Alabama:  12-3-2010 A giant tar mat…nearly an eighth of a mile long…is washing up west of Cotton Bayou in Orange Beach. Clean up crews rushed to the scene when they were notified and brought in heavy equipment to remove the oil. A clean up crew supervisor tells News 5 the tar mat was “submerged”…and wasn’t visible until the incoming tide pushed it on shore.

When we arrived, we could smell the petroleum product hundreds of feet away. Workers covered their mouths and noses and coughed because of the overwhelming smell.

Video at this link: http://www.wkrg.com/gulf_oil_spill/article/giant-tar-mat-threatens-par...

12-9-2010  A widespread fungal outbreak is affecting one of Alabama’s key marsh grass species, potentially rendering much of this year’s seed crop sterile, according to scientists.

While the fungus is always present in coastal marshes, scientists speculated that repeated exposure to oil sheens floating on Mississippi Sound and Mobile Bay this spring and summer might have played a role in the outbreak by reducing the natural resistance of the marsh plants to the disease. …

This, scientists said, could be the first sign of many subtle problems potentially related to exposure to oil.

Judy Haner, marine conservation director with the Alabama office of The Nature Conservancy:

“The marshes and barrier islands were the areas that took the brunt of the oil and sheens… This infection raises the possibility that our marsh system is more vulnerable because it has been stressed.” …
   
“When a system is knocked out of balance, we can see things take off like this.”

   
Stan Senner, director of conservation science for the Ocean Conservancy, was Alaska’s science coordinator following the Exxon Valdez:

“It is certainly reasonable that exposure to oil may have weakened these plants and made them vulnerable to this fungus or other diseases… People talk about the collapse of the herring population years after Exxon Valdez. Well, one of the agents of that collapse was a fungus that struck the fish. Exposure to oil [for fish born the year of the spill] made them more vulnerable to the fungus.”
   
“This story will play out over several years… Anyone who thinks we have dodged all the bullets in terms of impacts from the spill is being way too premature.”

   
Bill Finch, director of the Mobile Botanical Gardens:

“[It looked like something in the marshes had] gone haywire [this year].”
   
“There are many reasons plants get infected by disease, but I was stunned by how pervasive this seems to be this year.”

http://www.floridaoilspilllaw.com/outbreak-fungus-hits-alabama-marshes...

“We keep seeing this foam coming in just about everyday” — “They keep spraying” dispersant says Emergency Operations Center worker

Residents in Mississippi and Louisiana told Al Jazeera that they believe BP continues to use the toxic dispersants, but the EPA will not respond to their appeals for information and help.

Jesse Fineran works within the Hancock County Mississippi Emergency Management Agency as an oil spill response worker within the Emergency Operations Center.

“They keep spraying [dispersants],” Fineran told Al Jazeera, “We keep seeing this foam coming in just about everyday.” …

He provided the EPA personnel with information about ongoing dispersant use, and wrote, “We continue to find various products that appear to be direct results of the DWH [Deepwater Horizon] spill and/or associated with BP operations. This includes submerged oil patties and patches in State/County waters and marshes, as well as a mysterious dark colored foam … [the] EPA continue to provide a less than transparent explanation as to the foam’s actual composition.” …

Fineran, who continues to work within the Emergency Response Center for Mississippi added, “Nothing the EPA has told us has turned out to be true.”

http://www.floridaoilspilllaw.com/keep-foam-coming-about-everyday-keep...

Submitted by andie531 on Sun, 2010-12-12 02:19

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