Earthquakes
RSOE EDIS
| Date/Time (UTC) | Magnitude | Area | Country | State/Prov./Gov. | Location | Risk | Source | Details | ||
| 17.08.2012 22:25:29 | 2.1 | North America | United States | California | Cobb |  |
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USGS-RSOE |  |
| 17.08.2012 22:55:35 | 5.0 | Asia | Taiwan | Taitung City | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
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| 17.08.2012 21:45:31 | 2.5 | North America | United States | California | Potter Valley | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 17.08.2012 21:50:25 | 4.2 | Middle America | Mexico | Oaxaca | San Miguel Quetzaltepec | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 17.08.2012 22:15:20 | 4.2 | Middle-America | Mexico | Oaxaca | San Miguel Quetzaltepec | |
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EMSC | |
| 17.08.2012 21:05:34 | 2.0 | North America | United States | California | Mountain Gate | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 17.08.2012 21:15:24 | 3.1 | South-America | Bolivia | Potosí | Villa Alota | |
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EMSC | |
| 17.08.2012 20:10:25 | 3.1 | South-America | Bolivia | Potosí | Villa Alota | |
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EMSC | |
| 17.08.2012 21:00:52 | 4.3 | Pacific Ocean | New Zealand | Te Kaha | |
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GEONET | |
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| 17.08.2012 19:10:35 | 2.4 | North America | United States | Alaska | Port Alsworth | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 17.08.2012 20:10:43 | 2.0 | Europe | Italy | The Marches | Monte Vidon Combatte | |
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EMSC | |
| 17.08.2012 18:50:31 | 2.1 | North America | United States | California | Cobb | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 17.08.2012 19:05:25 | 4.6 | Indonesian Archipelago | Indonesia | Komodo | |
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EMSC | |
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| 17.08.2012 19:05:48 | 4.9 | Indonesian Archipelago | Papua New Guinea | Bougainville | Panguna | |
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EMSC | |
| 17.08.2012 18:40:36 | 4.9 | Indonesian archipelago | Papua New Guinea | Bougainville | Panguna | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 17.08.2012 19:06:08 | 2.7 | Asia | Turkey | Mu?la | OEluedeniz | |
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EMSC | |
| 17.08.2012 17:55:33 | 3.0 | North America | United States | California | Big Bear Lake | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 17.08.2012 19:06:28 | 4.1 | Europe | Iceland | Southern Peninsula | Grindavik | |
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EMSC | |
| 17.08.2012 18:10:48 | 4.8 | Asia | Japan | Chiba | Hasaki | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 17.08.2012 19:06:48 | 4.6 | Asia | Japan | Chiba | Hasaki | |
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EMSC | |
| 17.08.2012 18:05:24 | 3.6 | Asia | Taiwan | Taiwan | Daxi | |
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EMSC | |
| 17.08.2012 18:05:46 | 3.0 | Asia | Turkey | Adana | Kadirli | |
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EMSC | |
| 17.08.2012 18:06:05 | 2.2 | Asia | Turkey | Mu?la | Yatagan | |
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EMSC | |
| 17.08.2012 19:07:09 | 3.9 | Indonesian Archipelago | Indonesia | North Sumatra | Sibolga | |
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EMSC | |
| 17.08.2012 20:40:32 | 2.9 | North America | United States | Alaska | King Cove | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 17.08.2012 17:05:19 | 2.3 | Asia | Turkey | Bursa | Yenice | |
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EMSC | |
| 17.08.2012 16:01:22 | 3.2 | South-America | Chile | Valparaíso | Los Andes | |
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EMSC | |
| 17.08.2012 16:02:09 | 2.5 | Europe | Italy | Abruzzo | Balsorano Vecchio | |
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EMSC | |
| 17.08.2012 16:02:34 | 2.1 | Europe | Italy | Latium | Terracino | |
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EMSC | |
| 17.08.2012 20:35:29 | 2.6 | North America | United States | Alaska | Adak | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 17.08.2012 15:10:31 | 2.8 | Caribbean | Puerto Rico | Lajas | Palmarejo | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 17.08.2012 14:15:36 | 2.9 | Middle America | Mexico | Baja California | Puebla | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 17.08.2012 17:06:05 | 3.8 | Europe | Russia | Tyva | Saryg-Sep | |
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EMSC | |
| 17.08.2012 14:55:25 | 2.7 | Europe | Italy | Sicily | Rodi | |
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EMSC | |
| 17.08.2012 14:30:38 | 2.1 | Caribbean | Puerto Rico | Cabo Rojo | Betances | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 17.08.2012 14:55:46 | 4.4 | Asia | Japan | Ibaraki | Kitaibaraki | |
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EMSC | |
| 17.08.2012 14:00:26 | 4.4 | Asia | Japan | Ibaraki | Kitaibaraki | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 17.08.2012 13:45:52 | 2.2 | North America | United States | California | Tres Pinos | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 17.08.2012 13:50:25 | 3.1 | Europe | Spain | Catalonia | Vielha | |
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EMSC | |
| 17.08.2012 16:25:23 | 2.5 | North America | United States | Montana | Sedan | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 17.08.2012 13:50:50 | 2.0 | Europe | Italy | The Marches | Monte Vidon Combatte | |
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EMSC | |
| 17.08.2012 13:51:11 | 3.4 | Middle-East | Iran | ?z??rb?yj?n-e Gharb? | Qarah Zia’ od Din | |
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EMSC | |
| 17.08.2012 12:50:51 | 2.8 | Asia | Turkey | Karabük | Gozyeri | |
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EMSC | |
| 17.08.2012 11:45:27 | 2.7 | Europe | Italy | Sicily | Portopalo | |
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EMSC | |
| 17.08.2012 11:45:48 | 3.9 | Middle-East | Iran | East Azarbaijan | Ahar | |
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EMSC | |
| 17.08.2012 11:46:09 | 2.1 | Asia | Turkey | Elaz?? | Kovancilar | |
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EMSC | |
| 17.08.2012 11:46:30 | 2.1 | Asia | Turkey | Kütahya | Tavsanli | |
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EMSC | |
| 17.08.2012 10:55:28 | 2.2 | North America | United States | California | Yucaipa | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 17.08.2012 11:10:58 | 5.0 | Indonesian archipelago | Papua New Guinea | Bougainville | Panguna | |
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USGS-RSOE | |
| 17.08.2012 11:46:52 | 5.0 | Indonesian Archipelago | Papua New Guinea | Bougainville | Panguna | |
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EMSC | |
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Volcanic Activity
Sulphur smell across lower North Island, New Zealand
stuff.co.nz
The smell of sulphur from Mt Tongariro has crept back to the lower North Island, with some residents complaining about irritation to their skin and eyes.
The smell has become common since the volcano erupted at 11.50pm on August 6 with residents as far as Blenheim noticing it.
The Horizon Regional Council today received “multiple complaints” about the smell being back and some residents said the sulphur had become an irritant.
Council emergency manager Shane Bayley said the smell was the result of wind drift from the mountain and was not a cause for concern.
“Our air quality monitoring sites in Taumarunui and Taihape are not showing any elevated presence of fine air particles.
“However, our team will be keeping an eye on the situation and will alert the public if this situation changes.”
If the sulphur was affecting people’s respiratory system, eyes or skin, MidCentral Health recommended people stay indoors with all the doors and windows closed, a council spokeswoman said.
Mt Tongariro has kept quiet in the past week, and seismic activity was low overnight.
But GNS vulcanologist Brad Scott said the volcano was degassing, producing a lot of gas and steam.
“It’s putting out about 2000 tonnes of sulphur dioxide and 4000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per day. That’s what people are detecting and smelling.”
Scott said there were three possible scenarios for the volcano, with the most likely being no further eruptions in the next week.
The second most-likely scenario was that there may be a similar eruption to what occurred on August 6.
Scott said the least-likely scenario was that a larger eruption would occur.
Emergency services, DOC, Civil Defence, New Zealand Transport Agency and district health boards met on Friday to discuss an evacuation plan should the volcano erupt again.
Families living closest to Mt Tongariro have an action plan to refer to.
Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson and Taupo MP Louise Upton met with iwi, the community and tourism industry leaders at Tongariro National Park today.
Ivan the Terrible Erupts on Kurils
Island of Iturup (Archives)
MOSCOW, 16 August (RIA Novosti)
The Ivan Groznyy (“Ivan the Terrible”) volcano erupted early on Thursday morning on the island of Iturup, part of the Kuril group in Russia’s Far East.
The volcano spewed a column of ash onto the surrounding area. Local people in the nearest towns, Goryachiye Klyuchi (9 kilometers away) and the city of Kurilsk (25 kilometers), noticed a faint smell of hydrogen sulfide gas, which disappeared later.
The eruption poses no threat to nearby human settlements.
Scientists recorded signs of the impending eruption on Wednesday, when gas emissions on the volcano’s northeast slope increased, a Sakhalin region Emergency Ministry representative told RIA Novosti. Observation of the volcano continues.
Inside a volcanic eruption
Scientists say the eruption was started by recent torrential rain, causing a huge increase in the volume of water in underground channels around the volcano. Ivan Groznyy also erupted in 1968, 1973, and 1989, but none of the eruptions threatened life nearby.
Related News
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Two Moderate Quakes Hit Off Kuril Chain![]()
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Two earthquakes hit Russia’s Kuril Islands
Two Moderate Quakes Hit Off Kuril ChainMultimedia
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Extreme Temperatures/ Weather
Are Methane Hydrates Dissolving?
by Staff Writers
Kiel, Germany (SPX)
 An approved team for ocean research: the German research vessel MARIA S. MERIAN and the submersible JAGO. Photo: JAGO-Team, GEOMAR. |
West of Spitsbergen methane gas is effervescing out of the seabed. Is this an indication that methane hydrates in the seabed are dissolving due to rising temperatures? And what would the effects be? An expedition with the German research vessel MARIA S. MERIAN and the submersible JAGO lead by GEOMAR | Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel hopes to help answer these questions. The expedition began this week in Reykjavik.
The average temperatures of the atmosphere are rising; the average temperatures of the oceans, too. Not only living organisms react sensititvely to these changes. The transitional zones between shallow shelf seas and the deep sea at continental slopes store a huge amount of methane hydrates in the sea bed.
These specific, ice-like compounds only forms at low temperatures and under high pressure. When the water temperature directly above the sea bed rises, some of the methane hydrates could dissolve and release the previously bound methane.
“This scenario incorporates two fears: Firstly that enormous amounts of this very powerful greenhouse gas will be released into the atmosphere, and secondly that the continental slopes may become unstable” explains the geophysicist Professor Christian Berndt from GEOMAR, Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel.
He is leading an expedition starting today on the German research vessel MARIA S. MERIAN which will analyse the sea off the western shore of Spitsbergen in order to find out whether the first methane hydrates in the sea bed are dissolving and what the consequences might be.
The expedition builds on research conducted by marine scientists from Kiel who worked in this area of the sea in 2008. Back then they found over 250 places where gas was escaping the sea bed. “These spots lie directly on the border of the area of stable hydrates” explains Professor Berndt. “Therefore we presume that the hydrates are dissolving from the rim inwards.”
During the upcoming expedition, the scientists from Kiel will be working together with colleagues from Bremen, Switzerland, Great Britain and Norway to discover whether the gas emanation shows signs of dissolved hydrates and whether this is due to warmer sea beds.
With the help of echo sounders, researchers will seek out new gas sources in order to determine the total amount of escaping gas. With Germany’s only submersible JAGO, they will closely investigate the gas outlets in up to 400 metres depth.
“It is interesting for us, for example, to find out whether special microorganisms that can break down the methane before it is released in the atmosphere have settled around the outlets” explains Professor Tina Treude from GEOMAR, who will be running the microbiological work during the expedition.
Parallel to this, geophysicists, lead by Professor Sebastian Krastel from GEOMAR, will investigate the slopes under the gas outlet spots for signs of instability using acoustic and seismic methods.
“The methane hydrates act like binding cement on these slopes. If they dissolve, chances are that parts of the slopes will slide”, explains Professor Krastel, who focuses on marine hazards at GEOMAR.
“Overall the program on this trip is very extensive. Now let us hope that the weather will play along so that we can conduct all planned tests”, says the head of the expedition Christian Berndt shortly before the departure to Iceland.
Related Links
GEOMAR
Water News – Science, Technology and Politics
| Today | Forest / Wild Fire | France | Prefecture of Bordeaux, [Lacanau] |  |
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Forest / Wild Fire in France on Friday, 17 August, 2012 at 14:20 (02:20 PM) UTC.
| Description | |
| A forest fire that has devastated 550 hectares of coastal pine forest close to one of France’s best surfing beaches continued to rage today. The start of a heatwave that was set to send temperatures in the area soaring to 40 degrees Celsius this weekend was complicating the task of 200 firefighters battling to bring the blaze under control. The fire started on Thursday afternoon in the area between the inland town of Lacanau and the spectacular Atlantic beaches that are this week hosting the Lacanau Surf Pro event featuring some of the world’s top surfers. Four Canadair waterbombers were deployed from dawn in an attempt to stop the fire spreading further. To date only five residences have had to be evacuated but local authorities have taken the preventative step of temporarily banning the public from all wooded areas in the Gironde department. A cigarette butt dropped from a car on Thursday is thought to have started the blaze. The Landes forest, which spreads across the Gironde and the neighboring departments of Landes and Lot and Garonne, is the largest maritime pine forest in Europe. French authorities have issued a health alert for several regions this weekend after forecasters predicted unusually high temperatures in the southwest and centre of the country. An unexpected and sustained heatwave in the first two weeks of August 2003 left an estimated 15,000 mostly elderly people dead. |
| Today | Forest / Wild Fire | USA | State of Idaho, [Enclosure Gulch area] | |
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Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Friday, 17 August, 2012 at 09:04 (09:04 AM) UTC.
| Description | |
| U.S. Forest Service officials are reporting a 250-acre wildfire in the Enclosure Gulch area west of Ketchum, just seven-tenths of a mile from where the Castle Rock Fire started five years ago. Ketchum District Ranger Kurt Nelson said that in less than two hours the fire had grown rapidly from the one acre first reported at 3 p.m. this afternoon. The cause of the fire is yet unknown. Nelson said that winds from the southwest are pushing the fire into the area burned by the Castle Rock Fire in 2007. If it follows that path, the fire will burn slower and less hot, giving crews a chance to fight it. However, he said, if winds shift to the northwest, the fire could be pushed into the Deer Creek and Greenhorn Gulch drainage. “It is a concern,” Nelson said.
“The growth potential, the rate of speed … it’s doubled in size every half hour.” The fire is still five miles from any houses. Nelson said that air resources and smokejumpers have been called, but were unable to land because of smoke both from the fire, called the Enclosure Fire, and the Halstead Fire, an 80,000-acre blaze north of Stanley. Currently, Nelson said there are Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service helitack teams fighting the fire, as well as volunteers from local fire departments in the area for structure protection. Hand crews, engines and tankers are on scene along with approximately 25 personnel. “We’re getting attention,” Nelson said. “We are a priority.” Travis Wyatt, meteorologist from the National Weather Service in Pocatello, said that winds were set to die down overnight as a high-pressure ridge moves into the area. There is no red-flag fire warning in place, and Wyatt said there likely won’t be one until Saturday as winds pick up and thunderstorms are ready to sweep in. Initial concerns that winds might push the fire towards homes in the Frenchman’s Bend subdivision about 2.5 miles to the east prompted a call to Ketchum and Sun Valley fire departments, already stretched thin due to sending aid to the Halstead fire near Stanley. A “Structure Protection Task Force,” or, firefighters and equipment, was rallied around 5:30 p.m. in the parking lot of River Run and were advised that though there were no evacuations at this time, residents should be told to be prepared to leave if they have to. By 7 p.m., crews were also being sent to speak to residents of the Greenhorn subdivision to alert them to the situation. “The smoke’s going to get worse before it gets better,” Ketchum Fire Chief Mike Elle told the Idaho Mountain Express. Elle requests that Wood River Valley residents and concerned citizens not call the Fire Department for information, but to instead refer to the Idaho Mountain Express and Blaine County websites for updates on the situation. Phone calls to the department have clogged the phone lines and disrupted communication with his staff, he said. |
| 17.08.2012 | Forest / Wild Fire | USA | State of Washington, [East of Cle Elum] |  |
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Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Tuesday, 14 August, 2012 at 04:31 (04:31 AM) UTC.
| Updated: | Friday, 17 August, 2012 at 10:03 UTC |
| Description | |
| Washington’s lieutenant governor has declared a state of emergency in central Washington because of a still-growing wildfire. The emergency declaration allows the National Guard to lend helicopters to the firefighting effort. The blaze has chased hundreds of people from their homes between Cle Elum and Ellensburg. Tuesday State Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark called the wildfire “one of the most dangerous” Washington state has experienced “in the last number of years.” “One testament to the degree to which the fire is so dangerous is the fact that it is able to jump the nearby river,” he said. “It jumps highways … a burning ember under the force of the wind and the hot embers that are released through burning fuels. So it’s an explosive, dangerous situation.” Goldmark toured the fire lines Tuesday afternoon before visiting the command center in Cle Elum. There, the incident commander says the blaze has destroyed more than 70 homes at this point. Neither official would estimate when the growing blaze could be contained. They say they need the gusty winds to die down first. | |
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Storms / Tornadoes / Flooding
| Active tropical storm system(s) | ||||||||||
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| Name of storm system | Location | Formed | Last update | Last category | Course | Wind Speed | Gust | Wave | Source | Details |
| Hector (EP08) | Pacific Ocean – East | 11.08.2012 | 17.08.2012 | Tropical Depression | 335 ° | 46 km/h | 65 km/h | 3.66 m | NOAA NHC | |
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| Kai-tak (14W) | Pacific Ocean | 12.08.2012 | 17.08.2012 | Typhoon I | 280 ° | 111 km/h | 139 km/h | 5.18 m | JTWC | |
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| Gordon (AL08) | Atlantic Ocean | 16.08.2012 | 17.08.2012 | Hurricane I | 95 ° | 102 km/h | 120 km/h | 5.79 m | NOAA NHC | |
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Duluth, Minnesota tornado might not have been a first
After initially reporting that last week’s waterspout was also Duluth’s first tornado, the National Weather Service says it has found record of another Duluth tornado more than 50 years ago.
The waterspout on Thursday, Aug. 9, churned across Sky Harbor Airport in Duluth and Barker’s Island in Superior. For the few seconds it was on land, the waterspout was classified as a weak tornado.
First checks with the Weather Service office in Duluth turned up no previous Twin Ports tornadoes. But meteorologists there kept digging through the records.
“After doing more research, it was discovered that there was a tornado in Duluth on May 26, 1958,” meteorologist Carol Christenson wrote in a memo on Monday to Duluth weather reporters.
The Duluth News-Tribune at the time called the 1958 storm a “miniature tornado” that collapsed a garage and damaged two Duluth-area lake cabins.
“A witness said the violent winds picked up the garage ‘like a child’s toy’ and smashed it back to earth,” the paper reported in the May 27, 1958, edition. “The small twister pulled off the doors of a garage owned by Irving West, 6611 Greene St. They bounced off the nearby Ing Stockland garage and landed about 30 to 40 yards away.”
Greene Street is in West Duluth. The “wind storm” started about 4:35 p.m. and lasted about five minutes, the Stocklands told the News Tribune.
“Stockland, who lives at 6617 Greene, said the wind was pulling up rocks and mud. He and his wife were at the rear of theirhouse when the funnel, following the ravine along Highway 61, struck West’s garage,” the newspaper reported.
A city-regional track meet was going on at Public Schools Stadium about a mile to the east. Witnesses there reported seeing that the distant funnel “tossed out pieces of paper,” but the track meet was not long disrupted.
“Team members and spectators dashed for cover while the hail fell,” according to the News-Tribune report. “Ditches were dug to drain the track and allow the meet to resume.”
Christenson pointed out that the News-Tribune also reported on a possible twister on July 11, 1935, but that one was never confirmed.
“Swirling into the city on the wings of a torrential rain, a miniature tornado struck in the heart of the Gary-New Duluth district shortly before 8 a.m. yesterday, flattening a row of coal sheds (and) a frame garage and causing general damage to trees in the vicinity,” the News-Tribune reported on July 12, 1935. “The United States weather bureau had no means of officially recording the twister, the high wind having limited itself to the Gary-New Duluth district.”
Source: Associated Press
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Radiation / Nuclear
| Today | Nuclear Event | Belgium | Province of East Flanders, [Doel and the Tihange Nuclear Power Plant] |  |
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Nuclear Event in Belgium on Friday, 17 August, 2012 at 08:30 (08:30 AM) UTC.
| Description | |
| Belgium’s nuclear regulator has questioned the safety of the Electrabel-operated Doel 3 reactor due to cracks in the pressure vessels that have already forced the shutdown of a similar unit at the Tihange nuclear plant. Belgium has halted the 1,006-megawatt Doel 3 reactor until at least the end of August after the discovery of suspected cracks in the pressure vessel. But it is possible that the reactor could be shut down for good. Willy De Roovere, who heads the FANC regulator agency, said it was always hard for a company to meet a requirement to prove a nuclear plant is safe. He told a news conference that Electrabel, the Belgian unit of France’s GDF Suez, would have to show that “in a period of the remaining lifetime there is no single risk, there is no risk at all that cracks can go [on to produce leaks].” A spokeswoman for Electrabel said, as quoted by Reuters: “Is it safe or not to continue the production of Doel 3? That’s what we will have to prove to the FANC.”
The vessel in question was built by now-defunct Dutch company Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij, which also constructed the pressure vessel for another Belgian unit, Tihange 2, as well as parts for nuclear plants throughout Europe and in the Americas. The Belgian agency BELGA reported that Tihange 2 was halted yesterday, as it has the same pressure vessel as Doel. “I would like to remind that Doel 3 and Tihange 2 have been halted and do not represent any danger for the population, the workers and the environment,” De Roovere was quoted as saying. Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij was also responsible for two units in Germany that are no longer operating, two in the Netherlands, two in Spain, one in Sweden, two in Switzerland, 10 in the United States and one in Argentina, said the Paris-based Nuclear Energy Agency, an agency within the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Nuclear specialists from the countries where the Dutch vessels are in use are due to meet in Brussels today (17 August). De Roovere said it was doubtful the Doel operations would resume before the end of September and that regulators would meet again in October to discuss the issue. The Doel 3 reactor had been scheduled to close in 10 years’ time, according to a nuclear exit plan the Belgian government adopted in July. GDF Suez is expected to trim significantly its 47-year-old nuclear business now that Belgium, the only nation where it operates nuclear plants, is phasing out its reliance on atomic power. Belgium has long considered a complete exit from nuclear energy (see background), but that will depend on its having enough alternative sources of energy in place. EU member states are each responsible for determining policy on nuclear power and on the energy mix in general. However, the European Commission has initiated a series of voluntary stress tests as part of efforts to ensure safety following Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster. They were meant to be completed before the Commission’s August summer break, but governments have been given extra time for further assessments. Speaking in Essen, Germany, EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger said he expected the stress tests to be completed in October and that they would include the assessment from regulators about risks associated with the possible cracks in the Belgian unit. “In the coming weeks, we expect clear results from the Belgium regulators about possible risks,” he said. |
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Epidemic Hazards / Diseases
| Today | Epidemic Hazard | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Province of Orientale, [Haut Uele District] | |
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Epidemic Hazard in Democratic Republic of the Congo on Friday, 17 August, 2012 at 03:03 (03:03 AM) UTC.
| Description | |
| Ebola virus disease has killed 4 people among 7 cases in the Haut Uele District of Orientale Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to a statement on 14 Aug 2012 by Jean-Marc Madindi, provincial medical inspector of Orientale Province. According to Dr Madindi, 3 deaths among 6 cases occurred in the district of Haut Uele, and a angle death in Dungu district. Samples from these cases have been sent to a diagnostic Laboratory in Uganda for confirmation by laboratory techniques, and the results are awaited. The provincial health authorities are being supported by the Belgian branch of Medecins Sans Frontieres. The chief medical officer of health of the Butembo District Health District, Dr Mundama Witende, has advised the urban populations of Beni and Butembo, which are located along the border with Uganda, to adopt strict procedures to prevent cross-border movements without good reason. The population have also been instructed to avoid consumption of meat derived from primates. Likewise, the population has been advised to avoid contact with the blood or secretions of patients suspected to have contracted [Ebola virus disease]. The bodies of those thought to have died as a result of ebolavirus infection should not be touched or washed. An outbreak of [Ebola virus disease] was reported at the beginning of July in Uganda at a place located 200 kilometres [124 mi] from the capital Kampala and about 50 kilometres from the border with the Orientale and Nord-Kivu provinces of the DRC. | |
| Biohazard name: | Ebola Fever |
| Biohazard level: | 4/4 Hazardous |
| Biohazard desc.: | Viruses and bacteria that cause severe to fatal disease in humans, and for which vaccines or other treatments are not available, such as Bolivian and Argentine hemorrhagic fevers, H5N1(bird flu), Dengue hemorrhagic fever, Marburg virus, Ebola virus, hantaviruses, Lassa fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and other hemorrhagic or unidentified diseases. When dealing with biological hazards at this level the use of a Hazmat suit and a self-contained oxygen supply is mandatory. The entrance and exit of a Level Four biolab will contain multiple showers, a vacuum room, an ultraviolet light room, autonomous detection system, and other safety precautions designed to destroy all traces of the biohazard. Multiple airlocks are employed and are electronically secured to prevent both doors opening at the same time. All air and water service going to and coming from a Biosafety Level 4 (P4) lab will undergo similar decontamination procedures to eliminate the possibility of an accidental release. |
| Symptoms: | |
| Status: | confirmed |
| Today | Epidemic Hazard | Bhutan | Trashiyangtse District, Jamkhar | |
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Epidemic Hazard in Bhutan on Friday, 17 August, 2012 at 16:52 (04:52 PM) UTC.
| Description | |
| About 20 people, including gewog [village block] livestock agents and villagers in Jamkhar, Trashiyangtse, are taking anti-rabies vaccine, after they handled the carcass of a jersey cow that was suspected to have died from rabies on Sun 12 Aug 2012. Some of them had also consumed milk from the same cow. Regional livestock development centre in Khangma, Trashigang, through a rapid test of the brain sample, confirmed “mild positive rabies” as the cause of the cow’s death. “The samples will also be sent to the National Centre for Animal Health in Serbithang for polymerised chain reaction tests to further confirm the positivity of the tests,” the centre’s programme director, Dr Tshering Dorji, said. Trashiyangtse’s dzongkhag [district] livestock officer, Toula Dukpa, said the disease has been contained with the carcass buried safely, after treating it with phenol, lime, and bleaching powder. “Surrounding areas and bedding used for the carcass were also burnt to contain the spread of the disease to both animals and humans,” he said. Dogs in the neighbourhood were also given post exposure treatment as control measure. He said that there was no outbreak of rabies in Jamkhar. “It’s suspected that the cow was bought from Dewathang and carried the disease to Jamkhar,” he said. People have been alerted to report to the nearest renewable natural resources centre on the death of cattle from similar symptoms. No transmission to human or new cases of rabies have been reported in the gewog after the incident. | |
| Biohazard name: | Rabies |
| Biohazard level: | 3/4 Hight |
| Biohazard desc.: | Bacteria and viruses that can cause severe to fatal disease in humans, but for which vaccines or other treatments exist, such as anthrax, West Nile virus, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, SARS virus, variola virus (smallpox), tuberculosis, typhus, Rift Valley fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, yellow fever, and malaria. Among parasites Plasmodium falciparum, which causes Malaria, and Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes trypanosomiasis, also come under this level. |
| Symptoms: | |
| Status: | confirmed |
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Climate Change
Warming causes more extreme shifts of the Southern Hemisphere’s largest rain band
1.5 million years of climate history revealed after scientists solve mystery of the deep
1.5 million years of climate history revealed after scientists solve mystery of the deep
The study successfully reconstructed temperature from the deep sea to reveal how global ice volume has varied over the glacial-interglacial cycles of the past 1.5 million years of Tabular icebergs. The production of tabular icebergs is a major mechanism of mass loss from the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Icebergs are calved during both rapid ice-shelf collapse and as part of the normal transfer of mass through the ice sheet to the surrounding ocean.
Scientists have announced a major breakthrough in understanding the Earth’s climate machine by reconstructing highly accurate records of changes in ice volume and deep-ocean temperatures over the last 1.5 million years. The study, which is reported in the journal Science, offers new insights into a decades-long debate about how the shifts in the Earth’s orbit relative to the sun have taken the Earth into and out of an ice-age climate.
Being able to reconstruct ancient climate change is a critical part of understanding why the climate behaves the way it does. It also helps us to predict how the planet might respond to man-made changes, such as the injection of large quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, in the future.
Unfortunately, scientists trying to construct an accurate picture of how such changes caused past climatic shifts have been thwarted by the fact that the most readily available marine geological record of ice-ages – changes in the ratio of oxygen isotopes (Oxygen 18 to Oxygen 16) preserved in tiny calcareous deep sea fossils called foraminifera – is compromised.
This is because the isotope record shows the combined effects of both deep sea temperature changes, and changes in the amount of ice volume. Separating these has in the past proven difficult or impossible, so researchers have been unable to tell whether changes in the Earth’s orbit were affecting the temperature of the ocean more than the amount of ice at the Poles, or vice-versa.
The new study, which was carried out by researchers in the University of Cambridge Department of Earth Sciences, appears to have resolved this problem by introducing a new set of temperature-sensitive data. This allowed them to identify changes in ocean temperatures alone, subtract that from the original isotopic data set, and then build what they describe as an unprecedented picture of climatic change over the last 1.5 million years – a record of changes in both oceanic temperature and global ice volume.
Included in this is a much fuller representation of what happened during the “Mid-Pleistocene Transition” (MPT) – a major change in the Earth’s climate system which took place sometime between 1.25 million and 600 thousand years ago. Before the MPT, the alternation between glacial periods of extreme cold, and warmer interglacials, happened at intervals of approximately 41,000 years. After the MPT, the major cycles became much longer, regularly taking 100,000 years. The second pattern of climate cycles is the one we are in now. Interestingly, this change occurred with little or no orbital forcing.
“Previously, we didn’t really know what happened during this transition, or on either side of it,” Professor Harry Elderfield, who led the research team, said. “Before you separate the ice volume and temperature signals, you don’t know whether you’re seeing a climate record in which ice volume changed dramatically, the oceans warmed or cooled substantially, or both.”
“Now, for the first time, we have been able to separate these two components, which means that we stand a much better chance of understanding the mechanisms involved. One of the reasons why that is important, is because we are making changes to the factors that influence the climate now. The only way we can work out what the likely effects of that will be in detail is by finding analogues in the geological past, but that depends on having an accurate picture of the past behaviour of the climate system.”
Researchers have developed more than 30 different models for how these features of the climate might have changed in the past, in the course of a debate which has endured for more than 60 years since pioneering work by Nobel Laureate Harold Urey in 1946. The new study helps resolve these problems by introducing a new dataset to the picture – the ratio of magnesium (Mg) to calcium (Ca) in foraminifera. Because it is easier for magnesium to be incorporated at higher temperatures, larger quantities of magnesium in the tiny marine fossils imply that the deep sea temperature was higher at that point in geological time.
The Mg/Ca dataset was taken from the fossil record contained in cores drilled on the Chatham Rise, an area of ocean east of New Zealand. It allowed the Cambridge team to map ocean temperature change over time. Once this had been done, they were able to subtract that information from the oxygen isotopic record. “The calculation tells us the difference between what water temperature was doing and what the ice sheets were doing across a 1.5 million year period,” Professor Elderfield explained.
The resulting picture shows that ice volume has changed much more dramatically than ocean temperatures in response to changes in orbital geometry. Glacial periods during the 100,000-year cycles have been characterised by a very slow build-up of ice which took thousands of years, the result of ice volume responding to orbital change far more slowly than the ocean temperatures reacted. Ocean temperature change, however, reached a lower limit, probably because the freezing point of sea water put a restriction on how cold the deep ocean could get.
In addition, the record shows that the transition from 41,000-year cycles to 100,000-year cycles, the characteristic changeover of the MPT, was not as gradual as previously thought. In fact, the build-up of larger ice sheets, associated with longer glacials, appears to have begun quite suddenly, around 900,000 years ago. The pattern of the Earth’s response to orbital forcing changed dramatically during this “900,000 year event”, as the paper puts it.
The research team now plan to apply their method to the study of deep-sea temperatures elsewhere to investigate how orbital changes affected the climate in different parts of the world.
“Any uncertainty about the Earth’s climate system fuels the sense that we don’t really know how the climate is behaving, either in response to natural effects or those which are man-made,” Professor Elderfield added. “If we can understand how earlier changes were initiated and what the impacts were, we stand a much better chance of being able to predict and prepare for changes in the future.”
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Solar Activity
3MIN News August 16, 2012: Ocean Health Index
Published on Aug 16, 2012 by Suspicious0bservers
Earthquake/Solar Flare Watch: http://youtu.be/zd7Z6dmABf8 [August 12-18, 2012]
[EXPLANATION Video For Earthquake Watches] Last Quake Watch: http://youtu.be/SMiHsOYwdCs
Starwater did this in a VERY short amount of time: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/04/12/11160993-4-feet-of-hail-in-texas-r…
TODAY’S LINKS
Ocean Health Index: http://www.oceanhealthindex.org/
NY Floods: http://gothamist.com/2012/08/15/photos_brooklyn_queens_is_flooding.php#photo-9
PA Iodide Givaway: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-08-06/potassium-iodide-tablets-being-dist…
REPEAT LINKS
Spaceweather: http://spaceweather.com/ [Look on the left at the X-ray Flux and Solar Wind Speed/Density]
HAARP: http://www.haarp.alaska.edu/haarp/data.html [Click online data, and have a little fun]
SDO: http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/ [Place to find Solar Images and Videos - as seen from earth]
SOHO: http://sohodata.nascom.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/soho_movie_theater [SOHO; Lasco and EIT - as seen from earth]
Stereo: http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/images [Stereo; Cor, EUVI, HI - as seen from the side]
SunAEON:http://www.sunaeon.com/#/solarsystem/ [Just click it... trust me]
SOLARIMG: http://solarimg.org/artis/ [All purpose data viewing site]
iSWA: http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov/iswa/iSWA.html [Free Application; for advanced sun watchers]
NASA ENLIL SPIRAL: http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov:8080/IswaSystemWebApp/iSWACygnetStreamer?timestamp=…
NOAA ENLIL SPiral: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/wsa-enlil/
NOAA Bouys: http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/
RSOE: http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.php [That cool alert map I use]
JAPAN Radiation Map: http://jciv.iidj.net/map/
LISS: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/monitoring/operations/heliplots_gsn.php
Gamma Ray Bursts: http://grb.sonoma.edu/ [Really? You can't figure out what this one is for?]
BARTOL Cosmic Rays: http://neutronm.bartol.udel.edu//spaceweather/welcome.html [Top left box, look for BIG blue circles]
TORCON: http://www.weather.com/news/tornado-torcon-index [Tornado Forecast for the day]
GOES Weather: http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/ [Clouds over America]
EL DORADO WORLD WEATHER MAP: http://www.eldoradocountyweather.com/satellite/ssec/world/world-composite-ir-…
PRESSURE MAP: http://www.woweather.com/cgi-bin/expertcharts?LANG=us&MENU=0000000000&…
HURRICANE TRACKER: http://www.weather.com/weather/hurricanecentral/tracker
INTELLICAST: http://www.intellicast.com/ [Weather site used by many youtubers]
NASA News: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/
PHYSORG: http://phys.org/ [GREAT News Site!]
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Space
Earth approaching objects (objects that are known in the next 30 days) |
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| Object Name | Apporach Date | Left | AU Distance | LD Distance | Estimated Diameter* | Relative Velocity | |||
| (2008 TC4) | 18th August 2012 | 1 day(s) | 0.1937 | 75.4 | 140 m – 300 m | 17.34 km/s | 62424 km/h | ||
| (2012 OP4) | 18th August 2012 | 1 day(s) | 0.1039 | 40.4 | 300 m – 670 m | 22.54 km/s | 81144 km/h | ||
| (2012 EC) | 20th August 2012 | 3 day(s) | 0.0815 | 31.7 | 56 m – 130 m | 5.57 km/s | 20052 km/h | ||
| (2006 CV) | 20th August 2012 | 3 day(s) | 0.1744 | 67.9 | 290 m – 640 m | 13.24 km/s | 47664 km/h | ||
| 162421 (2000 ET70) | 21st August 2012 | 4 day(s) | 0.1503 | 58.5 | 670 m – 1.5 km | 12.92 km/s | 46512 km/h | ||
| (2007 WU3) | 21st August 2012 | 4 day(s) | 0.1954 | 76.0 | 56 m – 120 m | 5.25 km/s | 18900 km/h | ||
| (2012 BB14) | 24th August 2012 | 7 day(s) | 0.1234 | 48.0 | 27 m – 60 m | 2.58 km/s | 9288 km/h | ||
| (2012 FM52) | 25th August 2012 | 8 day(s) | 0.0599 | 23.3 | 510 m – 1.1 km | 17.17 km/s | 61812 km/h | ||
| 66146 (1998 TU3) | 25th August 2012 | 8 day(s) | 0.1265 | 49.2 | 3.0 km – 6.8 km | 16.03 km/s | 57708 km/h | ||
| (2009 AV) | 26th August 2012 | 9 day(s) | 0.1615 | 62.8 | 670 m – 1.5 km | 22.51 km/s | 81036 km/h | ||
| 331769 (2003 BQ35) | 28th August 2012 | 11 day(s) | 0.1585 | 61.7 | 240 m – 530 m | 4.64 km/s | 16704 km/h | ||
| (2010 SC) | 28th August 2012 | 11 day(s) | 0.1679 | 65.3 | 16 m – 36 m | 9.56 km/s | 34416 km/h | ||
| 4769 Castalia | 28th August 2012 | 11 day(s) | 0.1135 | 44.2 | 1.4 km | 12.06 km/s | 43416 km/h | ||
| (2012 LU7) | 02nd September 2012 | 16 day(s) | 0.1200 | 46.7 | 440 m – 990 m | 8.16 km/s | 29376 km/h | ||
| (2012 FS35) | 02nd September 2012 | 16 day(s) | 0.1545 | 60.1 | 2.3 m – 5.2 m | 2.87 km/s | 10332 km/h | ||
| (2012 HG31) | 03rd September 2012 | 17 day(s) | 0.0716 | 27.9 | 440 m – 990 m | 10.33 km/s | 37188 km/h | ||
| (2012 PX) | 04th September 2012 | 18 day(s) | 0.0452 | 17.6 | 61 m – 140 m | 9.94 km/s | 35784 km/h | ||
| (2012 EH5) | 05th September 2012 | 19 day(s) | 0.1613 | 62.8 | 38 m – 84 m | 9.75 km/s | 35100 km/h | ||
| (2011 EO11) | 05th September 2012 | 19 day(s) | 0.1034 | 40.2 | 9.0 m – 20 m | 8.81 km/s | 31716 km/h | ||
| (2007 PS25) | 06th September 2012 | 20 day(s) | 0.0497 | 19.3 | 23 m – 52 m | 8.50 km/s | 30600 km/h | ||
| 329520 (2002 SV) | 08th September 2012 | 22 day(s) | 0.1076 | 41.9 | 300 m – 670 m | 9.17 km/s | 33012 km/h | ||
| (2011 ES4) | 10th September 2012 | 24 day(s) | 0.1792 | 69.8 | 20 m – 44 m | 12.96 km/s | 46656 km/h | ||
| (2008 CO) | 11th September 2012 | 25 day(s) | 0.1847 | 71.9 | 74 m – 160 m | 4.10 km/s | 14760 km/h | ||
| (2007 PB8) | 14th September 2012 | 28 day(s) | 0.1682 | 65.5 | 150 m – 340 m | 14.51 km/s | 52236 km/h | ||
| 226514 (2003 UX34) | 14th September 2012 | 28 day(s) | 0.1882 | 73.2 | 260 m – 590 m | 25.74 km/s | 92664 km/h | ||
| (1998 QC1) | 14th September 2012 | 28 day(s) | 0.1642 | 63.9 | 310 m – 700 m | 17.11 km/s | 61596 km/h | ||
| (2002 EM6) | 15th September 2012 | 29 day(s) | 0.1833 | 71.3 | 270 m – 590 m | 18.56 km/s | 66816 km/h | ||
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Hubble watches star clusters on a collision course
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Biological Hazards / Wildlife / Hazmat
| Today | Biological Hazard | United Kingdom | England, Blackpool | |
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Biological Hazard in United Kingdom on Friday, 17 August, 2012 at 13:58 (01:58 PM) UTC.
| Description | |
| A drug user has died after being infected with anthrax, health experts said. The Health Protection Agency said that a person who injected drugs died in hospital in Blackpool. The name of the person or the hospital has not been disclosed. The HPA said the source of the infection is presumed to be contaminated heroin. The news comes after a spate of cases in Europe since early June. The HPA said it is ‘unclear’ whether the case in Blackpool and another case in Scotland – which was confirmed at the end of July – are linked to the European outbreak. Anthrax is a rare bacterial infection and is primarily a disease of herbivorous mammals, though other animals and some birds can also contract it. Bacillus anthracis spores can survive in the environment for years or decades. Dependent on the dose and route of exposure, the symptoms may develop within a week of taking heroin. An HPA spokesperson said: ‘The patient comes from the north west of England and was taken to hospital earlier this week and died shortly afterwards. ‘The infection was cultured in the laboratory and the results came back last night that it was anthrax. ‘It is very difficult to identify the source of the anthrax because the spores are miniscule. We do not know where it may have originated. ‘We are telling people on the ground who work with drugs users to be aware of the danger and look out for gashes that develop around injection sites.
‘You can treat anthrax with antibiotics if caught early, otherwise it can be fatal. That is the vital message we are trying to get out.’ Since June there have been seven confirmed cases of the infection – one in Scotland, three in Germany, two in Denmark, and one in France. These are the first cases of anthrax among drug users in Europe since the outbreak during 2009 and 2010. That outbreak saw 119 cases in Scotland, five cases in England and two cases in Germany. Among them was heroin user Shane Brown, 24, from Blackpool, who died after testing positive for anthrax at the town’s Victoria Hospital in 2010. Signs of infection include redness or excessive swelling at the injection site, or a high temperature, chills or a severe headache or breathing difficulties. Dr Dilys Morgan, an expert in zoonotic infections at the HPA, said: ‘It’s likely that further cases among PWID (people who inject drugs) will be identified as part of the ongoing outbreak in EU countries. ‘The Department of Health has alerted the NHS of the possibility of PWID presenting to emergency departments and walk-in clinics, with symptoms suggestive of anthrax. ‘Anthrax can be cured with antibiotics, if treatment is started early. It is therefore important for medical professionals to know the signs and symptoms to look for, so that there are no delays in providing the necessary treatment.’ European health experts say that the recent cases could have come from the same batch of contaminated heroin in the 2009 to 2010 outbreak. Dr Morgan added: ‘As part of the response to the 2009/10 outbreak, the HPA developed an algorithm for the clinical evaluation and management of PWID with possible anthrax. ‘This algorithm specifies the kinds of presentations where anthrax should be considered, and outlines the actions to take.’ Anthrax in drug users was considered to be very rare. Prior to the 2009-2010 outbreak in Scotland, just one previous case had been reported in Norway in 2000. The risk to the general population is negligible. It is extremely rare for anthrax to be spread from person to person. |
|
| Biohazard name: | Anthrax contained heroin (fatal) |
| Biohazard level: | 4/4 Hazardous |
| Biohazard desc.: | Viruses and bacteria that cause severe to fatal disease in humans, and for which vaccines or other treatments are not available, such as Bolivian and Argentine hemorrhagic fevers, H5N1(bird flu), Dengue hemorrhagic fever, Marburg virus, Ebola virus, hantaviruses, Lassa fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and other hemorrhagic or unidentified diseases. When dealing with biological hazards at this level the use of a Hazmat suit and a self-contained oxygen supply is mandatory. The entrance and exit of a Level Four biolab will contain multiple showers, a vacuum room, an ultraviolet light room, autonomous detection system, and other safety precautions designed to destroy all traces of the biohazard. Multiple airlocks are employed and are electronically secured to prevent both doors opening at the same time. All air and water service going to and coming from a Biosafety Level 4 (P4) lab will undergo similar decontamination procedures to eliminate the possibility of an accidental release. |
| Symptoms: | |
| Status: | confirmed |
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New deadly, highly contagious Ebola family virus found in snakes
BBC News
The cause of a fatal illness that affects captive snakes has been identified, a study has shown. The condition – called Inclusion Body Disease (IBD) – affects constrictor snakes including boas and pythons. There is no treatment and symptoms include “stargazing” – a fixed upward stare – as well as breathing problems and general muscular paralysis.
It was long suspected that the disease was caused by a virus, but until recently its identity remained elusive. The research is published in the open-access journal mBio.
In this breakthrough study, researchers from the University of California San Francisco analysed samples obtained from snakes diagnosed with IBD, using sensitive DNA sequencing techniques.
In amongst some of the snake DNA was foreign genetic material – nucleic acid – that closely resembled that present in viruses belonging to a family called arenaviruses. This family includes Lassa Fever virus, which is associated with haemorrhagic fever in humans. However, there is no evidence that the newly discovered virus can pass from snakes to humans.
The scientists were also able to grow the virus from samples taken from one of the snakes.
Dr Mark Stenglein, who co-led the current study, said “we don’t yet have formal evidence that these viruses cause the disease… although there is a good correlation [between disease and the presence of virus] … there’s definitely a possibility that other things cause this”.
Arenaviruses can be divided into two main groups based on the location of the species they naturally infect – New World viruses originate from the Americas, whilst Old World viruses are found in Africa and Asia. Genetically, the newly discovered virus is distinct from these two groups.
Commenting on the finding, the editor of the paper Michael Buchmeier, professor of infectious diseases at University of California Irvine, suggests that these snake viruses “may be representative of a predecessor of the Old World and New World branches of the [arenavirus] family”.
The genetic analyses also revealed that one of the genes in the newly isolated virus group was more like that present in viruses belonging to a totally different family of haemorrhagic viruses called filoviruses. Ebolavirus belongs to this family.
The new discovery follows similar research published online in April 2012 in the journal Infection, Genetics and Evolution, which describes isolation of a novel virus from snakes – this time in Australia – that showed symptoms very similar to IBD. However, the virus isolated in this study belonged to a very different virus family known as paramyxoviruses.
Professor Jim Wellehan from the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, who authored the paramyxovirus study, said: “The epidemiology of the paramyxoviruses is different [to IBD]. These are hot agents that snakes die quickly from, and it works fast. You have a room full of dead snakes in a week.”
It is uncertain how the highly contagious IBD virus is spread. One possibility is that transmission occurs through inhalation – either directly from another infected snake or indirectly from contaminated bedding or following handling. Alternatively, mites – often found in colonies suffering from an IBD outbreak – might be implicated.
So far the disease seems to be restricted to captive snakes but some scientists are worried that the release of captive bred or rehabilitated snakes might unwittingly unleash this devastating virus into the wild.
| Today | HAZMAT | Australia | State of New South Wales, Newcastle | |
|
HAZMAT in Australia on Friday, 17 August, 2012 at 03:06 (03:06 AM) UTC.
| Description | |
| One hundred litres of a highly toxic and potentially explosive chemical that spilled at an industrial site near Newcastle have been mopped up without incident, authorities say. Police established a 300-metre exclusion zone and evacuated 100 people after a 1000-litre drum of methyl ethyl ketone cracked at a warehouse in Tomago about 1.45pm (AEST) on Thursday. Power was switched off in the neighbouring area, streets were closed and all ignition sources were removed as hazmat officers in fully encapsulated suits inspected the site and began the cleanup job. Six Fire and Rescue NSW crews worked to contain the spill and the area was deemed safe by Thursday evening, Superintendent Paul Bailey said. “Everything is either back open or in the process of being reopened,” he said. “We’ve had no run-off into waterways.” A spokesman earlier described the chemical as “highly flammable, very explosive, very toxic”. It’s believed the tank containing the liquid had rolled from a forklift. |
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Articles of Interest
Chevron’s refinery, Richmond’s peril
Los Angeles Times
People view the fire at the Chevron Richmond Refinery. The fire burned out of control for more than five hours, sending a giant black cloud of toxic chemicals, including sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, thousands of feet into the air and out across the bay.
The facility that caught fire violates pollution rules and is a daily threat to workers and neighbors.
Stay inside, close your windows and doors, and turn off air conditioning and heating units. Pets and all children in sporting activities should be brought inside, and have duct tape ready should you need to further seal windows and doors.
These are among the “shelter in place” warnings made to Bay Area residents last week in response to a massive fire at theChevron Corp.refinery in Richmond. The fire burned out of control for more than five hours, sending a giant black cloud of toxic chemicals, including sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, thousands of feet into the air and out across the bay. While automated calls went to more than 18,000 people, some 160,000 residents live in the areas directly affected by the warning. More than 5,700 people have sought medical treatment.
Chevron is the world’s eighth-largest corporation and hands-down the largest in California. The Richmond refinery is also the state’s single largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, having released 4.5 million metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2010 alone.
Built in 1902, the refinery shows its age. Rather than use its $27 billion in 2011 profits to run the cleanest, safest and most transparent refinery possible, Chevron operates a refinery that is in constant violation of federal and state law and a daily threat to the health and safety of its workers and neighbors.
More than 25,000 people, including those in two public housing projects, live within just three miles of the refinery. Nearly 85% of the residents live below the federal poverty line; the same percentage is listed as “minorities” according to the U.S. Census. Within one mile of or abutting the refinery are businesses, houses, an elementary school and playgrounds.
Since at least April 2009, the refinery has been in noncompliance of the Clean Water Act and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System in every quarter but one. Until July 2010, the refinery had been in “high-priority violation” of Clean Air Act compliance standards, the most serious level of violation noted by the EPA, since at least 2006. Under constant pressure from community organizations, Chevron has been assessed hundreds of thousands of dollars in penalties for repeated Clean Air Act violations – nearly 100 citations in just the last five years, including 23 in 2011 alone.A 2008 study by UC Berkeley and Brown University researchers concluded that the air inside some Richmond homes was more toxic than that outside because of harmful pollutants from the refinery being trapped indoors.
The Contra Costa County Health Services Department lists the residents of Richmond as one of the “most at-risk groups” in the county: They are hospitalized for chronic diseases at significantly higher rates than the county average, including for female reproductive cancers, which are more than double the county rate. Chevron is one of four refineries in Contra Costa County where nearby incidence of breast, ovarian and prostate cancers are the second highest in California, and where nearby residents suffer higher rates of asthma, childhood asthma and asthma-related deaths.
The Aug. 6 fire is the third major disaster at the refinery in 12 years, each caused by an old leaking pipe. In January 2007, an explosion rocked the refinery, leading to a five-alarm fire. A leaking corroded pipe “that should have been detached two decades ago,” according to investigators, was to blame. In 1999, an 18,000-pound plume of sulfur dioxide smoke was released after an explosion caused by a leak in a pipe that was more than 30 years old.
But neither Richmond nor Chevron is alone. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board, an independent federal agency that investigates major incidents at oil refineries, concluded last month that nationwide safety at U.S. refineries has not improved, despite scores of fatalities, over the last decade, and won’t until companies develop better safety systems.
In a 2007 report about BP‘s 2005 Texas City oil refinery disaster, which killed 15 workers, the board warned of a pervasive “complacency toward serious safety risks” across the leading oil companies’ refinery operations. It called on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to “require these corporations to evaluate the safety impact of mergers, reorganizations, downsizing and budget cuts.”
This year so far, serious oil refinery fires have broken out at a ConocoPhillips refinery in Los Angeles, twice at one BP refinery in Indiana, and in Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Washington and at other locations. Using industry-reported data, the United Steelworkers estimates that at least one fire occurs every week at a U.S. oil refinery. Operating in noncompliance with federal and state regulations, moreover, appears to be all-but-standard operating procedure across the industry.
Oil industry operations are not clean, safe or healthful. But they can certainly be far cleaner, safer, more healthful and more transparent than current industry practice.
Big Oil is the wealthiest industry the world has known. The companies can and must be forced through stricter federal and state regulation, aggressive enforcement and direct community and worker oversight to be held to the highest possible standard, including current law.
Richmond has always been a company town. But in 2006 its residents rebelled, rejecting Chevron’s handpicked political candidates and electing as mayor the Green Party’s Gayle McLaughlin. State and federal officials who serve as the industry’s handmaidens should anticipate an even broader rebellion as the outcome of this latest tragic, yet painfully predictable, oil company disaster.
Antonia Juhasz is the author of several books on the oil industry, including “The Tyranny of Oil.” She is also the editor and lead author of three Alternative Annual Reports on Chevron and the former director of the Chevron Program at San Francisco-based Global Exchange.
Crystals from chaos: Physicists observe new form of carbon
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