More methane leaks across the United States

Methane leaks, arsenic and cadmium at danger levels "alarming" levels of radioactivity leaking into Hudson River and Mitchigan residents drinking poisoned water: US 2016

http://www.thebigwobble.org/2016/02/methane-leaks-arsenic-and-cadmium-at.html

We are only into the middle of February 2016 but the horror stories coming out of the US this year and the collapse of it's ageing infrastructure is the stuff of nightmares.

Federal lawmakers on Friday implored the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to respond to growing alarm over what they said were dangerous amounts of toxic pollution in Portland's air.

As state regulators remained silent about plans to address the city's cancer-causing air pollution, Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Rep. Earl Blumenauer asked for the EPA to intervene, calling the situation a public health emergency.

Officials received the results on Jan. 20, showing average arsenic levels 159 times higher than the state's safety goal in Southeast Portland; cadmium levels were 49 times higher.

The state said the concentrations are cause for concern. More here

This week the Porter Ranch gas leak was by all accounts, at least, temporarily repaired and as the largest natural gas leak ever recorded is supposedly fixed and thousands of Southern California residents are asked to return to their homes after the SOLCALGAS leak spewed natural gas into the atmosphere at up to 49,895kg per hour, an older leak has been spewing  0.59 million metric tons of methane into the atmosphere every year since 2003.

The Four Corners area (circled right) is the major U.S. hot spot for methane emissions and not the one recently fixed in Aliso Canyon in California....

A huge area of the Pacific of the west coast of Canada and the US known as, "The Blob" is also thought to be a huge methane leak and could be responsible for the unprecedented loss of marine life there...

An earlier study conducted in October 2014 revealed that methane levels that were found in the Four Corners region were the highest in any location around the world.

Scientists working to pinpoint the source of a giant mass of methane looming over the southwestern United States have been joined by NASA in an attempt to unravel the mystery of the Four Corners region- where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah collide.

Just last year, a study conducted by the University of Michigan and NASA, which was based on images captured between 2003 and 2009 by a European satellite, found the concentration of methane to be the largest concentration of greenhouse gas in the country. Full story

Just last week "alarming" levels of radioactivity leaking into New York's Hudson River was reported claiming a  65,000 percent spike in radioactivity,
Indian Point nuclear power plant has been called on by environmental groups to shut down while officials investigate the source of its latest leak.

The amount of radioactive tritium leaking from the Indian Point nuclear power plant is growing, according to tests released Wednesday.

Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) stands accused of ignoring months of concerning reports on the amount of lead in Flint’s drinking water, with the brown liquid reportedly making residents’ hair fall out and causing rashes on their skin. 

10 people have also died from the pneumonia-like condition Legionnaire's diseчase.

The American city is still charging residents up to $200 a month for contaminated 'toxic waste' water though.

After questioning the authorities the people were told the water had become a little harder and was nothing to worry about. Full story
Whats happening in Oklahoma?

The third largest quake ever to hit the state rocked Oklahoma yesterday morning, close to the site of recent tremors.

A mag 5.1 - 33km NW of Fairview, Oklahoma at 11.07 a.m. Oklahoma time recorded by USGS and was followed by a 3.9 aftershock shortly afterwards.
Recently Oklahoma's reputation as the USA's quake capitol has been increasing and just last month there were 32 Oklahoma quakes in 24-hour period and experts warned bigger quakes could be on the way.

The state's largest earthquake is a 5.6 recorded out of Prague in 2011.
The second was a 5.5 recorded near El Reno in 1952. Before Saturday, those two were the only quakes in state history to exceed a 5.0 magnitude.
Saturday's quake surpassed a 4.8 recorded on Jan. 6 for this year's largest earthquake

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Both the 4.8 and Saturday's 5.1 were centered near Fairview, according to USGS data.

The following are yearly totals of earthquakes registering magnitude 3.0 or greater as documented by the Oklahoma Geological Survey since 2005.
2015: 907
2014: 584
2013: 109
2012: 35
2011: 66
2010: 41
2009: 20
2008: 2
2007: 1
2006: 3
2005: 2Animals dying by the thousands!

In January an Alaskan bird die off hit the news....with an estimated 300,000 common murres were found dead along Alaskan beaches,  the experts didn't know why it was happening.

A few days later seven dead beached whales were found in different parts of the Laguna Ojo de Liebre, located in the municipality of Baja California Sur.
According to the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa), six calves and one youth were found dead and already had an advanced state of decomposition. Full story

In the same week tens of thousands of starfish wash up in the Gulf of Mexico: Experts at a loss for the carnage! More here

Later the same week tens of thousands of dead fish as far as the eye can see on Martha's Vineyard is the latest catastrophic problem in the waters around The North American Continent! Full story

Related
'What's now unfolding in Portland is remarkable' Portland's toxic air is 'public health emergency': Arsenic levels 159 times higher than the state's safety goal

SoCalGas and the City Attorney of Los Angeles claim gas leak is fixed and Porter Ranch is safe to return!

Indian Point nuclear power plant: "This plant isn't safe anymore," groundwater monitoring wells show higher concentrations of tritium than when the leak was first reported Saturday!

"Alarming" levels of radioactivity leaking into New York's Hudson River! Report claims 65,000 percent spike in radioactivity

Los Angeles prosecutors file criminal charges against the Southern California Gas as company is inundated with lawsuits

Last week homes were destroyed by a gas explosion following a mag 7.1 in Alaska: The Porter Ranch gas leak is the same accident waiting to happen along The San Andreas Fault Line!