Riki Ott on BP's Oil Disaster: "Let's help these people."

[Generic Other]

Run time: 09:06 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF9abZ80biU   Posted on YouTube: April 20, 2011 By YouTube Member: roseaguilar3 Views on YouTube: 32   Posted on DU: April 22, 2011 By DU Member: Generic Other Views on DU: 577

 
Riki Ott was on Your Call in February with Robin Young, co-founder of Guardians of the Gulf in Orange Beach, Alabama, and Dr. Rodney Soto, physician in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida: http://yourcallradio.blogspot.com/2011/02/why-are-so-many-people-in-gulf-regi...

In 1989, Ott, a marine toxicologist who lives in Cordova, Alaska, experienced firsthand the devastating effects of the Exxon Valdex oil disaster.

Over the past year, she's been traveling back and forth between Louisiana and Florida to gather information about what's really happening in the Gulf and share the lessons she learned about long-term illnesses and deaths of clean-up workers and residents.

For more on her work, visit: http://www.rikiott.com/

Bridge the Gulf: http://bridgethegulfproject.org/

[rwsanders]

1. Does anyone have John Stewart's e-mail?

Dr. Ott should be one of his guests!!!!!!!!!!!
I read her book Sound Truths and Corporate Myths. If you are in Louisiana there were boxes of the book in the library in Grand Isle and in the grocery store there. Grab a free copy.
As one of those federal workers, who tried to do the right thing given the opportunities, I can say that I learned a lot from her book, but putting it into practice was very difficult. I found pictures of workers using pressure washers on boom despite the lessons in the book. I reported it, but don't know if anything was done. I did keep copies in case they ever end up in litigation.
I also fought to get a safety plan for another group involved in the spill. It would take pages to cover that mess.

[Generic Other]

2. thanks for sharing your experiences

Welcome to DU.

Did you feel the federal response to this whole spill was tempered by a desire to protect BP? That has been my impression all aLONG.

[rwsanders]

3. This is the way I tried to explain it...

Thanks for the welcome. I'm a long time reader, but new contributer.
It is easy for people to say, BP did this, USCG did that, NOAA did the other, but the actions of all the groups are a conglomeration of the actions of many individuals. Also, I'll say that I was not at the highest levels of the organization. I was in charge of the earliest group of USCG that went into Grand Isle and later transferred to the Houma Incident Command Post where I worked with the NOAA team that was coordinating data transfer from the research vessels in the gulf.
There are many in the USCG and NOAA because of personal beliefs or their own political leanings who were VERY protective of BP. On the other hand, I believe there were many BP folks who were doing everything they could to make things right. Although some actions I heard about were odd and misguided.
At the Houma ICP, I did get the idea that too much control was given to BP. My own theory is that some in the USCG may have been afraid that if they didn't allow that, BP would pack up and go home leaving the whole mess in the government's hands.
The biggest struggle I had was in trying to develop a safety plan for the research vessels. BP knew what should be done, but didn't want to do it (safety monitors on all the vessels) and didn't want to pay for it. If anyone on those vessels gets sick, I think they have a case and I tried to explain that to BP. There was one of their contractors who saw it the same way and tried to help, but the plan though complete was never officially adopted (I ran out of time there).
If you want a very good review of the USCG's actions, find the Incident Specific Preparedness Review that was actually done by retired admiral Rufe who was also in charge of the Ocean Conservancy. There are only a few minor issues I have with the document.
One of those is in regards to dispersants. It perpetuates this idea that the dispersants made the oil more "degradable". It does not. Even reports that NOAA uses for their meetings don't say this. Many reports like to treat oil as 1 chemical. It is a soup of many chemicals. (A side note, my hesitancy with regards to dispersants cost me a NOAA job in California where they are seeking preapproval like they have in the gulf, I have to boast about that a bit). Use of dispersants tends to drive the most toxic (lighter) ends into the water when they would most likely evaporate otherwise. These compounds are more degradable by bacteria, but the dispersant does nothing to make the non-degradable heavier ends, the asphaltenes or paraffins more degradable. They are not degradable by bacteria, and spreading them out doesn't make them that way.
I have to give another cheer for Dr. Samantha Joye of the University of Georgia (she is driving some in the government crazy) because she has been showing the impacts of the oil on the ocean floor and the oil that has been deposited on the sea floor. Dispersants were appealing to industry because they were hoping it would make the problem invisible (not disappear, just not visible). It isn't working out for them thanks to Dr. Ricki Ott and Dr. Samantha Joye.

[iemitsu]

4. i'd like to welcome you too.

thanks for this enlightening glance at the human dynamics going on behind the scenes.