

British Petroleum also perjured itself in Congress by claiming that a second explosion on 2010 April 22 was the reason why the Deepwater Horizon Platform collapsed, destroying the riser pipe that was still attached to the blowout preventer (BOP#1). BP also said that the riser pipe, that goes from the wellhead to the drilling rig broke as the DWH fell into the ocean. BP said that the first leak was located at the bent rise, on top of BOP#1. Later they added that the larger second leak was at the broken end of the riser, at about 480 ft to the north inside a blown crater at the seabed, and that the third leak was just a smaller one occurring at the Riser on the seafloor. This was of course false. Videos from the ROV’s frm April 22 – 24 show that there were no significant leaks on the broken riser, and all of the gushing oil seemed to be coming from isolated seafloor.

From the document BP drilled 3 wells at the Macondo Prospect:

We further posit that it was this detonated explosion that triggered the second, more powerful oil blowout by breaching the base of this well below 18,000 ft bsl and allowing high-pressure oil from the Macondo reservoir to gush directly into the well. It was this detonated explosion at shallow depth that started the chain of events that led to the uncontrollable massive oil spill that poisoned the Gulf with oil from the Macondo reservoir. The first gas blowout, which set the DWH rig on fire April 20, was caused by gas influx from the shallow gas-saturated weak subformation (GWSF) zone. After that initial gas surge into the well, the shallow section of the well (down to 10,000 ft bml) appeared to have stabilized into a constant-flow equilibrium with the GWSF zone.

At that point there was no immediate danger of another gas blowout from within the well, neither from the shallow section with a stable incoming leak from the GWSF zone nor from the deep end o the well which had not been breached by virtue of being suppressed under heavy mud weight. Well A, which is located 720 ft southeast of the blown well BE crater, had been spewing gas from the same GWSF zone since 2010 February and had not been plugged, a violation of MMS regulations regarding abandoned wells. At the time of the first gas blowout on April 20 until at least April 24, well A and well B were left abandoned and had no man-made connection (riser pipe or any pipeline) to well BE or to BOP#1 sitting on well BE’s wellhead. The second detonated explosion, however, did aggravate the gas leaks at both wells A and B, due to the inter-connecting faults and the same GWSF occurrence at all three wells.

The scenario described above is supported by ROV videos, specifically the one that shows the blown out crater from April 23, 2010. This video shows the riser pipe dipping northward into the crater floor with the oil flowing from the north, forming a plume directed southward. This debunks BP’s statement that the oil was leaking out of the broken riser connected to the blowout preventer at well A. So, the oil was not leaking from that well, but from further below at the crater itself located at the illegally drilled third well. Additionally, the video of the shows the fractured seafloor near the third well crater. This had been covered in part by gigantic amounts of cement and drilling mud. This fact also confirms the impossibility that BP was not aware of the explosion, since work had already been done to cover up the crater and site of the explosion caused by the indiscriminate drilling and the detonation performed that caused the crater in the first place.

IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS TO FIND OUT MORE

As monumental as all these facts may seem, should the federal agencies allow truly independent investigators to take charge of the oil spill site, and complete a whole new investigation, the public would learn even more about the investigations conducted by citizen groups and independent researchers as well as to reveal even more of the information we do not know. For example, an full investigation would show exactly how ROV videos were altered to hide the real state of BOP#1, which had been blown in pieces and whose parts were buried on the seafloor. The same situation occurred with wellheads and casings from well BE, the third illegally drilled well. The videos were cut and pasted to cover up the times and dates of the explosions as well as other aspects such as coordinates, headings, altitudes, depths, job description.

The making of the false videos and their presentation as proof that everything was under control was one of BP’s main lies in Congress. It was intended to support their claim that the leaks were coming from well A, as supposed to Well BE. Further research would also show how exactly BP substituted the blow out preventer at well A and lying about it being the original BOP. This BOP withstood the explosions on well A up until April 22, but was destroyed by the second detonation on that same day. This, as posed before, caused the massive flooding of the Gulf of Mexico with oil from the Macondo Reservoir. The result of this flood was a panic-driven initiative to use Corexit to try to clean the waters. As we now know, Corexit does not have that capacity. It only turns the pockets of oil into smaller particles without actually cleaning the ocean.

In order to pull this plan off, BP had about two weeks to carry out the changes, while the people were shown ROV video footage of well A. BP then installed a second BOP at well A, which later was presented as an intact BOP bent-riser assembly. “A forensic examination on this fake BOP#2 naturally raised more questions than answers and left many important questions unanswered.”

These are just a few of the facts that would be confirmed beyond reasonable doubt — not that more of it is necessary in order to know the truth –.

TOXICITY AND DEATH IN THE GULF REGION

Testimonies continue to reveal the dire consequences of the BP oil spill from two years ago continue to pour in from different reports ranging from individuals — who on their own dollar travel to the region to document the scenario of death and sickness now developing around the coastal areas — to foundations and non-profit organizations that provide residents of the Gulf and the rest of the world the information the main stream media does not.

An article from the Surfrider Foundation dated April 17, 2012, shows the extent of the persistent toxicity at different locations. Just as many other activists have done it, the foundation demonstrates how people who live in the region are exposed to toxins in the water, the sand and the air. “We saw hazmat-suit wearing workers leaving the beach as the sun rose over the horizon. They had worked during the night and were leaving just as the tourists came over the sand dunes for a day at the beach. The workers had worked hard and picked up what oil globs that could be seen by the naked eye (aided by a little extra UV light). If it was safe for tourists then why would workers have such protection? If it wasn’t safe why weren’t the tourists being told that?”

According to the previous report, between 800,000 to 1,000,000 gallons of Corexit have been used in order to disperse the oil coming out from the Macondo Reservoir. The Surfrider Foundation released a report entitled: “State of the Beach“, a study that provides the latest details about the Gulf of Mexico on-going disaster. The report related that the large amounts of Corexit being sprayed over the Gulf’s waters is making it impossible for microbes to digest the oil. “The persistence of Corexit mixed with crude oil has now weathered to tar, yet is traceable to BP’s Deepwater Horizon brew through its chemical fingerprint. The mix creates a fluorescent signature visible under UV light.”

In an article dated October 2010, environmental reporter Julia Whitty documented the magnitude of the disaster up to that time. By her account, methane was shooting up from the well drilled by the Deepwater Horizon rig, exploding at the well’s head. Those gases and the oil that came out from the bottom of the ocean floor would later turn the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig into the least of the problems. The Surfrider Foundation’s report speaks about four main relevant facts:

* The use of Corexit is inhibiting the microbial degradation of hydrocarbons in the crude oil and has enabled concentrations of the organic pollutants known as PAH to stay above levels considered carcinogenic by the NIH and OSHA.
* 26 of 32 sampling sites in Florida and Alabama had PAH concentrations exceeding safe limits.
* Only three locations were found free of PAH contamination.
* Carcinogenic PAH compounds from the toxic tar are concentrating in surface layers of the beach and from there leaching into lower layers of beach sediment. This could potentially lead to contamination of groundwater sources.

The complete study from the Foundation written by James H. “Rip” Kirby III, is accessible to the public online. His study tested samples of crude oil in the northern Gulf of Mexico from the day the spill happened. Field testing from May 2010 were conducted at beaches before the crude oil from spill made its way there. Additional testing was done on tar samples for a trend analysis of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
(PAH) that analyzed concentration levels. This tests began March 2011 and were completed in November 2011. Overall, 71 samples were tested. “Tests for 38 different PAH analytes were done on 48 samples. Oil range organics (ORO) tests were done on 23 samples. Compared to the Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH) or carcinogenic exposure limit for PAH analytes listed as coal tar derivatives, 90% of the positively identified analyses exceeded the IDLH limit,” reads the report.

For months and months, federal agencies assured Gulf residents and tourists that it was safe to consume seafood from Gulf waters, even though visual proof showed otherwise. Now, a report issued by Al-Jazeera confirms the worst fears regarding food safety and how it has declined since the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig. Both scientists and residents of the Gulf region continue to find not only contaminated sea animals, but also others that have suffered mutations as a consequence of the exposure to chemicals used to supposedly clean the waters from the oil spill. As reported by EcoWatch.org: “horribly mutated shrimp, fish with oozing sores, underdeveloped blue crabs lacking claws, eyeless crabs and shrimp” along with “shrimp with abnormal growths, female shrimp with their babies still attached to them, and shrimp with oiled gills.” And this seems to be only the beginning. See visual proof of the mutations and contamination in this news report. In a press communique, BP responded to the questions of food contamination by saying that both NOAA and the FDA guaranteed that seafood from the Gulf was as safe as it was before the oil spill disaster.Meanwhile, NOAA declined to comment on the findings of the investigation conducted by Al-Jazeera, saying there would be a conflict of interest because the organization was involved in the lawsuit against BP.

The results of the tests conducted to back up the investigation show not only mutation and contamination, but also the decline in the number of kinds of sea life as well as the number of those sea animals. These facts add to the already existing economic and environmental Armageddon that the oil spill has caused and continues to cause for residents and visitors. BP has responded to investigations and evidence of fraud, perjury and lies with numerous PR campaigns and has moved fast to settle as much of the problem as possible outside the traditional legal processes. “The fishermen have never seen anything like this,” says Dr. Jim Cowan, who works at Louisiana State University’s Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences. “And in my 20 years working on red snapper, looking at somewhere between 20 and 30,000 fish, I’ve never seen anything like this either.” Al-Jazeera reports that fishermen have witnessed how 50 per cent of the shrimp caught during the last high season were damaged with mutations or missing body parts, a consequence of BP’s oil and dispersants. “Disturbingly, not only do the shrimp lack eyes, they even lack eye sockets,” says Tracy Kuhns, who is a commercial fisher in  Barataria, Louisiana. According toxicologists like Dr. Riki Ott, who survived the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the usage of dispersants is a draconian experiment being performed by BP. Corexit is know to have a combination of solvents, petroleum distillates, 2-butoxyethanol, among others, which work by dissolving oil, grease, and rubber. Mr. Ott said to Al Jazeera that the solvents in the chemicals are toxic to people, and that “it is something the medical community has long known”.

Separate studies have already demonstrated that oil dispersants like Corexit have mutagenic effects, which directly explains why seafood are experiencing the type of physical changes reported by fishers and residents, as well as why large mammals such as dolphins are appearing dead on the beaches all along the Gulf of Mexico. As it has been shown by several studies, the deformities caused by the chemicals carry out their effects through several generations, especially in those animals whose life span is shorter. The chemicals do indeed enter and negatively affect the genes. Although deformities and major health problems are not seen in humans, many residents of the Gulf have already been found sick or have died to the exposure to the chemicals sprayed over them. The chemicals can be absorbed through breathing, ingestion of contaminated food and water, through the skin or even the eyes. Early symptoms of intoxication manifest as headaches, vomiting, diarrhea, chest pains, hypertension, central nervous system depression, neurotoxic effects, cardiac arrhythmia and cardiovascular damage. In the worst case scenario, the person dies if not treated or if an explicit detox program is not followed and repeated frequently.

A study conducted by Dr. Andrew Whitehead, from Louisiana State University, that analyzed the negative effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was published on the Journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences last October. The report speaks volumes about the physiological effects of the oil disaster and shows a clear link between the BP oil spill and the intoxication of the waters, sea life and Gulf residents. “We found is a very clear, genome-wide signal, a very clear signal of exposure to the toxic components of oil that coincided with the timing and the locations of the oil,” said Whitehead during an interview with Al-Jazeera.

The oil industry has gotten away with so many crimes that government agencies, regulators and even the public have become conformed at best. The BP oil disaster happened — in part — as a consequence of a wave of exemptions to allow risky drilling operations without following proper safety procedures and it was the US federal government, through its multiple agencies the one that granted those exemptions. This makes the government as guilty as BP; guilty of the mass killing of life in the Gulf region. So, even if the same complicit government managed to try BP for its actions, who will indict the government for its complicity in this catastrophe? As oil industry insiders informed the public back in 2010, there was indeed an agenda to wipe out all life throughout the Gulf of Mexico at first, and everywhere else around it later.

The BP oil spill disaster, as we have abundantly reported, was the result of a combination of factors; among them, greed, lack of accountability, corruption and government collusion with powerful out-of-control corporations. Now, when it comes to simply letting the disaster get worse and worse, both the government and BP have taught us that their nature is rooted into a cesspit that is deeper and darker than anything humans are familiar with, a level that goes beyond corruption and disregard for responsibility. The actions and the inaction, the cover ups, the lying, the levels of conspiracy and deceit, the smoke screens and the expressed complicity not to solve the disaster they themselves created can only be explained by the degree of Evil with which corporations traditionally operate. It is in this times when the thoughts that government does not work for the people are effectively reinforced. It is becoming tiring to report on this issue without seeing any action taken against the corporations and the government agencies that allow those corporations to operate above the laws that the rest of us are obligated to abide by. This state of affairs also shows us the magnitude of the problem the people are up against. The problem is, as defined evidence, a direct and open war against us the people. An additional caveat is that given the inability of the public to demand answers and action, the warmongers hold all the chips in their power and while this stays the same, the war will continue to be waged on the same uneven table.

PEMEX to Conduct Deepwater Drilling in Gulf of Mexico

The Mexican company has no experience in drilling for oil at the depths it intends to do it and Mexican regulators are warning everyone that the company is not prepared for a serious accident in the Gulf Region.

By TIM JOHNSON | McCLATCHY | APRIL 4, 2012

Two years after the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, Mexico’s state oil company is about to test its hand at drilling at extraordinary depths in the Gulf of Mexico.

If all goes as planned, Petroleos de Mexico, known as Pemex, will deploy two state-of-the-art drilling platforms in May to an area just south of the maritime boundary with the United States. One rig will sink a well in 9,514 feet of water, while another will drill in 8,316 feet of water, then deeper into the substrata.

Pemex has no experience drilling at such depths. Mexico’s oil regulator is sounding alarm bells, saying the huge state oil concern is unprepared for a serious deepwater accident or spill. Critics say the company has sharply cut corners on insurance, remiss over potential sky-high liability.

Mexico’s plans come two years after the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe, the worst oil spill in U.S. history. On April 20, 2010, a semi-submersible rig that the British oil firm BP had contracted to drill a well known as Macondo exploded off the Louisiana coast, killing 11 workers and spewing 4.9 million barrels of oil in the nearly three months it took engineers to stop the spill.

BP has said the tab for the spill — including government fines, cleanup costs and compensation — could climb to $42 billion for the company and its contractors.

Pemex’s plans to sink even deeper offshore wells underscore Mexico’s pressing need to maintain sagging oil production — exports pay for one-third of government operating expenses — along with oil companies’ desire to leverage technology and drill at ever more challenging depths.

Carlos A. Morales, the chief of the Pemex exploration and production arm, which employs 50,000 people, voiced confidence that his company has to the ability to sink wells in ultra-deep water.

“Pemex is ready to undertake the challenge and to do it safely,” Morales said in an interview in his 41st-floor office at Pemex headquarters in this capital city.

“You have to bear one thing in mind,” he said. “Pemex is the biggest operator in the Gulf — including everyone — both in production and in the number of rigs we operate. We are operating more than 80 rigs offshore.”

Sometime in May, Morales said, Pemex will move the Singapore-built West Pegasus semi-submersible oil platform, owned by the Norwegian company Seadrill, over a seabed formation known as the Perdido Fold Belt and drill a well named Supremus. At nearly the same time, a South Korea-built platform known as Bicentenario, owned by the Mexican company Grupo R, will drill the slightly shallower Trion well, a little to the west of Supremus.

The area where the two wells are to be sunk is some 30 miles south of the maritime boundary in the Gulf between Mexico and the United States.

Morales said the rigs are both “sixth generation, which means they are the most modern. They have all the safety devices that rigs should have.”

Still, the technological challenges of ultra-deepwater drilling — anything more than 5,000 feet of water — are significant because of the high pressures and complex seabed extraction systems, akin even to launching spaceships into orbit, experts said. The Deepwater Horizon was drilling in about 5,100 feet of water when it exploded.

Since Pemex decided in 2004 to expand from shallow offshore wells into deep water, it’s drilled 16 wells at increasing depths, with two in ultra-deep waters, Caxa and Kunah, the latter at 6,500 feet.

Mexico’s nationalist constitution bars Pemex from operating joint ventures with oil companies that already are experienced at very deep water. It can contract only with global oil service companies, ordering them to perform functions.

“This requires managerial expertise that Pemex lacks,” said Miriam Grunstein Dickter, an oil expert at the Center for Research and Teaching of Economics, a Mexico City institute in the social sciences. “When you contract a service company, they perform the work that you command them to perform. Here, Pemex does not know how to command the service company.”

“Like rocket science, you can find the people. They are out there to be hired,” added Kirk Sherr, the head of North American operations for Regester Larkin Energy, a global consulting company. “But who’s going to coordinate?”

It’s when disaster strikes that the resources — or lack of them — come into stark relief for an oil company or even a nation.

After the Deepwater Horizon disaster, BP, the U.S. Coast Guard, and state and federal officials mustered some 3,000 vessels to help set booms, clean marshes and gather spilled crude.

Mexico has nowhere near that fleet of vessels at its disposal. Its navy has 189 ships. Pemex itself contracts around 180 boats.

That’s one of the concerns of Juan Carlos Zepeda, the head of Mexico’s National Hydrocarbons Commission, a regulatory body created in 2009 that’s wrestled with Pemex over its practices, demanding that it adopt global standards on safety and preparation for worst-case scenarios.

The two sides have been in a power struggle. The 74-year-old state company is used to setting its own rules, not following the impositions of regulators.

“Pemex is just not accustomed to being bossed around,” Grunstein said.

A point of contention has been insurance. Zepeda wants Pemex to have insurance to pay for even catastrophic spills, like BP’s Macondo well. But Pemex balks.

“They are probably thinking, why are we going to give all this money to the insurance company?” said David Shields, an energy consultant in Mexico City.

Morales of Pemex said the company was insured for coverage of $2.5 billion.

“I feel comfortable with what Pemex is capable of doing. You can always argue that $2.5 billion is not enough. We can always argue that $10 billion is not enough,” he said.

But he said that Pemex had uniquely deep pockets.

“The owner of this company is the government of Mexico,” he said.

In the event of a deepwater disaster, whether claimants could ever get Pemex, or the Mexican treasury, to pay is an open question. Major damage claims haven’t been tried against a state oil company. Given that Pemex turns over most revenues to the treasury, Mexican taxpayers would have to pay much of the cleanup costs and legal claims.

“It’s going to be a really big hit on the Mexican economy if there is a catastrophic disaster, and it will be catastrophic for the relationship with the United States,” said Shields, the consultant.

Some industry experts said Pemex wasn’t taking greater risks than private oil companies sometimes took.

“It’s not inherently reckless,” said John Rogers Smith, an offshore drilling expert at Louisiana State University. “They can hire competent contractors. They can buy equipment from reputable vendors. The big question is . . . who have they hired to help them?”

Pemex signed a contract last week with Wild Well Control, a Houston company with blowout expertise. Morales said Pemex was negotiating a contract with a second Houston firm, Cameron International, that had sophisticated tools — such as huge underwater capping stacks — that helped BP control its Macondo well below the Deepwater Horizon.

In mid-February, the United States and Mexico signed a framework accord on developing trans-border oil fields in the Gulf. The accord includes terms for safety cooperation, including allowing joint inspection teams to ensure rigs’ compliance with safety and environmental regulations, key to preventing worst-case spills.

“I don’t think we should be any more concerned about what they are doing than some of the things we are doing on our side of the Gulf,” said Jeremy Martin, the energy program director at the Institute of the Americas, a La Jolla, Calif., nonprofit organization that promotes cooperation and economic development.

Still, the Deepwater Horizon disaster haunts like a lingering nightmare.

“Macondo was a watershed in deepwater drilling. There is before Macondo and there is after Macondo,” said Fabio Barbosa, an economist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico who specializes in the oil industry.

Barbosa said Pemex was deeply concerned about sustaining oil production and stemming a decline of proven oil reserves, 50 percent of which were in deep water. Pemex’s production has fallen from 3.4 million barrels per day in 2004 to about 2.55 million barrels a day now.

“They consider it their duty to elevate crude production. They are moving about, driving production in every way they can,” Barbosa said.

Shields, who edits a Spanish-language industry magazine, Energia a Debate, said it was one factor impelling Pemex but that Mexican leaders had observed rapid development of U.S. offshore wells in the Gulf and wanted to lay claim to nearby undersea areas of their own, even if it stretched their capabilities.

“They want to put the flag there,” said Shields, who’s a nationalized Mexican. “The oil industry is a lot like that. They want to go after bigger and bigger challenges. Once you go up a small mountain, you want to go up a bigger mountain.”

Shields added: “The risks are massive and the potential benefits are comparatively small.”

Morales, the Pemex executive, disagreed that his company can’t handle the risk: “We are going there because there are resources that belong to the nation. We have the mandate to explore and produce for the nation.”

He added: “We are capable of fulfilling all our obligations.”