Oil Rain In Louisiana?

( – promoted by buhdydharma )

Posted to youtube June 22, 2010 by user HistoryTours

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Qualification: I have no way of knowing if that video is of a current event or if it is raining in the video scenes. Although I suspect undecomposed oil is probably too heavy to evaporate, I think that strong storms (hurricanes, etc) can probably physically transport crude oil and spread it inland, and I would imagine that some of the products of chemical breakdown of oil, and reaction products between oil and corexit, the dispersant BP is using, can evaporate and produce toxic rain. Some of those reaction products I imagine might cause ‘rainbow’ slicks on streets like what is shown in the video.

Crude oil contains the powerful cancer-causing chemicals benzene, toluene, heavy metals and arsenic.

(hat tip to Washington’s Blog: Health Risks from Oil Spill: “Some of the Most Toxic Chemicals that We Know” ,  “Every Place Can be Ground Zero”, CDC Advises “Everyone” to Avoid Oil)

See the following links to and excerpts from Oil in the Sea III: Inputs, Fates, and Effect (2003), a paper produced by the Committee on Oil in the Sea: Inputs, Fates, and Effects, Ocean Studies Board (OSB), the Marine Board (MB), and the Transportation Research Board (TRB)

From the Executive Summary, Page 1:

In recognition of the need for periodic examinations of the nature and effect of petroleum releases to the environment, various governments have commissioned a variety of studies of the problem over the last few decades. Within the United States, federal agencies have turned to the National Research Council on several instances to look at the issue. One of the most widely quoted studies of this type was completed in 1985 and entitled Oil in the Sea: Inputs, Fates, and Effects. The report that follows was initially requested by the Minerals Management Service (U.S.) in 1998. Financial support was obtained from the Minerals Management Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Navy, the American Petroleum Institute, and the National Ocean Industries Association. Although originally envisioned as an update of the 1985 report, this study goes well beyond that effort in terms of proposing a clear methodology for determining estimates of petroleum inputs to the marine environment. In addition, the geographic and temporal variability in those inputs and the significance of those inputs in terms of their effect on the marine environment are more fully explored. Like the 1985 report, this report covers theoretical aspects of the fate and effect of petroleum in the marine environment. This current effort, however, benefited tremendously by the existence of more systematic databases and the voluminous field and laboratory work completed since the early 1980s, work largely stimulated by the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska.

From Processes That Affect The Impact Of Oil Releases, Page 90:

Weathering

Following an oil spill or any other event that releases crude oil or crude oil products into the marine environment, weathering processes begin immediately to transform the materials into substances with physical and chemical characteristics that differ from the original source material.

Evaporation

In many oil spills, evaporation is the most important process in terms of mass balance. Within a few days following a spill, light crude oils can lose up to 75 percent of their initial volume and medium crudes up to 40 percent. In contrast, heavy or residual oils will lose no more than 10 percent of their volume in the first few days following a spill. Most oil spill behavior models include evaporation as a process and as a factor in the output of the model.

FIGURE 4-1 Graphic representation (A) and detailed interactions (B) of a conceptual model for the fate of petroleum in the marine environment. Various modules depicted are often included as significant components of computer models attempting to simulate or predict behavior and fate of petroleum compounds.

Figure 4-1 shows the interrelationships among the physical, chemical, and biological processes that crude oil undergoes when introduced into the marine environment, subsequently weathers, and is then transported away from the source. Processes involved in the weathering of crude oil include evaporation, emulsification, and dissolution, whereas chemical processes focus on oxidation, particularly photooxidation. The principal biological process that affects crude oil in the marine environment is microbial oxidation. As crude oil weathers, it may also undergo various transport processes including advection and spreading, dispersion and entrainment, sinking and sedimentation, partitioning and bioavailability, and stranding which leads in some cases to tarball formation. These processes are all discussed briefly, along with special considerations of oil and ice, and oil from deepwater releases. This chapter concludes with a discussion of conceptual and computer models and a summary of fates of oil inputs to the ocean from seeps, surface spills, deepwater releases, and diffuse sources such as the atmosphere, land run off, and recreation.