Is the methane leak in california causing unusual temperatures in the eastern U.

[Howard_Hughes]

Hello community!
I'm not sure where all.of you live, but I'm here in the state of Maryland, near baltimore and we've had some unusual weather. It was 66 degrees on christmas. I was comfortably outside with shorts and no shirt. "What on earth is happening?" I thought. Im a winter baby so I'm fond of the snow so I'm a little upset about all this.

I have a theory that the methane leak is a culprit in all of this, as I'm sure some other things.
So this methane.leak in LA County California has been spewing out 70k-110k pounds of methane PER HOUR since october. I only knew about it since December because of alternative news sources. My grandparents watch the news every night and hadn't heard.about it. So it's not getting to much attention outside of the epicenter, at least until now.


I've also read that methane has 4X the greenhouse gas power as carbon dioxide. When I searched the forum for methane leaks and California I came upon a transcript from 2014, and the C's say "wait for the big one" (I'm paraphrasing) but it was in relation to methane leaks. I wonder if this is what they meant, and I'm curious as to what effects this is having on the planet. We have crazy storms in the south , and the storm that caused all that is apparently causing a heat wave I'm the north pole of record breaking proportions. I can't speak for everyone else's weather but I've been paying attention here.

This is how it always happens. The morning will be a cold foggy day. Unusually cold for what it's been but it's what you'd expect for winter. The whole day is cloudy, wet and cold, but then at night the temperature jumps up about 20 to 30 degrees.
I'm not a meteorologist and have no knowledge of weather patterns, but it seems to me that the cold front dips down below md, and we get these warm temperatures shortly after and I think it makes a whole lot of sense to conclude that that could happen of that jet stream brought us a giant plume of methane I'm the upper atmosphere above us. Could it be? Could this leak also be contributing to heating in other parts of the world? Does anyone know of anyone else who is trying to connect these events?

Have you all been experiencing warm weather?
I'd really like to know what the C's have to say about all of this.

In the last 5 years there seem to be A LOT OF warning signs to get off the west coast.
FUKISHIMA, then the drought, then a huge section of road in california rose up like 20m or something like that. Then a few months ago a giant fissure opened up in wyoming in the mountains. AND THEN I just read an article about how they discovered a magma chamber under the one they already knew about under yellowstone and it's like 4X the size of the one we knew about previously, or something like that

All these events seem connected in some way and correlate to things the C's have talked about like the earth opening up.
I just wonder though, if these things keep snowballing were going to have a serious problem. I always remember learning about the biggest extinction event in history that killed 97% of life on earth and I believe they said it was due to warming caused by, I believe, worldwide methane leaks. Not 100% on that but I know it was a natural gas that caused it.

What are you guys' thoughts? And should I put this issue into the "ask the C's" section?

 

[caballero reyes]

Here in Sonora, in summer the temperature reached 50 degrees C, with two large electrical storms, now,
It has snowed in the desert region of El Pinacate, this did not look in 33 years.

Today this report:
"Hermosillo, Sonora (28 / DIC / 2015) .- The National Water Commission (Conagua) today recorded a minimum temperature of 9 degrees below zero in Yecora, Sonora mountain town, an organization which follows the cold environment and the possibility of frost."

 

[DavidHP]

Central Florida is usually not cold, cool yes, at least during Christmas. However I have been running the AC for most of December, it just got a break this week!

 

[angelburst29]

Hello community!
I'm not sure where all of you live, but I'm here in the state of Maryland, near Baltimore and we've had some unusual weather. It was 66 degrees on Christmas. I was comfortably outside with shorts and no shirt. "What on earth is happening?" I thought. I'm a winter baby so I'm fond of the snow so I'm a little upset about all this.

I have a theory that the methane leak is a culprit in all of this, as I'm sure some other things.
So this methane leak in LA County California has been spewing out 70k-110k pounds of methane PER HOUR since October. I only knew about it since December because of alternative news sources. My grandparents watch the news every night and hadn't heard about it. So it's not getting to much attention outside of the epicenter, at least until now.

I've also read that methane has 4X the greenhouse gas power as carbon dioxide. When I searched the forum for methane leaks and California I came upon a transcript from 2014, and the C's say "wait for the big one" (I'm paraphrasing) but it was in relation to methane leaks. I wonder if this is what they meant, and I'm curious as to what effects this is having on the planet. We have crazy storms in the south , and the storm that caused all that is apparently causing a heat wave I'm the north pole of record breaking proportions. I can't speak for everyone else's weather but I've been paying attention here. [...]

I would reason, there's several "causes" affecting the weather. If this L.A. gas blow-out is a contributing factor to the weather patterns, it may have some affect, if there are "man-made alterations" to help steer the gases away from the area, to mitigate the concentrations? It's only "a guess" on my part, for there's no concrete evidence that I've come across - that would substantiate it? But what is taking place in L.A. is a serious situation.

From what I understand, the discovery of the leak was on Oct 23, 2015.

Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Leak
http://www.caloes.ca.gov/ICESite/Pages/Aliso-Canyon.aspx

Background

​​​​On Oct 23, a natural gas leak was discovered at a well within the Aliso Canyon Underground Storage Field in Los Angeles County. The Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas​), which owns and maintains the natural gas storage facility and is responsible for its wells, has been unable to stop the leak.

The leak appears to be caused by damage to the well casing at approximately 500 feet underground. The damaged portion of the well is very difficult to access and cannot yet be seen with a camera. SoCalGas has placed certain fluids and materials down the well several times in order to stop the leak, which is a common industry practice. However, these attempts have not stopped the leak.

***
Since discovery of the leak on Oct 23, a team of experienced technical experts from the state’s Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (the Division) has directed oversight of SoCalGas’ efforts to stop the leak at Aliso Canyon. These experts have been on-site during all operations and are evaluating every step of SoCalGas’ efforts to determine the most effective way to seal the well. These technical experts oversee all plans and actions at the site, including monitoring the wellhead and inspecting the well. The Division has also convened a panel of technical experts from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Sandia National Laboratory to provide independent expertise to assist in monitoring and evaluating SoCalGas’ actions.

On Nov. 18​, the Division Supervisor issued an emergency order to ensure no delay exists to execute all possible efforts to stop the gas leak, including the drilling of relief wells below the leak to stop the flow of natural gas. The Emergency Order was issued to ensure that SoCalGas is planning and implementing all feasible pathways to stop the leak. SoCalGas is currently complying with the Emergency Order. On Dec 10​ a second emergency order to SoCalGas requests additional data, testing, daily briefings, and a schedule for identified pathways to seal the well.​​

​​On Nov 19, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health​ issued a Public Health Directive​ to SoCalGas. This directive ordered the gas company to continue the abatement process, eliminate odorous emissions and provide free, temporary relocation to residents that choose to relocate. To view the department’s correspondence with SoCalGas click here​.

Los Angeles County Public Health Department also issued a Supplemental Directive to SoCalGas on Dec 16​ requesting to work directly with Los Angeles Unified School District on logistical support in placing students and staff in alternate locations outside of the impacted area.​

On Dec 4, SoCalGas began drilling a relief well to intersect with the damaged well. This new relief well will connect to the leaking well through which SoCalGas will pump in cement to permanently seal off ​the original well.​

On Dec. 15, South Coast Air Quality Management District filed an Order for Abatement that would require SoCalGas to comply with statues or rules being violated. A Hearing Board will hear the Order on Jan. 9 for further action.

On Dec.​ 18, Governor Brown issued a letter to the CEO of SoCalGas. The letter notes that the Governor has directed numerous state agencies to take action in investigating the well and the public health concerns surrounding the leak. To download the letter, click here​​.

On Jan. 6, Gov. Brown issued a State of Emergency declaring, at the direction of the Governor's Office of Emergency Services, all state agencies will utilize state personnel, equipment, and facilities to ensure a continuous and thorough state response to this incident. The Governor's Office of Emergency Services will also provide frequent and timely updates to residents affected by the natural gas leak and the appropriate local officials, including convening community meetings in the coming weeks.

​​Measuring Methane Em​issions

The California Air Resources Board (CARB​​) is monitoring total methane emissions — a powerful greenhouse gas — over the duration of the leak using measurements from the ground, airplanes and satellites. The air board has also directed SoCalGas to provide its data on the volumes of gas within the storage field in order to refine its estimates on total emissions. Natural Gas is composed primarily of methane (approximately 80%), which is a potent greenhouse gas. Methane is in a category of greenhouse gases known as short-lived climate pollutants. These types of gases remain in the atmosphere for a much shorter period of time than longer-lived climate pollutants, such as carbon dioxide (CO2); but when measured in terms of how they heat the atmosphere, their impacts can be tens, hundreds, or even thousands of times greater than that of carbon dioxide. In order to quantify the methane release rate from the Aliso Canyon gas leak, state agencies in collaboration with the research community, are collecting measurements at the well site near the ground, from towers, airplanes and satellites.​

​Aliso Canyon Air Sample Results​​

A complete calculation of the total methane emitted from the gas leak based on a full set of data and an assessment of any changes in methane release rate over the duration of the leak will take several months to complete. A preliminary estimate of the ​methane release rate is available here​.​ To view the page on Community Methane Monitoring in Aliso Canyon, click ​here​​​​.​

Investigations Into The Leak

​The Division​ has launched an investigation to determine the cause of the gas leak and whether any regulatory or statutory violations occurred. This investigation will include analyzing the inner workings of the leaking well.​

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC​), which regulates natural gas utilities, has also launched a staff investigation​ of SoCalGas’ actions before and after the incident, including whether proper public notification was provided and maintenance of the gas storage field in general. CPUC staff also requested information from the company on the costs of containing the leak. The Division and CPUC have also directed SoCalGasCo to retain an independent, third party to perform a technical analysis of the well failure and its cause. SoCalGas will cover the expenses of this independent analysis at no cost to ratepayers. Analysis results will be shared with regulators and the public. For more specifics click here. The Division and CPUC, on Dec 11, also ordered the company to explain how quickly the storage field can be drained to reduce pressure on the leak while preserving reliability of gas for ratepayers.

 

[angelburst29]

State of Emergency now underway for L.A. gas blowout — Oil begins raining down on homes — Official: “It’s on the brink of pandemonium” — Many worry plume will ignite, cause explosion — Concern over geysers, sinkholes being created — Company: Experts have “never seen anything like this” (VIDEO)
http://enenews.com/state-emergency-issued-la-gas-blowout-oil-begins-raining-down-homes-concern-sinkholes-geysers-being-created-official-brink-pandemonium

Los Angeles Times, Jan 5, 2016 Utility is installing screens to contain oily mist at leaking well near Porter Ranch… The structures under construction on the west side of the well head are designed to capture airborne droplets of a brine solution that “may have contained trace amounts of oil naturally occurring within the leaking well’s reservoir,” said Trisha Muse, a spokeswoman for SoCal Gas… Now, a mixture of brine water and oil is rising up into the gas company’s natural gas storage zone, then traveling up the well and into the air. As a result, local residents are finding droplets of dark brown residue on their homes, vehicles, fish ponds and gardens… [The company] acknowledged that some residents had asked about “dark brown spots on their property.” “We sampled it and, according to our retained toxicologist and medical expert,” the company said, “the residue contained heavier hydrocarbons (similar to motor oil) but does not pose a health risk.”… On Monday, plaintiffs’ attorneys sent a letter to state regulatory officials [and] demanded that state regulators “explain what is happening with the petroleum now surfacing.”… “There is a complete lack of information in the well files,” their letter says, “to show where the gas and petroleum migrates underground and the risk for creating sink holes and geysers.”

Los Angeles Daily News, Jan 5, 2015: [A]n oily mist… has been surfacing… The seepage is the result of changing dynamics deep underground… “They (the demister pads) are necessary because as the reservoir pressure declines, fluids (oil and water) encroach into the reservoir and are then carried to surface with the gas.

BBC, Jan 8, 2016: Residents… point out cars, outdoor furniture and houses which have been marked with brown, oily spots… Tim O’Connor, a lawyer with the Environmental Defense Fund, has called it “an environmental and public health catastrophe,” said . “In terms of timelines this is going to surpass the gulf oil problem by a mile.”

New York Times, Jan 6, 2016: Gov. Jerry Brown, faced with mounting public anger and no end in sight to the leak, declared a state of emergency… Mitchell Englander, the Los Angeles city councilman who represents Porter Ranch [said] “This is one of the most disruptive, catastrophic environmental events that I’ve seen. It’s a truly chaotic crisis.”… Many who have stayed have taken to wearing surgical masks when they garden to keep out the rotten-egg smell and the oily mist that sometimes leaves brown residue on their cars… Dennis Arriola, the president of Southern California Gas Company [said] that experts had “never seen anything like this.”

Newsweek, Jan 7, 2016: SoCalGas and public officials have turned [Porter Ranch's Matt Pakucko] and his fellow residents into “guinea pigs.”… [Sally Benson, who runs an energy storage lab at Stanford University] shares a worry of many in Porter Ranch as they deal with the mundanities of the leak: that the gas plume will somehow become ignited, leading to [an] explosion… “They’re really fortunate that this one hasn’t caught fire,” Benson says… [The FAA] has imposed a no-fly zone above Porter Ranch “out of concerns that fumes from the gas leak could be ignited from the air.” Schwecke, the SoCalGas vice president, says workers near the relief well are taking every precaution, not using their cellphones and working with brass hammers, which don’t spark… [David Balen, a local businessman on the Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council] showed me photographs of a white dust that had collected on concrete surfaces around his property; an expert was coming to test the substance, which Balen thought was something toxic.

BBC, Jan 7, 2016: The governor of California has declared a state of emergency in a suburb of Los Angeles over the leaking of methane gas… the company is installing large mesh screens around the leak site to try and hinder the oily mist from spraying down on the community.

Bloomberg, Jan 5, 2016: The sulfurous scent of a natural-gas leak hangs in the air as mail carriers wearing gas masks make rounds… “This is the biggest community and environmental disaster I’ve ever seen, bar none,” said Mitchell Englander, who has represented Porter Ranch on the Los Angeles City Council since 2011. “Life there is not on hold — it’s on the edge and it’s on the brink of pandemonium.”

See also: Doctors: “Very unusual” infections being reported around massive gas blowout in LA… “If you’re able to leave do it now, I’m telling you it’s really critical” — Official: Plume is spreading far away, it’s a national disaster — TV: “We’re a living science experiment” (VIDEO)

Watch footage of the leak from Reuters here



Doctors: “Very unusual” infections being reported around massive gas blowout in LA… “If you’re able to leave do it now, I’m telling you it’s really critical” — Official: Toxic plume is spreading far away, it’s a national disaster — TV: “We’re a living science experiment” (VIDEO)
http://enenews.com/doctors-very-unusual-infections-being-reported-around-massive-gas-blowout-los-angeles-youre-able-leave-im-telling-really-critical-official-plume-spreading-away-national-disaster-tv-living-scienc

Porter Ranch Town Hall Meeting, Dec 28, 2015

Rex Paris, attorney (16:30) — “It’s the most massive gas blowout, gas well blowout, in a populated area in history. This has never happened before in a populated area. And so when they tell you that “It’s not damaging”, “It’s just temporary” — whatever nonsense they’re feeding you — understand, nobody knows. It’s never happened before… This can be deadly. Make sure you’re getting treated… Nobody knows what breathing this stuff constantly is doing to [the children]… The gas company says, “This is just the smell you’re reacting to, it’s just temporary, it’s not a problem, it’s not serious” — these people aren’t stupid. How could somebody possibly say that? We have children whose noses are bleeding every day, we have people who suffer from chronic headaches [and] are nauseous every single day. How does that not become a serious issue? Why are they saying something nobody here believes?… They’re trying to convince everybody that it’s all in our heads. It’s a trick.”

Mitchell Englander, Los Angeles City Councilman (45:30) — “I will tell you this goes well beyond Porter Ranch. We’ve had complaints from as far as Chatsworth, Northridge, and Granada Hills. Apparently this plume of toxic chemicals and whatever it might be doesn’t know zip codes. So it does keep moving into different locations and different places… This is the equivalent of the BP oil spill on land, in a populated community… We’ve declared a national disaster here.”

Dr. Richard Kang, pediatrician (52:45) — “Unfortunately the only real way to get away from the symptoms is, unfortunately, you have to relocate – you have to get away from the environment.”

Dr. Brooks Michaels, physician (54:00) — “The defense is capitalizing on the comment that it’s all in your head. Let me clarify a little bit – it’s in your head, it’s in your ears, it’s in your nose, it’s in your throat, and it’s in your chest… We’re seeing asthma increases, we’re seeing people who are using inhalers more often, primarily a lot of respiratory problems… If you have a chance to leave, if you’re able to leave… if you have a chance to relocate, do it now. I’m telling you, it’s really critical. It’s what we don’t know, more than what we do know… A lot of information will be coming out soon about what the chemical carbons are that are so volatile… It’s unbelievable when you see the quantity that’s there that is coming out… What I see in the field is the effect of that. Primarily pulmonary, people will bleed from their nose. It’s not of course just a pediatric problem, it affects all of us.”

Dr. David Smith, veterinarian (57:00) — “I have seen dozens of cases of pets being ill or becoming ill and I do believe it’s related to the exposure to the gas… I’ve seen dogs, cats, birds, pocket pets… The primary symptoms I’ve seen are gastrointestinal vomiting primarily. One dog actually had a torsion — I think is related to it — where the stomach flips on itself, not a good thing. We’ve seen quite a few respiratory problems… the only good solution is treat symptoms and remove pets form the exposure as much as possible, especially the chronic exposure… There are not things you should be inhaling… We have seen dermatologic issues as well, some very unusual bacterial infections in dogs. Interestingly enough, one client had a dog with a very unusual bacterial infection on its face. And the client developed almost the exact same kind of symptoms very soon after that, actually 2 people in the house did… Their physician, thinks it’s related, and so I tend to think these correlations are real.”

CBS News, Jan 3, 2016: “I’ve been nauseous. I’ve felt lethargic,” said his mother Christine Soderlund. “My kids have had nosebleeds, they’ve had headaches… It’s surreal… We are a living science experiment I believe.”

See also: Unprecendented catastrophe underway near L.A.; Largest gas leak ever recorded – “Thousands suffer nose bleeds, vomiting” – Expert: “It’s so far beyond what I’ve ever seen”

Watch the town hall meeting here

 

[angelburst29]

I've been reading over some news reports on the methane leak near Porter Ranch. The reports contain information that has already been submitted to this thread. Looking over the "Comment's" in the various articles, this one caught my attention:

Quote: Santa Susana Field Laboratory is one of the most highly contaminated areas in the nation, combining toxic chemicals from rocket engines and materials tests to radioactive debris from experimental reactors, including an experimental sodium reactor that partially melted down in 1964 but was kept secret for ten years afterwards!

Despite the obvious danger, the Santa Susana Field Laboratory has never been declared a superfund cleanup site due to industry lobbying and tons of the radioactive and toxic debris released by accidents has never been accounted for, and is assumed to have been percolating down into the ground for decades. Some experts claim, based on a five-year study, that the amount of radiation released over the San Fernando Valley was 459 times that which was released at Three Mile Island.

The reason this is important is because the Santa Susana Field Laboratory is located just ten miles southwest of the Porter Ranch gas leak!

This raises the possibility that the methane being poured into the atmosphere is not only carrying toxic components that have reached the gas strata, but that the carbon in the methane itself may be radioactive!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Susana_Field_Laboratory

 

[Richs]

Here is an article written by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a few days ago about the situation of the leak:

_http://enenews.com/tv-reports-radioactive-material-being-released-massive-gas-blowout-la-byproduct-uranium-expert-lot-being-measured-area-very-dangerous-be-coming-ground-peoples-living-rooms-bedrooms-nurseries

"Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Jan 8, 2016: Their animals are dying… their fish are dying in their fish bowls, their dogs are dying, their cats are getting sick. And their children are getting sick — they’re suffering nose bleeds, they’re suffering terrible debilitating migraine headaches, asthma attacks, respiratory infections, eye infections, ear infections, stomach ailments… The health impact — it’s not just methane coming out of that hole… This is global crisis, more importantly this is a local crisis. Because not only do you have methane — you have benzene, toluene, xylene, which are carcinogenic. You have hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide — which are neurotoxic, which can injure your brain, affect memory, injure your kidneys, your liver, your other bodily organs. There’s also a lot of radon gas being measured in the area. People believe — we don’t know if this is true — the gas that is leaking at 2 miles deep is now coming out and pushing that radon up into people’s living rooms, their bedrooms, their nurseries.

Lawyers and Settlements, Jan 7, 2016: The leak has caused a continuous flow of gases and fluids. Methane alone is leaking 100,000 pounds per hour, according to Los Angeles city attorney Mike Feuer. Along with that greenhouse gas is methyl mercaptans (odorants added to gas to aid in leak detection) and aromatic hydrocarbons. More concernedly, health officials have identified benzene and radon, both known carcinogens.

CBS LA, Dec 11, 2015: Dr. Cyrus Rangan, the Director of Toxicology and Assessment for the county, came to CBS2/KCAL9 to answer questions…. It’s been reported that radon is being released… “This is a theoretical possibility,” Dr. Rangan said, “and when you’re addressing a problem that might be several hundred or even several thousand feet deep, you might generate what are called preferential pathways for something like radon, beneath the Earth’s surface, to make its way up to the surface. So primarily our concern about radon is from the worker’s exposure, for the people actually doing the repair job. If we find radon there, we can address the situation. And if radon does exist in the work site then we may need to have to look at the residential community and monitor for it.”

Lawyers and Settlements, Dec 12, 2015: There is the issue of radon, a naturally occurring byproduct of uranium… as SoCalGas and its partners bore into the ground in an attempt to stem a leak that is unleashing a constant cloud of gas into the atmosphere, radon has crept into the conversation.

Robert Kennedy Jr, Dec 17, 2015: Public officials and the gas industry have a tricky and deceptive way of saying things. Methane itself is not dangerous… methane is an indicator that other gases are involved, including radon and benzene, both carcinogenic and very dangerous… gas can escape through any perforation in the earth and on the way up to the surface, it can encounter the aquifers underground, where it will leave behind chemicals, including benzene and radon.

Erin Brockovich, Dec 22, 2015: enzene and radon [are] the carcinogens that are commonly found in natural gas.

Los Angeles Daily News, Dec 2, 2015: [R]adon gas, which may potentially be released during repair operations, is also a concern [L.A. County Department of Public Health Interim Director Cynthia Harding] said.

Los Angeles Times, Dec 2, 2015: Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich said a new report by county public health officials had concluded that since the gas leak has continued for so long, emissions levels could produce “significant long-term health effects, including cancer.” Antonovich said the report had identified benzene as the “chemical of greatest concern,” because it is known to cause cancer. It also cited concerns about radon, another known carcinogen.

KPCC, Dec 9, 2015: Public Health Director Cynthia Harding told members of the Board of Supervisors in a Dec. 1 letter [that radon] could also be released as the leak is repaired.

Los Angeles Times, Dec 20, 2015: Health officials are also concerned that the company’s attempt to fix the leak by drilling into the ground to construct a relief well could release radon, a radioactive, naturally occurring and odorless gas that is found in geologic formations and causes lung cancer."

 

[Howard_Hughes]

Interesting connection there. One person said something about this dump site possibly leaking radioactive chemicals in the area, and then another person or two talked about how they're concerned about lots of radon.

I wonder if radioactive material could have a chemical reaction with any of these gasses, which may have built up pressure, and caused the leak in the first place? I don't know anything about chemistry though

 

[mabar]

Not know much about the concoction of the chemicals there, but sure is bad enough ... I would suppose the supervisor would know more for him to mention the "Chernobyl" word...

California gas company promises action to capture some of leaking methane

SoCalGas says it will install equipment to lessen the escape of gas from a well but local residents attack slow response to what official called ‘a mini-Chernobyl’

The owners of the blown-out natural gas well near Los Angeles said on Sunday they would install equipment to suck up and capture some of the leaking methane – amid rising anger at the potential threat to public health and the climate.

Scientists, campaign groups and residents of Porter Ranch – where schools have closed and residents been evacuated – said the gas company and California authorities were slow to recognise the magnitude of the problem, or warn locals of potential dangers.

“This is a mini-Chernobyl,” Mike Antonovich, the LA county supervisor, told a public hearing at the weekend.

On Monday, state senators Kevin de León and Fran Pavley announced new legislation calling for stronger safeguards on gas storage sites like the one in Porter Ranch, including more inspections.

The blow-out, first detected 80 days ago, is the largest leak of the climate super pollutant methane known to experts.

Methane is 80 times more warming than carbon dioxide over a 20-year time-frame – which makes it a super-pollutant of climate change.

There were also concerns about the potential health effects of benzene, a known carcinogen, and the foul-smelling chemicals added to the gas to aid leak detection.

SoCalGas said it was working on a plan to siphon off and safely burn some of the leaking methane.

“SoCalGas is developing a system designed to capture and control a portion of the natural gas leaking from the well,” a spokeswoman said in an email on Sunday.

The operation will reduce – but not eliminate – the leak. “The design calls for a pipe to be installed in the area of the gas flow to capture a portion of the leaking gas and then carry it to separate units that will remove the fluids from the gas and then either incinerate it or filter the odorant out of it,” the gas company said.

Public health experts said they remained concerned about levels of benzene, known to cause blood cancers – despite the companies’ assurances there was no danger from the leak.

They said air monitoring data was too sporadic to make a definitive conclusion that the leak posed no health risk – and there were some worrying indicators.

“For about the first three weeks of November there were levels of benzene being sampled in the community that were considerably higher than expected in the LA basin, and were likely to be higher than the government exposure level for eight-hour exposure,” Michael Jerrett, chair of UCLA’s environmental health sciences department, said.

On 10 November, benzene levels recorded by the company reached nearly six times higher than the safe limits for exposure period over eight hours, according to the scientist. “If it was just two or three days, it would be one thing,” he said. “It made me think there were longer periods of time where these exposure levels were present.”

Seth Shonkoff, the director of the PSE Healthy Energy thinktank, said some of the monitoring equipment deployed by the company was not capable of detecting the foul-smelling chemicals, or mercaptans, that are the cause of headaches and nausea among Porter Ranch residents.

He said the equipment used by SoCalGas was capable of detecting the chemical at concentrations at 5 parts per billion – while the human nose is sensitive to mercaptan at much smaller concentrations of 0.1 parts per billion. “Everyone can smell it. The people who are sensitive to it are getting sick. But if they are monitoring with equipment that has a limit of 5 parts per billion it will show up as a non-detect,” Shonkoff said. “It is clear that data is not being collected in a manner that is necessary to determine the extent to which there may be public health concerns.”

The company would not say when the equipment would be installed – or how much gas could ultimately be burned or captured. It said in an email the system was designed to burn up to 20m standard cubic feet of gas a day – or about a third of the leak at its height.

At a public hearing convened by California government agencies on Saturday, Porter Ranch residents said the gas company and state authorities had kept people in the dark about the leak.

Cheri Derohanian, the mother of twin 13-year-old girls, said her children had complained of smelling gas for a week – when they were required to run a mile outside on 30 October. “I called Porter Ranch community school on numerous occasions. They were unaware of any district policy,” Drohanian said.

The school authorities and residents were not informed of the leak until December, she said. “That five to six week long, long, long, long, long duration between the actual gas leak and notifying the school district is unacceptable, it’s negligent, and there is no reason for any kind of plan to not be in place,” she said.

Local resident and actor Jay Jackson, who played Perd Hapley on Parks and Recreation, lives about 10 miles from the site. He said he thought he was getting the flu.

“I have been busy, I’ve been feeling nauseas. My vision has blurred over sometimes. When I came to this meeting and I read the list of symptoms related to this problem, it sounded just like everything that’s was happening to me. So I’m very concerned now. And I think this problem is much bigger than we think. I think it’s in Simi Valley too.

Stephanie Levesque, another resident, said outsiders did not fully appreciate how wrenching it was to relocate. “It’s a huge, huge emotional task for all of these 6,000 families who have requested to leave the very place[/b that … [some have] lived in for 37 years. That’s a huge emotional adjustment they have to make.”

...and would be more families, if the carbon in the methane confirms be radioactive, but I doubt it will be public ...

 

[angelburst29]

Another aging natural gas well at the Aliso Canyon storage field above Porter Ranch was found to have a leak over the weekend.

Another Leak Reported at SoCal Gas’ Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Field (Video)
http://ktla.com/2016/04/18/another-leak-reported-at-socal-gas-aliso-canyon-natural-gas-field/

Southern California Gas Co., which spent months working to shut down a leaking well that prompted thousands of residents to relocate, told customers about the leak in a brief email.

A third-party company operates the well, said SoCal Gas, which provided a link to an incident report from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

The report stated that the leak at the well, described as Standard Sesnon 1-21, occurred at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, April 16. The leak was initially described this way:

Third Party natural gas leak of unknown quantities and less than 30 gallons of oil spay released outside of containment. Liquid spray has been stopped and no liquid flow. Residual gas at a pumper (P-21) continues to be released.

Gas release was stopped by 10:25 a.m., with less than 50 gallons spewed outside of containment, the report stated.

State records indicate the well operator is Denver-based Crimson Resource Management Corp., which also has offices in Bakersfield.

A spokesman for Crimson Resource Management told the Los Angeles Daily News that the leak was a “very small event” that was fixed with a “very minor repair.”

The South Coast Air Quality Management District, the region’s air regulator, responded, the newspaper reported.

“There’s no concern for public health because … it appears the leak has been contained,” an AQMD spokesman told the paper.

Last week, AQMD responded to the area after Porter Ranch residents complained of again smelling natural gas.

On Monday, local activists were upset about the new leak, and they continued calls for Aliso Canyon to be completely shut down.

"We call it 'methane mountain.' It's a dinosaur," said Jennifer Milbauer of the group Save Porter Ranch. "It's decrepit, it's decaying. It has no business being next to a community."

The group's co-founder, Matt Pakucko, questioned if other leaks have gone unreported.

There are about 115 wells at SoCal Gas’ massive Aliso Canyon facility in the Santa Susana Mountains. Standard Sesnon 1-21 began operation in 1953, according to state records.

Crimson Resource Management operates 12 wells at the site, records indicate.

The vast majority of the wells are run by SoCal Gas.

The major leak in the Gas Co. well -- Standard Sesnon 1-25, which was also drilled in 1953 -- was discovered Oct. 23, 2015, and finally capped on Feb. 18.

It spewed huge amounts of polluting methane into the atmosphere, and was the largest known such leak in U.S. history. The leak has prompted legislation and multiple lawsuits

Nearly two months after a leaking gas well was finally capped above Porter Ranch, residents on Wednesday reported again smelling the telltale scent of natural gas wafting through their neighborhood, prompting an investigation from air regulators.

AQMD Again Investigating Reports of Gas Smell in Porter Ranch, 2 Months After Leak Is Capped
http://ktla.com/2016/04/13/aqmd-again-investigating-reports-of-gas-smell-in-porter-ranch-2-months-after-leak-is-capped/

Complaints were being made by residents to KTLA and in a private Facebook group.

“Awful smell at Tampa and Sesnon,” one member of the “Porter Ranch Gas Leak” group wrote.

“Horrible gas smell hit me in the face when I came out of my car by Earl’s donuts,” wrote another, referring to a shop in Chatsworth.

The Southern California Gas Co. told KTLA it was investigating the situation. Later in the afternoon, the company tweeted that despite reports about odors, there was “no indication of any gas leak” at the massive underground natural gas storage facility at Aliso Canyon.

There is “no potential source for odors” from the facility, an investigation had shown, the company stated.

More than 40 complaints were received since 7 a.m., according to a spokesman for the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the the region’s air regulator.

AQMD has a team in Porter Ranch investigating the complaints, district spokesman Sam Atwood said.

A spokesman for SoCal Gas sent KTLA a link to the state’s methane monitor, saying it showed no spike Wednesday morning.

Atwood said that two of nine monitoring stations saw a slight increase in methane measurements on Wednesday. The seven other stations saw no change, he said.

Eight air samples were being brought to AQMD’s lab in Diamond Bar for analysis, but it will take 24 to 48 hours to get those results, Atwood said.

The initial SoCal Gas leak, discovered in October 2015, prompted thousands of people to leave their San Fernando Valley homes for months, and many people said they were sickened by the odor. Two schools were relocated.

 

[angelburst29]

A year after the largest methane leak in U.S. history was sealed in Porter Ranch, California, residents are continuing to experience significant adverse health consequences. As SoCalGas — the company responsible for the blowout — uses fabricated gas shortages to justify reopening the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility, which has been shut down indefinitely since the leak occurred, a local doctor is now speaking out.

Mystery Illness Plagues Residents One Year After Historic US Gas Leak (Video)
http://theantimedia.org/media-blackout-gas-leak-illness/

Dr. Jeffrey Nordella has been treating Porter Ranch residents since the blowout of an underground methane storage well caused tons of methane gas to spewing the atmosphere in October 2015. A total of 5 billion cubic feet of methane was released into the atmosphere from October 23 to February 18, “or enough pollution to match the annual output of nearly 600,000 cars,” The Guardian noted shortly after it was sealed.

Though the leak was sealed last February, residents have continued to complain of symptoms. Though some local news outlets have provided consistent coverage of the disaster’s aftermath, most national outlets stopped covering the story after the blown-out well was closed and, consequently, the immediate drama of the story subsided.

But Nordella says that since the gas leak began, he has been inundated with patients of all ages.

“Those symptoms were broad but yet had a common denominator. Eye and nasal irritation, headache, nosebleed, sore throat, loss of voice, cough, shortness of breath, palpitations, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, and skin rashes were among the most common,” he said during a press conference at his urgent care facility last Wednesday.

According to the local Daily News:

“He’s seeing abnormal pulmonary functions among some of those patients, and low red blood cell counts in others. He’s reviewed the files of residents whose family members died and said he’s seen a rare case of anemia that can be connected to toxic exposure.”

Nordella says the symptoms he’s seen in patients are “clearly different from those with a common upper respiratory tract infection, seasonal allergies, sinus infections, and viral bronchitis.” He also said multiple contaminants could be causing the variety of health issues.

According to Nordella, patients who evacuated Porter Ranch experienced relief from their symptoms only to endure them again upon moving back into their homes. He also said one family, who moved away permanently, experienced continued skin rashes when they came into contact with belongings from their Porter Ranch home. He believes this indicates contaminants from the blowout may still be coating the interiors of residencies in the area.

Porter Ranch locals have feared the effects not only of methane, but also mercaptans — odorants added to natural gas to alert those nearby to its presence — and benzene, a carcinogenic substance found in the atmosphere during the leak (officials have asserted that though benzene levels were elevated during the leak, they were similar to what the rest of the city of Los Angeles is normally exposed to). Other substances released included toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes, which are known to cause a range of symptoms.

Residents have referred to the decades-old facility as a “dinosaur,” and many in the area have continued to smell mercaptans in the air as they experience ongoing symptoms — over a year after the leak was sealed.

Because of these factors and the gas company’s ongoing attempts to re-open Aliso Canyon, Nordella felt compelled to speak out. As he told Anti-Media:

“I will admit… that it was a little bit concerning that they were moving at such a rapid pace, wanting to re-pressurize these rock beds, so I figured that we would move forward prior to that.”

During his press conference, he clarified that he has not been contacted by “anyone from the gas company or Sempra,” has “not been retained by any law firm,” and has had “no communications with politicians.” He is also not affiliated with Save Porter Ranch, the community activist group created out of safety concerns before the massive leak even occurred. That group is fighting for a total shutdown of the facility.

Nordella initiated a health screening for patients presenting symptoms, and though he admits his sample size is small — about 50 patients — he is calling for independent research into the effects of the leak, saying he cares about “the people, the patients, and the science.”

“I will not deviate from the people. We all know about the potential politics here. I want to make sure that this is neutral, clean, and it’s done properly,” he said, suggesting a study be conducted by researchers outside of California to achieve these goals.

Some California lawmakers are working to pass S.B. 57 within the state, which would shut down the facility “until [a] comprehensive review of the safety of the gas storage wells at the facility is completed” and the cause of the blowout can be determined. But politics-as-usual has riddled efforts to mitigate the effects of the catastrophe, which could be seen from space at its peak. Governor Jerry Brown, who often claims to champion environmental issues, waited two-and-a-half months to declare a state of emergency over the blowout, which forced thousands of evacuations and doubled Los Angeles’ greenhouse gas emissions by releasing nearly 100,000 metric tons of methane. His sister sits on the board of directors for SoCalGas’ parent company, Sempra Energy.

The Southern California Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) has also been accused of failing to sufficiently serve Porter Ranch residents. The agency recently settled a lawsuit filed by state regulators over its handling of the gas leak. In that agreement, they agreed to pay $1 million for a health study to determine the effects.

But residents are dissatisfied with that outcome. “What should have been a $40 million long-term health study is only a $1 million health risk assessment,” asserts Save Porter Ranch.

“It’s a study, but not a health study,” said Angelo Bellomo, the Los Angeles County deputy director for health protection at the Department of Public Health. “It is not responsive to addressing the health needs and concerns to this community. More importantly, it’s inconsistent with advice given to AQMD by health officials.”

The Department of Public Health (DPH) has disappointed residents over its lack of attentiveness and apparent incompetence throughout the ordeal. As Nordella said:

“I anticipated our politicians, Department of Public Health, and community leaders would act and recruit the appropriate parties to investigate so that the short- and long-term health effects could be revealed, but to no avail. Instead, what I received from DPH was, in my opinion, misguided information.”

Even DPH has acknowledged the study SCAQMD is funding was supposed to have cost up to $40 million, admitting its limitations.

Nordella says he has managed to schedule a meeting with DPH and has informed them the community’s trust in authorities is waning.

He has vowed to remain independent as he continues to advocate for patients.

In the meantime, SoCalGas is still fighting to reopen the facility, going so far as faking a gas shortage ahead of a public hearing on Aliso Canyon’s status. As a result, they withdrew gas from the facility for the first time since January 2016. The company has been caught deceiving residents and regulators on multiple occasions, including denying the blowout when concerned citizens called their hotline in the early days of the crisis.

For now, those seeking to keep the facility closed are gaining ground. S.B. 57 was approved late last week by the state’s Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee, and according to Save Porter Ranch, Democrats now officially support it.

As Nordella said during his press conference:

“Until a study is completed … it is nothing short of an act of negligence to reopen the Aliso Canyon facility. The people of the community deserve better. I’m extremely concerned that I’ve just scratched the surface and that there are other significant medical cases within the community.”

In contrast, SoCalGas claims “There is no dependency on or need to wait for the results of the Root Cause Analysis. SoCalGas has demonstrated that the field is safe to resume injection operations,” according to its website.

Nordella, however, is adamantly opposed to reopening Aliso Canyon because of the health risks it poses.

“As a doctor, my interest is very high on making sure that this did not make the residents of the community sick,” he told Anti-Media. “If it did, they should shut it all down and abort these fields. They should not move forward — should not move forward — and repressurize this system until we find out the health effects of the first blowout.”