BP counts financial cost of Gulf spill

ABC News

BP has spent $US6.1 billion to date on the emergency response to the unprecedented oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and in grants to affected states, according to the company. BP previously agreed to establish an uncapped $US20 billion compensation fund on top of the money it is spending to clean up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and separate to fines the company may have to pay for the disaster.

posted by seamas on August 9, 2010 at 8:18 pm · filed under

BP finally seals disastrous oil leak

Sydney Morning Herald

BP has finally plugged the gushing oil well that was blown open when its Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. The well has been filled with cement. Oil spilled from the well in deep water for 106 days, causing the United States of America’s worst ever environmental disaster.

posted by seamas on August 6, 2010 at 5:47 pm · filed under

China oil leak

The Guardian

Five days after the Chinese pipeline explosion at the north-east port of Dalian, oil has reportedly spread over an area of 430 square kilometres.  Authorities say the leak was stopped with 24 hours of the explosion, but have not revealed how much oil has been discharged.

posted by ruby on July 22, 2010 at 9:38 am · filed under

Concerns over BP clean up

ABC News

New York Congressman Jerry Nadler has voiced concerns that the clean up from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill clean-up is further damaging the environment through the use of chemical dispersants.  90 million gallons of oil were released into the ocean in the leak.

“Nobody has ever dumped 1.8 million gallons of a dispersant into an ocean before,” he told ABC Radio’s The World Today.  “We know that dispersants generally… are toxic. Recovery workers are getting sick from a combination of the fumes from the dispersants and the oil.”

posted by ruby on July 22, 2010 at 9:28 am · filed under

Australia ignores WHO toxic chemicals warning

WWF Australia

Numerous pesticides still used on Australian farms have been banned overseas because of the risks they pose to human health and the environment, according to a list released yesterday by WWF and the National Toxics Network. More than 20 of the 80 or so chemicals flagged have been classified as either extremely or highly hazardous by the World Health Organisation, yet they remain available for use on food growing farms. Some of the listed chemicals contain carcinogens, others have the potential to interfere with human hormones. WWF is calling for Australian toxic chemical regulations to be brought into line with U.S. and European standards, in order to protect farm workers, wildlife and ecosystems.

posted by seamas on July 19, 2010 at 7:25 am · filed under

NASA joins race to relocate sea turtle hatchlings

ABC News

U.S. authorities and wildlife conservation groups are working together to rescue sea turtle eggs from nests along the oil spill impacted coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Space agency NASA is providing incubation facilities for the eggs at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The turtles are expected to hatch in the next few days and should be released into clean waters somewhere on planet Earth.

posted by seamas on July 18, 2010 at 6:31 pm · filed under

Conservation groups demand better marine safeguards in wake of disastrous US spill

Australian Conservation Foundation

Following the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which has become one of the world’s worst environmental disasters, community concern about a lack of safeguards against the risk of large scale oil spills in Australia has grown. An unprecedented alliance of 32 environment groups including the Australian Conservation Foundation, WWF Australia and Pew Environment Group have called on all political parties to commit to creating a network of large marine sanctuaries ahead of the approaching federal election to provide better safeguards for Australia’s unique marine life.

posted by seamas on June 22, 2010 at 7:17 am · filed under