California’s ‘Staggering’ Leak Could Spew Methane for Months in 2016

[Uncle Joe]

In 2016, the US Environmental Protection Agency will issue long-awaited rules to control methane emissions from the oil and gas industry. The regulations will emerge after years of activism and scientific studies on the climate risk posed by methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that’s dozens of times more potent that carbon dioxide.

But the regulations will likely be overshadowed by the ongoing saga in Aliso Canyon, Calif., where a leaking natural gas storage field continues to belch thousands of tons of methane into the air every week.

The leak was detected on Oct. 23. Hundreds of residents in the Porter Ranch neighborhood of Los Angeles have relocated due to headaches, nausea, nosebleeds and other health effects. SoCal Gas, the utility that runs the facility, attributes the problem to a side effect of breathing in mercaptans — the odorizing chemical that’s added to natural gas to make leaks detectable.

“That whole well blew. It’s the most massive leak in the history of this country in a populated area.”
— R. REX PARRIS, ATTORNEY

But toxins such as hydrogen sulfide and benzene have been detected in the air, said R. Rex Parris, one of the attorneys representing people who live near the well.

These chemicals can cause severe short-term and long-term problems, including cancer, but scientists know little about how these mixtures affect public health over a period of months.

(snip)

http://billmoyers.com/story/californias-staggering-leak-could-spew-methane-for-months-in-2016/

[roscoeroscoe]

1. Not a big deal, not on network news

Yikes

[Uncle Joe]

2. Yep, if it were a big deal, they would right on it so apparently all is well.

[Judi Lynn]

3. How dare they ignore it. People to wake up & ask what it is the "news" media do all day,

and how they can so easily look the other way when horrendous things are happening.

[marmar]

4. k/r