Alaska’s RED Herring
It is amazing what one finds hanging out in the Blogisphere these days. Of course it can be expected, as this new age communicator is at its infancy. Bottom-line, it is our Constitution’s 1st Amendment “Revolutionary” Right at its finest hour. It gives each and every one of us a chance at framing our own opinions, quickly and with an audience that grows by the millions each and everyday. A worldwide audience at that! Even China allows a certain degree of freedom with the Internet. Seems as though here in Alaska, it is the “political” scene that gets the feistiest attention. What is up with this Kott and Allen drug ordeal dealing? I guess Bill was a real handy dandy candy man. Not only did he like to remodel homes of friends in power(U.S. Senator Hulk), seems he liked “pills” and pushing his goods to our state’s so-called leaders – they are followers! Sleeping pills and aphrodisiacs? No wonder we allow the fox(oil companies) to guard the henhouse(Permanent Dividend). But since we have “Representatives who like it from Behind”, it is no wonder that Kott swallowed the sleeping pill instead of the generic “Viagra”. Now one recent article in the Anchorage Daily Stool that didn’t get the “blog’s” attention was the story on the Prince William’s Sound herring fish “crash”. Supposedly, this lucrative fishery started going downhill about 15-years ago. That’s right, sometime back close to when the EXXON Valdez went “hard” aground on Bligh Reef, when Joe Hazlewood was not at the helm. So the culprit responsible for this fishery’s decline must have been pollution from a little too much “crude oil” dumped overboard. WRONG! This article is quick to acknowledge that fact, “Despite a widespread belief to the contrary, the 1989 EXXON Valdez oil spill might not have caused the herring crash. In fact, some of the largest herring catches in Sound history occurred in the three years after the EXXON tanker disaster.” But following the biggest catch during the 1991 and 92 season, chalk up another Alaskan “crash” for the history books. Now it seems that the Mad scientist – those still mad at EXXON – along with Dam scientist – sponsored researchers – altogether now cannot come to grips as to what has caused the herring fishery’s collapse. Maybe every stone has not been over-turned! See, the EXXON wreck has produced more scientists and PHD dissertations then any other man made achievement. So the fact that the problem cannot be figured out is of course peculiar. Now I am sure that everything has been checked and tested, like the herring’s habitat and food supply. First off, it would have been very easy to check if the culprit was from oil – that DNA thing. But what if it were something different, not necessarily a hydrocarbon based problem? Sure there exist a zillion things that could be considered worthwhile to test, but first one must establish a “baseline” based on the proverbial “What If” scenario. And that should not be to big a problem, as Alaska has a very limited industrial infrastructure – a.k.a. polluters. And whatever it is or was, it must be something water borne! Sure some oil residue gets into the waters of the Sound, most likely from pleasure craft, but what else is there to consider? So one would look towards industrial activity that may be sending something seedy out to sea. Lets, see? There isn’t much else, so a scientist would be hard pressed to come up with a game plan that hasn’t already been considered. And that is where the problem exists. See, whatever it is or was that decimated the herring population - which is a major food supply for whales and sharks and salmon - it was already affecting the Sound’s ecosystem well before the EXXON wreck! In a nutshell, it was radiation. Called NORM, in laymen’s terms, Naturally Occurring Radioactive Matter. This “hot” stuff is an everyday common occurrence inherent with the oil industry from “produced water”. The underground formations within the earth contain oil and natural gas and water. But there exists other things way down there, like hydrogen sulfide gas and decaying radioactive matter. Hey, where does uranium come from? Now this NORM stuff became more and more of a concern over the years, especially during the 80’s, as oil production found mature oil fields producing more and more water. Some of the oil fields in Alaska – which at one time produced 98% oil – are now just the opposite. But with the price of oil, every drop counts. In fact, a Petroleum Institute NORM study performed back in the late 80’s just happened to NOT include Prudhoe Bay “produced water” in the study, at a time when this giant oil field was producing more water on a daily basis then all of the lower 48-fields combined together. In its report concerning NORM, this industry funded watchdog also cautioned its supporters(Big Oil) that it was becoming an un-manageable problem – a costly problem at that to contend with. And what happens to this “produced” radioactive laced water? In Alaska, it is sent along with the oil, then separated in Valdez and discharged into “good old” Prince William’s Sound. Now this NORM stuff doesn’t have to be monitored. The state of Alaska doesn’t require it to be controlled. Most state’s don’t, as of yet. Why? See, for the most part, it is not a problem as in normal oil producing places, the produced water is allowed to weather the weather and become neutral. Or when the NORM content is excessive, the water is stripped out right at the production site and sent back into the formation. Keep it local is the controlling sentiment. It’s radioactive, so workers don’t mess with it! And that is one of the reasons the gathering pipelines up north are leaking, because “pigging” maintenance went by the wayside for a good reason. See, “pigging” a line dislodges “scale”, which by right of formation contains excessive amounts of radioactive constituents. So “pigging” can cause problems, as the waste generated must be handled appropriately. It means human intervention, with radioactivity! And up here in Alaska, things worked a little differently for “awhile”. That is why routine NORM became a “possible” problem before it was decided to limit the “water in oil” ratio back towards manageable levels. But for that “awhile”, it was too little too late. And this problem was well known by a very few in the know and over time, it was hidden away and fixed as part of “tertiary enhancement” programs up in Prudhoe Bay. This NORM problem occurred during the 80’s, when a whole lot more oil – and water – was sent for a ride down the 800-mile pipeline to Valdez. See, back when the price of oil was somewhat depressed, water was counted on to some extent as an “oil” buffer windfall, for revenue write-offs. It is all pretty complicated! Anyway this was all before the 1989 wreck. But then came the wreck and what it did was forever wipe out the NORM problem. Or camouflage any hangover from such. Like who would believe it? See, all attention was on the wreck and the spilled oil that covered birds and otters. Because it was observable, it was something people could relate to. There is a whole lot known about the consequences of spilled oil. On the other hand, very little is understood about NORM coupled with the fact that it is not controlled, thus making it a very “suspicious” silent killer. NORM was most likely that silent killer, as it was basically out of sight so out on mind. Can you imagine what would have happened to the oil industry in Alaska had the NORM problem been discovered and there wasn’t an 11-million gallon oil spill to cover things up? Think about it! And remember that old time tested saying, “Don’t drink the water”!
It is amazing what one finds hanging out in the Blogisphere these days. Of course it can be expected, as this new age communicator is at its infancy. Bottom-line, it is our Constitution’s 1st Amendment “Revolutionary” Right at its finest hour. It gives each and every one of us a chance at framing our own opinions, quickly and with an audience that grows by the millions each and everyday. A worldwide audience at that! Even China allows a certain degree of freedom with the Internet. Seems as though here in Alaska, it is the “political” scene that gets the feistiest attention. What is up with this Kott and Allen drug ordeal dealing? I guess Bill was a real handy dandy candy man. Not only did he like to remodel homes of friends in power(U.S. Senator Hulk), seems he liked “pills” and pushing his goods to our state’s so-called leaders – they are followers! Sleeping pills and aphrodisiacs? No wonder we allow the fox(oil companies) to guard the henhouse(Permanent Dividend). But since we have “Representatives who like it from Behind”, it is no wonder that Kott swallowed the sleeping pill instead of the generic “Viagra”. Now one recent article in the Anchorage Daily Stool that didn’t get the “blog’s” attention was the story on the Prince William’s Sound herring fish “crash”. Supposedly, this lucrative fishery started going downhill about 15-years ago. That’s right, sometime back close to when the EXXON Valdez went “hard” aground on Bligh Reef, when Joe Hazlewood was not at the helm. So the culprit responsible for this fishery’s decline must have been pollution from a little too much “crude oil” dumped overboard. WRONG! This article is quick to acknowledge that fact, “Despite a widespread belief to the contrary, the 1989 EXXON Valdez oil spill might not have caused the herring crash. In fact, some of the largest herring catches in Sound history occurred in the three years after the EXXON tanker disaster.” But following the biggest catch during the 1991 and 92 season, chalk up another Alaskan “crash” for the history books. Now it seems that the Mad scientist – those still mad at EXXON – along with Dam scientist – sponsored researchers – altogether now cannot come to grips as to what has caused the herring fishery’s collapse. Maybe every stone has not been over-turned! See, the EXXON wreck has produced more scientists and PHD dissertations then any other man made achievement. So the fact that the problem cannot be figured out is of course peculiar. Now I am sure that everything has been checked and tested, like the herring’s habitat and food supply. First off, it would have been very easy to check if the culprit was from oil – that DNA thing. But what if it were something different, not necessarily a hydrocarbon based problem? Sure there exist a zillion things that could be considered worthwhile to test, but first one must establish a “baseline” based on the proverbial “What If” scenario. And that should not be to big a problem, as Alaska has a very limited industrial infrastructure – a.k.a. polluters. And whatever it is or was, it must be something water borne! Sure some oil residue gets into the waters of the Sound, most likely from pleasure craft, but what else is there to consider? So one would look towards industrial activity that may be sending something seedy out to sea. Lets, see? There isn’t much else, so a scientist would be hard pressed to come up with a game plan that hasn’t already been considered. And that is where the problem exists. See, whatever it is or was that decimated the herring population - which is a major food supply for whales and sharks and salmon - it was already affecting the Sound’s ecosystem well before the EXXON wreck! In a nutshell, it was radiation. Called NORM, in laymen’s terms, Naturally Occurring Radioactive Matter. This “hot” stuff is an everyday common occurrence inherent with the oil industry from “produced water”. The underground formations within the earth contain oil and natural gas and water. But there exists other things way down there, like hydrogen sulfide gas and decaying radioactive matter. Hey, where does uranium come from? Now this NORM stuff became more and more of a concern over the years, especially during the 80’s, as oil production found mature oil fields producing more and more water. Some of the oil fields in Alaska – which at one time produced 98% oil – are now just the opposite. But with the price of oil, every drop counts. In fact, a Petroleum Institute NORM study performed back in the late 80’s just happened to NOT include Prudhoe Bay “produced water” in the study, at a time when this giant oil field was producing more water on a daily basis then all of the lower 48-fields combined together. In its report concerning NORM, this industry funded watchdog also cautioned its supporters(Big Oil) that it was becoming an un-manageable problem – a costly problem at that to contend with. And what happens to this “produced” radioactive laced water? In Alaska, it is sent along with the oil, then separated in Valdez and discharged into “good old” Prince William’s Sound. Now this NORM stuff doesn’t have to be monitored. The state of Alaska doesn’t require it to be controlled. Most state’s don’t, as of yet. Why? See, for the most part, it is not a problem as in normal oil producing places, the produced water is allowed to weather the weather and become neutral. Or when the NORM content is excessive, the water is stripped out right at the production site and sent back into the formation. Keep it local is the controlling sentiment. It’s radioactive, so workers don’t mess with it! And that is one of the reasons the gathering pipelines up north are leaking, because “pigging” maintenance went by the wayside for a good reason. See, “pigging” a line dislodges “scale”, which by right of formation contains excessive amounts of radioactive constituents. So “pigging” can cause problems, as the waste generated must be handled appropriately. It means human intervention, with radioactivity! And up here in Alaska, things worked a little differently for “awhile”. That is why routine NORM became a “possible” problem before it was decided to limit the “water in oil” ratio back towards manageable levels. But for that “awhile”, it was too little too late. And this problem was well known by a very few in the know and over time, it was hidden away and fixed as part of “tertiary enhancement” programs up in Prudhoe Bay. This NORM problem occurred during the 80’s, when a whole lot more oil – and water – was sent for a ride down the 800-mile pipeline to Valdez. See, back when the price of oil was somewhat depressed, water was counted on to some extent as an “oil” buffer windfall, for revenue write-offs. It is all pretty complicated! Anyway this was all before the 1989 wreck. But then came the wreck and what it did was forever wipe out the NORM problem. Or camouflage any hangover from such. Like who would believe it? See, all attention was on the wreck and the spilled oil that covered birds and otters. Because it was observable, it was something people could relate to. There is a whole lot known about the consequences of spilled oil. On the other hand, very little is understood about NORM coupled with the fact that it is not controlled, thus making it a very “suspicious” silent killer. NORM was most likely that silent killer, as it was basically out of sight so out on mind. Can you imagine what would have happened to the oil industry in Alaska had the NORM problem been discovered and there wasn’t an 11-million gallon oil spill to cover things up? Think about it! And remember that old time tested saying, “Don’t drink the water”!
CopyRight 2007 ---ERP/Dixie Productions/MSK Media
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