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Since October 23th, 2015, with the silence of the media
Depuis le 23 octobre 2015 dans le silence des médias
Stop Unnecessary Imposed Mega Projects !
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7 genn 16 Repubblica :
Disastro ambientale in California: stato d’emergenza per fuga di gas
Il governatore della California, Jerry Brown, ha dichiarato lo stato di emergenza a Porter Ranch, un sobborgo alle porte di Los Angeles, a causa di una fuga di gas metano cominciata ad ottobre e che ha provocato da allora il trasferimento di migliaia di persone dalla zona. Ogni ora vengono riversati nell’atmosfera 30mila kg di metano: secondo le autorità si tratta del peggior disastro ambientale in Usa dopo quello della piattaforma petrolifera Bp, nel Golfo del Messico, nel 2010.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-35244634
California state of emergency over methane leak
- 9 hours ago
- From the section US & Canada
The governor of California has declared a state of emergency in a suburb of Los Angeles over the leaking of methane gas from an underground storage field.
Jerry Brown ordered “all necessary and viable actions” be taken to stop it.
More than 2,000 families have been moved from their homes and many people have reported feeling ill because of the leakage, which began in October.
It stems from a vast underground storage field in Porter Ranch, on the outskirts of Los Angeles.
Gas is spewing into the atmosphere at a rate so fast that the well now accounts for about a quarter of the state’s total emissions of methane – an extremely potent greenhouse gas.
The well is situated in a mountainous area more than a mile away from residential areas, but residents have complained of health effects like headaches, nausea, vomiting and trouble breathing.
“Let’s call it an environmental and public health catastrophe,” Tim O’Connor, a lawyer with the Environmental Defense Fund, told the BBC’s environment correspondent, Matt McGrath.
“In terms of timelines this is going to surpass the gulf oil problem by a mile. What we do know is that that climate equivalent of this leak is like burning thus far almost 700 million gallons of gasoline or it’s the same amount of pollution as 4.5 million cars put out every day, it’s tragic.”
What has been the fallout?
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Porter Ranch is about 30 miles from downtown Los Angeles
Methane – the main component of natural gas – is a very strong greenhouse gas, capable of trapping solar radiation in the atmosphere.
It belongs to a category of gases called short-lived climate pollutants.
While methane and other short-lived pollutants remain in the atmosphere for a relatively short time compared to other gases, the California Air Resources Board says that “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”.
The BBC’s Matt McGrath says the large amounts of powerful gas that are leaking could have a significant impact on climate change.
Residents have been complaining of nausea, headaches and other symptoms, but the utility company says that “scientists agree natural gas is not toxic and that its odorant is harmless at the minute levels at which it is added to natural gas”.
Health officials in the area have said the long-term effects of being exposed to the gas are unknown.
The utility company is providing temporary accommodation or funds for the displaced residents, and several thousand people in Porter Ranch have been relocated while the gas continues to leak and repairs take place.
But, according to CBS News, only 2,200 families have been relocated even though 6,500 have applied for help.
“You have kids going to school outside their neighbourhoods, families that are living in hotels” says Paula Cracium, president of the Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council. “The longer this goes on the more stress there is.”
When and how did the leak start?
Image copyright EPA Image caption Infrared imagery of the methane leak shows a black cloud coming from the ground
A broken injection-well pipe about 500 ft (152.4m) is believed to be the culprit behind the leak, reports say. Pipes like this are used by utility companies to insert gas into the ground for storage until a later time when it can be withdrawn and sold for use.
It is not known why the pipe ruptured.
The facility, a depleted oil field, was acquired by Southern California Gas Company (SoCal Gas) decades ago for use as a natural storage facility for gas piped in from as far away as Canada, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Using former oil fields as storage for natural gas is quite common in the US. The US Energy Information Administration says that “most existing natural gas storage in the United States is in depleted natural gas or oil fields that are close to consumption centers,” like the large metropolitan Los Angeles area.
Why hasn’t it been fixed?
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Previous attempts to plug the leak have failed
Repair work has been slow due to the nature of the leak.
SoCal Gas has tried to plug the leak on several occasions, according to the LA Times. Their first attempt was foiled by ice formations that prevented a cocktail of chemicals and mud from reaching the leak point. Another seven attempts failed because the upwards pressure of the leaking gas was greater than the pressure that they could use to push the mud-chemical cocktail into the earth.
Engineers then began to worry that if they applied any more pressure, they may damage the pipes further and worsen the leak.
The new plan is to drill two new “relief wells” that would use less-obstructed and bigger piping to insert the mud-chemical cocktail into the system far below the point at which the pipe is believed to have ruptured. But the company says that this plan could take months and would not be completed until February or March.
In the meantime, the company is installing large mesh screens around the leak site to try and hinder the oily mist from spraying down on the community.
“The stain of this disaster is going to be felt for quite some time,” Ms Cracium says.
En savoir plus sur http://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2016/01/07/etat-d-urgence-en-californie-apres-une-fuite-massive-de-methane_4842896_3244.html#EPpc4a2m5pc3g91C.99
Etat d’urgence en Californie après une fuite massive de méthane
Le Monde.fr avec AFP | 07.01.2016 à 07h34 • Mis à jour le 07.01.2016 à 09h44
Le gouverneur de Californie a déclaré l’état d’urgence autour de Los Angeles, mercredi 6 janvier, à cause d’une fuite de méthane massive dans un puits gazier qui a forcé des milliers de résidents de la banlieue de Porter Ranch à évacuer.
Depuis plusieurs semaines, habitants et élus réclamaient une telle intervention officielle. La promulgation de l’état d’urgence permet désormais de mobiliser l’ensemble des agences gouvernementales de l’Etat pour venir en aide à la population et de vérifier que l’entreprise à l’origine de la fuite prend les dispositons nécessaires pour mettre fin à la fuite.
La compagnie en question, Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas), a estimé qu’entre 30 000 et 58 000 kilogrammes de méthane, un gaz inodore, étaient répandus par heure dans l’air. La fuite sur le site d’Aliso Canyon de SoCalGas avait été détectée le 23 octobre par des employés à plus de 2 400 mètres de profondeur dans le puits. Mais la situation s’est largement empirée depuis.
Lire aussi : La région de Los Angeles polluée par une fuite de gaz massive
« L’équivalent de la marée noire de BP sur terre »
Les autorités affirment que la fuite ne pose pas de danger sérieux pour la santé des riverains. Les additifs nauséabonds destinés à signaler les fuites de méthane ont tout de même provoqué chez beaucoup d’habitants des environs des nausées, saignements de nez et maux de tête. Plus de 2 000 familles ont déjà été évacuées et relogées.
Mais c’est surtout l’impact environnemental de cette fuite qui pourrait, lui, être dévastateur. L’autorité de la qualité de l’air en Californie (California Air Resources Board) estime que la fuite est si importante qu’elle correspond à une augmententation de la production de gaz à effet de serre pour toute la Californie de près de 25 %. « Nous ne pourrons évaluer son impact que lorsque la fuite sera définitivement arrêtée et que nous bénéficierons de chiffres », a toutefois temporisé un porte-parole de l’agence.
La fuite de méthane « est l’équivalent de la marée noire de BP [survenue en 2010 dans le golfe du Mexique], sauf qu’elle se produit sur terre, dans un endroit peuplé », a déclaré Mitchell Englander, conseiller municipal de Los Angeles représentant de Porter Ranch, cité par le New Yortk Times, décrivant une « catastrophe environnementale » et une « crise chaotique ».
Tim O’Connor, avocat de l’Environmental Defense Fund, une organisation non gouvernementale qui milite pour la protection de l’environnement, avance lui, auprès de la BBC, une comparaison : « C’est comme si on brûlait 3,15 milliards de litres d’essence, et ça représente aussi la même pollution que produiraient en un jour 4,5 millions de voitures. »
C’est « l’équivalent de trois quarts des émissions de toutes les raffineries de pétrole de la Californie en un an », souligne de son côté Stephanie Pincetl, professeure de sciences environnementales, interrogée par l’Agence France–Presse. Selon elle, cette fuite est « sans comparaison, catastrophique », car c’est du méthane, un gaz à effet de serre « 80 fois plus puissant que le CO2 à l’échelle de vingt ans, et qui agit beaucoup plus rapidement ».
image: http://s1.lemde.fr/medias/web/img/bg/vide.png