Natural Gas Is Blowing Out of Gulf Waters
by
Dan Youra, chairman, JC MASH Clinics
Who is talking about the Natural Gas blowing out of the Gulf oil well?
Nobody.
Why?
Because all eyes are on the oil slicks, oil plumes, tar balls and dead pelicans.
TV images are driving the debate. Gases do not make great pictures. TV cameras can’t “see” gases.
Why should I be concerned about the gases blowing out of the Gulf?
The gases from natural gas can potentially kill humans.
How much Natural Gas is blowing out of the well DAILY?
10,000,000,000 cubic feet of natural gas per day (estimate). These figures can be expressed as 10 billion cfd or 10,000 mcfd and as 10K mcfd (mcfd = million cu.ft. per day).
How much Natural Gas has blown out since the explosion of the oil rig?
Approximately 600 BILLION cu.ft. = 600,000,000,000 cu ft.
How much Natural Gas is BP flaring per day?
54 million cu ft. per day flared, according to BP claims on June 22, 2010
Where is the gas going?
Into the air.
What are the component gases that make up natural gas?
Component Percent
Methane 85.
Ethane 8.
Water vapor 1.2
Butane 1.
Nitrogen 1
Hydrogen sulfide 0.5
Propane 0.5
Other gases 0.5
helium
pentane
other
Heavier HCs 0.1
Hydrogen 0.1
Oxygen 0.1
How can natural gas affect my health?
Exposure to extremely high levels of natural gas can cause loss of consciousness or even death. [ref: NIH TOX TOWN]
If a natural gas leak has occurred and is severe, oxygen can be reduced, causing dizziness, fatigue, nausea, headache, and irregular breathing.
Exposure to low levels of natural gas is not harmful to your health.
If you think your health has been affected by exposure to natural gas, contact your health care professional.
For poisoning emergencies or questions about possible poisons please contact your local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222. Reference: TOX TOWN
NIH information on selecting Natural Gas Detectors
Where does Natural Gas come from?
Natural Gas comes from oil wells and gas wells. It also forms as a “boil-off” from crude oil (bubbling, much like the gas in soda water) and tends to have heavier hydrocarbons.
What are medical complications/symptoms?
Exposure to low levels of natural gas is not harmful to your health. However, if a gas leak is severe, the amount of oxygen available for breathing could be dramatically reduced, which can lead to asphyxia. Symptoms of asphyxia include:
• dizziness
• fatigue
• nausea
• headache
• irregular breathing
Exposure to extremely high levels of natural gas can cause loss of consciousness or even death. [ref: NIH TOX TOWN
An individual exposed to natural gas asphyxia needs to get fresh air immediately and medical attention as soon as possible. If the person is unconscious and not breathing, move him or her to a location where there is fresh air and administer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until help arrives.
What are problems associated with the elderly? NIH
Smell sensitivity begins to decrease in the seventh decade of life. A large segment of the elderly population has difficulty detecting mercaptan, the foul-smelling chemical added as a warning agent to natural gas. For individuals with a diminished sense of smell and taste, natural gas detectors provide an early warning before gas builds to dangerous levels. [TOX TOWN]
Natural gas is a fossil fuel, as are coal and oil. Fossil fuels formed when layers of buried plants and animals were exposed to heat and pressure over thousands of years. The original energy of the plants and animals is stored as carbon in natural gas.
Natural gas from the United States is primarily composed of methane, which is a highly flammable chemical compound. Natural gas is colorless and odorless in its pure form, but gas companies add a warning smell to it that can be easily detected if it is leaking.
Natural gas can be burned to produce electricity from power plants, and has residential, industrial, and commercial uses.
At home, natural gas is used in heating furnaces, water heaters, space heaters, pool and jacuzzi heaters, fireplaces, outdoor lights, clothes dryers, air conditioners, and stoves.
Industrial uses of natural gas are primarily in a few industries, including pulp and paper, metals, chemicals, petroleum refining, stone, clay, glass, plastic, and food processing. Natural gas is also used for waste treatment and incineration, industrial lighting, heating, cooling, dehumidification, glass melting, water heating, and combined heat and power systems.
What is Methane?
Methane is not toxic when inhaled, but it can produce suffocation by reducing the concentration of oxygen inhaled. A trace amount of smelly organic sulfur compounds is added to to commercial natural gas to give it a detectable odor. This is done to make gas leaks readily detectible. An undetected gas leak could result in an explosion or asphyxiation. Methane is combustible, and mixtures of about 5 to 15 percent in air are explosive.
Methane is a relatively potent greenhouse gas. Compared with carbon dioxide, it has a high global warming potential of 72 (calculated over a period of 20 years) or 25 (for a time period of 100 years).[2] Methane in the atmosphere is eventually oxidized, producing carbon dioxide and water. As a result, methane in the atmosphere has a half life of seven years. [Wikipedia]
Hydrogen sulfide is considered a broad-spectrum poison, meaning that it can poison several different systems in the body, although the nervous system is most affected. The toxicity of H2S is comparable with that of hydrogen cyanide. It forms a complex bond with iron in the mitochondrial cytochrome enzymes, thereby blocking oxygen from binding and stopping cellular respiration. [Wikipedia]
Long-term, low-level exposure may result in fatigue, loss of appetite, headaches, irritability, poor memory, and dizziness. Chronic exposure to low level H2S (around 2 ppm) has been implicated in increased miscarriage and reproductive health issues [Wikipedia]
What is Sulfur Dioxide SOx
Sulfur dioxide is the chemical compound with the formula SO2. It is produced by volcanoes and in various industrial processes. Since coal and petroleum often contain sulfur compounds, their combustion generates sulfur dioxide. Further oxidation of SO2, usually in the presence of a catalyst such as NO2, forms H2SO4, and thus acid rain. Sulfur dioxide emissions are also a precursor to particulates in the atmosphere. Both of these impacts are cause for concern over their environmental impact. [Wikipedia]
Sulfur dioxide SO2 is linked with a number of adverse effects on the respiratory system. Inhaling sulfur dioxide is associated with increased respiratory symptoms and disease, difficulty in breathing, and premature death. [EPA]
SOx can react with other compounds in the atmosphere to form small particles. These particles penetrate deeply into sensitive parts of the lungs and can cause or worsen respiratory disease, such as emphysema and bronchitis, and can aggravate existing heart disease, leading to increased hospital admissions and premature death. EPA
What is Nitrogen Oxide?
NOx react with ammonia, moisture, and other compounds to form small particles. These small particles penetrate deeply into sensitive parts of the lungs and can cause or worsen respiratory disease, such as emphysema and bronchitis, and can aggravate existing heart disease, leading to increased hospital admissions and premature death. EPA
What are health affects of NOx?
Current scientific evidence links short-term NO2 exposures, ranging from 30 minutes to 24 hours, with adverse respiratory effects including airway inflammation in healthy people and increased respiratory symptoms in people with asthma. EPA
Some of NOx compounds are potentially fatal to humans at 10 ppm (parts per million).
Ozone is formed when NOx and volatile organic compounds react in the presence of heat and sunlight. Children, the elderly, people with lung diseases such as asthma, and people who work or exercise outside are at risk for adverse effects from ozone. These include reduction in lung function and increased respiratory symptoms as well as respiratory-related emergency department visits, hospital admissions, and possibly premature deaths. EPA
What is Ethane?
At room temperature, ethane is a flammable gas. When mixed with air at 3.0% – 12.5% by volume, it forms an explosive mixture.
Direct contact with liquid ethane can result in severe frostbite. In addition, the vapors evaporating from liquid ethane are, until they warm to room temperature, heavier than air and can creep along the ground or gather in low places, and if they encounter an ignition source, can flash back to the body of ethane from which they evaporated.
Containers recently emptied of ethane may contain insufficient oxygen to support life. Beyond this asphyxiation hazard, ethane poses no known acute or chronic toxicological risk. It is not known or suspected to be a carcinogen. Wikipedia
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Written by Dan Youra © 2010 Youra Media Published in BlowOut Blog
Dan Youra is Chairman of the Board of JCMASH Clinics, editor of Alcohol Distiller’s Manuel for Gasohol and Spirits, education in PhD program at Ohio State University, researcher at Behavioral Sciences Laboratory, OSU, and studies at Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan.
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