Locals Skeptical of Latest BP Oil Spill Fix

The day's headline seems like good news: BP's latest fix is working. On Grand Isle, people have had it with BP's history of false hope and failed fixes. They're skeptical and running out of patience, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Strassman.

"It's a crying shame," says Chris Hernandez. "It's terrible and the people need to see this."

He drives home a common gripe here. "This is the whole coast of Grand Isle. Seven and a half miles of beach."

Every day more oil hits this coastline, resentment deepens with the muck. Residents ask, where is the sense of urgency.

"Look at this island," says Hernandez. "There's nobody here. There's not a clean-up crew here."

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Clean-up crews are here, up and down Grand Isle beach. Eleven-hundred people in all work on Grand Isle's cleanup, but only 250 of them are in "hazardous material" suits, shoveling oil off this seven-mile beach, the so-called "hot zone."

Clean-up coordinators say crews can only work 20 minutes of every hour. "Due the heat and humidity we have to give people a break," says U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Dan Somma. "It's the number one safety issue working in this environment."

In an even harsher environment - a mile undersea - BP says its latest fix is working. Its new containment cap over the broken wellhead is sucking more oil to a surface ship.

Two hundred fifty-thousand gallons on Friday. Four hundred forty-one thousand gallons - or 10,000 barrels - on Saturday. But many scientists believe much more oil's still bleeding into the gulf every day.

"We have a further containment system to implement in the course of the coming week, which will be in place by next weekend," said BP CEO Tony Hayward.

But all that's too late to stop the millions of gallons already in the Gulf. In places like grand isle - places in the bull's-eye of the blob - clean-up crews could work 24/7, but the damage is already done.

Chris Hernandez found another sad reminder of the oil's impact, a dying bird.

"It's heartbreaking, man," says Hernandez. "You know, what's this bird's survival rate? He's just a baby.

That bird was found on the main beach where clean-up crews work every day. Those crews have yet to set foot on some nearby barrier islands and that's where every day you'll find many more oiled pelicans and other wildlife.

[melaniegonnachokavitch]

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?saved&&suggest&note_id=137552502938051#!/pages/I-refuse-to-call-the-BP-tragedy-a-spill-Its-a-major-fcking-DISASTER/130255726989530

This is an excellent Facebook page with plenty of information (and outrage) about this disaster.

[robertc1111]

Secure a sufficiently sized funnel above the leak as close to the leak as possible. Connect the discharge end to a pipe/hose running to a suction pump on a ship/barge on the surface that discharges the mix of oil & water into tankers to transfer the mixture of water & oil to land storage tanks for separation. Then fix the leak without destroying the environment

[rdb823]

I do not know how much PSI(Pressure Per Square Inch) is coming from the oil spill piping but their are companys in the USA that make inflatable pressure plugs that are incerted into the pipe and then inflated to stop the flow of any liquid. I am not for sure what size of the well pipe but they make these in various sizes and lengths. If we can help build a space station surely one of these companys can build a plug to fit the well pipe. Just a suggestion that might help if the variables are right at the leak. Surf the internet under "Inflatable pressure Plugs" could not hurt to look into this since their is no resolution so far.

[combustionmechanic]

Wow, just wow? how could BP let this go on for so long?

Fixing the leak is simple, the pipe is malleable, pinch it off. You can retrofit a 100ton hydraulic jack with a steel ball welded on the end, 75% of the diameter of the well pipe. Loop a high-tensile chain around the jack and weld it to the base. Leave the chain opening slighter larger than the diameter of the well pipe. Slide the chain over the well pipe at least 10 feet down from the opening.

Have the underwater robot crank the jack forcing the steel ball up against the well pipe; the pipe will crush pinching off the oil supply.

[arnypal]

All you people sound like experts, Maybe you could answer this question . Someone said BP could blow-up the rig and the oil leaking would stop, I thought this is what started it.He said Obama would not allow it. This person blames Obama for everything . He thought it was Obama's fault when we went into Iraq for no reason. Has anyone heard of this "blowing up" theory

ap

[jfsconi]

start mobilising war ship in english channel, show the wankers we arent playing no more... surely very large amount of british paid men and women will follow our ships back to clean up their mess.. and when bp go bankrupt hold the british govt responsible for all remaining bills from this disaster... a show of force is needed.

[hsimpso1]

HellOOOO! When are folks going to wake up to the idea that there is no such thing as a "fool-proof" anything? Titanic? Chernobyl? Exxon Valdez? D-uh! I'm amazed (or not!) that no one saw this oil spill coming. Why does everyone seem so surprised? Apparently, not a single oceanside community has a plan for dealing with this disaster! BP apparently has never heard of Murphy's Law! I am torn between nausea at the carnage, and rage at the lack of foresight and supreme arrogance of folks who think they have outsmarted chaos theory.

[alaxi1]

OIL SPILL CLEAN-up.
I saw the Latest BP commercial this am, Tony Hayward that BP will take care of cost for people who submitt a legitimate claim ............
I received this video today & watched it. WHOA!
PLease view the video, get ahold of these guys, get something started get the cleaning going.
http://www.wimp.com/solutionoil/
I sincerely hope someone reads this & views this video.

[porcine_aviator]

Why shouldn't the locals be skeptical? BP has demonstrated beyond any reaonable doubt that they are both incredibly incompetent and incapable of telling the truth about anything. Of course, the same is true about the Coast Guard and the EPA. None of the people involved in this repair and cleanup operation have even the slightest clue what they are doing. Every step of the way, the "leadership" of these organizations have ignored the findings and suggestions of scientists and other experts.

My biggest surprise is that Americans don't demand better. We should have enough pride that we expect good stewardship of the land and sea. We should expect a government run by competent, honest people. But, there are simply too many here that just shrug everything off...it's just a sad display of total apathy. Well, you get what you ask for, which in this case is nothing. If you continue to patronize BP, you're an enabler. If you re-elect the incumbents, you're an enabler. Stop enabling the downward spiral and demand better, America!

[hsimpso1]

What universe are u living in?

[SPFRUSCIONE]

SURELY AN EXPANDABLE PLUG SHOULD BE ABLE TO STOP THIS LEAK. OR A SELF TAPING THREADED PLUG SHOULD BE ABLE TO SCREWED INTO OR ONTO THE END OF THE PIPE. COME ON PEOPLE LETS GET WORKING ON THE PROBLEM INSTEAD OF COMPLAINING ABOUT IT AND WAITING FOR THE GOV'T TO DO SOMETHING. THE GOVERNMENT CAN'T FIND THEIR BUTT WITH BOTH HANDS. LET'S HAVE SOME GOOD OLD CREATIVE THINKING TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM. A REGULAR TIRE RIM CAN BE WELDED SHUT AND INSERTED INTO THE PIPE. THEN INFLATE THE TIRE. THIS WOULD AT THE VERY LEAST TMPORARILY PLUG THE PIPE. ANYONE HAVE ANY OTHER IDEAS?

[alphaa10000]

WAITING ON BP, NOT THE GOVERNMENT

You have it backwards-- we are waiting on BP, not the government. In fact, our government is waiting on BP-- with decreasing patience.

Government did not create the problem-- BP greed and reckless haste did.

You appear to be a lost-in-space relic of the Reagan era, blaming our government for every failure of private sector greedmeisters.

To paraphrase Reagan, our government is not the problem, delusional GOP myths about government regulation is the problem.

[porcine_aviator]

The trouble with the type of plug you're proposing is that it would be extrmely difficult to insert it against the tremendous pressure, even in the furled state.

I think a far better option would be the following 5 step fix:

1) Cut the riser a few feet above the blowout preventer, and then yank the damaged pipe away (by at least 50 feet).

2) Unbolt the stub pipe at the blowout preventer, and remove to safe distance.

3) Position a box frame to be used a precision guide to attach a new, functioning blowout preventer. The box frame would be bolted and/or welded to the existing structure that support the "christmas tree". This frame furthermore contains linear bearing guide surfaces to allow only 1 axis of movement for the blowout preventer.

4) Install the new blowout preventer, with a 2-4 foot double flanged spacer on the bottom (to allow room for ROV robot access). The BP is installed with the valve fully open to allow unrestricted flow while installation proceeds.

5) Once new blowout preventer is securely bolted into place and sensors begin transmitting data, close BP valve and PROBLEM SOLVED.