PTT oil slick spreads to Koh Samet beachfront

[ginjag]

Watching the Thai news and persons using mid sized buckets dipping them in the water and walking off beach to empty and repeating---<deleted>.

Hasn't anyone heard of water vac extra large with 20 metre hose. end of hose in oil switch on suck out through the pipe into tank--tank towed away.

Sorry if it is too easy to say--this sounds too simple. if this is not on, then sorry-just a thought.

[impulse]

Watching the Thai news and persons using mid sized buckets dipping them in the water and walking off beach to empty and repeating---<deleted>.

Hasn't anyone heard of water vac extra large with 20 metre hose. end of hose in oil switch on suck out through the pipe into tank--tank towed away.

Sorry if it is too easy to say--this sounds too simple. if this is not on, then sorry-just a thought.

I'd rather see 150 guys with buckets and rags than a 500 HP road grader. (I know you mentioned water vacs, and my response is more general than aimed at your pretty reasonable post)

It will be slower, but the 150 guys won't be tearing anything up like heavy machinery does. They'll go after the smaller nooks and crannies you'd miss with a road grader.

And it's 150 guys getting paychecks, eating at local restaurants and staying in local hotels- supporting the local economy (and their families) as it takes the tourism slump.

The reason(s) you saw the 500 HP machines at work in the Gulf of Mexico is that A) They're available Labor costs in the USA make it cheaper to use the big stuff (Cheaper, not better). C) They wanted the stuff plowed under ASAP to get it out of sight.

It should have never happened. It's a mess and it's been botched in the media. But I'll wait a week or two before I call the cleanup effort a disaster and 3-4 months before calling it a failure. I'm predicting in 6 months, the floating trash from tourists and normal activities will be the bigger problem (again).

Edited July 31, 2013 by impulse

[pattjock]

I supplied it to PTT for clean up in their refineries. They may do a final wash off the beach once everything has been mainly cleaned up.

Thai at Heart, I believe you with hope they will eventually do the right thing. Hoping against serious grounds for doubt.

There are literally books written about response plans in Thailand. This is not done fag pack response, it had been put together by chevron, PTT, shell and all the other major players in and around mapthaput.

Yes crap happens, and yes, they have handled the media very badly. But I don't think it's fair to say it's a complete catastrophe in terms of the response.

It will get cleaned up, and it is a tiddly mess in comparison with the gulf of mexico or others. Its sad, but believe that bacterial degradation of this oil in warm water will be surprisingly quick. So it will probably be a problem for 3 to 6 months, but it will get better.

Try not to believe that everything in this country is quite as bad as you believe.

Oviousely no one read the books that was written about the resonse plans in Thailand. The only actual plan they had was to call Singapore for help and then let the army and volonteers clean up the mess.

With some of the largest companies in the world involved in operations around Map Ta Phut and Rayong (Shell, Chevron, PTT) you would imagine that they would have the skimmers and booms instantly available in the area to immediately clean up a small leak like 50,000 litres.

You would have thought that they had learned something from the mess they created in Australia.

[Nam Plah]

Erroneously (hopefully) being reported as 50 tonnes of oil here:
http://www.wral.com/thailand-resort-beach-blackened-by-oil-spill/12713139/

[ginjag]

Watching the Thai news and persons using mid sized buckets dipping them in the water and walking off beach to empty and repeating---<deleted>.

Hasn't anyone heard of water vac extra large with 20 metre hose. end of hose in oil switch on suck out through the pipe into tank--tank towed away.

Sorry if it is too easy to say--this sounds too simple. if this is not on, then sorry-just a thought.

I'd rather see 150 guys with buckets and rags than a 500 HP road grader. (I know you mentioned water vacs, and my response is more general than aimed at your pretty reasonable post)

It will be slower, but the 150 guys won't be tearing anything up like heavy machinery does. They'll go after the smaller nooks and crannies you'd miss with a road grader.

And it's 150 guys getting paychecks, eating at local restaurants and staying in local hotels- supporting the local economy (and their families) as it takes the tourism slump.

The reason(s) you saw the 500 HP machines at work in the Gulf of Mexico is that A) They're available Labor costs in the USA make it cheaper to use the big stuff (Cheaper, not better). C) They wanted the stuff plowed under ASAP to get it out of sight.

It should have never happened. It's a mess and it's been botched in the media. But I'll wait a week or two before I call the cleanup effort a disaster and 3-4 months before calling it a failure. I'm predicting in 6 months, the floating trash from tourists and normal activities will be the bigger problem (again).

I agree when it comes to the actual beach, hands-on YES.........I was trying to put the point of surface thick oil--sucked of the top of the water as it arrives-vac style.

When I saw people WADING into the water with buckets made me respond in this way. These should be for beach only clean up.

So suck it off the water near the beach to prevent trying to scrape it afterwards.

[Tywais]

Erroneously (hopefully) being reported as 50 tonnes of oil here:

http://www.wral.com/thailand-resort-beach-blackened-by-oil-spill/12713139/

50 tons is near 54,644 liters which is the original reporting and what they continue to stand by.

Calculator liquids

[zydeco]

Although some sheen and particles may hit beaches, this incident could have been far worse, but the companies in that area train together for this and were prepared. Anyone with industry experience knows this spill was managed swiftly and thoroughly.

Can you elaborate, please?

[travelers]

I have seen a industrial accident in every country that has any industry, the Thai response is as good as any countries. the beaches can be cleaned, the wild life will survive. Mother nature little friends microbes will eat the oil in the ocean, and in a short time this will all be a memory, as long as the response teams keep working and get the resources needed.

and it's a wonderful world.....apart from the fact that you seem completely misinformed firstly about the clean up effects and secondly about the effects of the oil and the dispersants.

Of course they need to clean up the bulk of the waste, but watch for 6 months time.

6 months???

Yingluck's government and PTT said it'll be finished today.

the Thai Government and PTT say that the spill on Koh Samet will be cleaned up by this coming Thursday

http://www.khonkaen.ws/koh-samet-oil-spill-lies-continue-to-flow

Edited August 1, 2013 by travelers

[Thai at Heart]

Bizarrely, there are companies in Rayong with mobile oil water separators. Are they not practical to remove oil from the shallow water?

[atsiii]

Everyone: take a look at this amazing video for binding and removing oil from water and sand. I've not heard about this company/product before, yet it's so compelling it almost seems too good to be true.

http://norsorex.at/

[impulse]

Everyone: take a look at this amazing video for binding and removing oil from water and sand. I've not heard about this company/product before, yet it's so compelling it almost seems too good to be true.

http://norsorex.at/

Pretty amazing stuff in the lab demo. I'd hope they're watching and sending some samples to try here in Thailand.

Another amazing product for cleaning oil from beaches is dry ice. Plop down some dry ice on the oil and you can pick it up like candle wax. But it probably works better in the demonstrations than in large scale.

[Soutpeel]

Oviousely no one read the books that was written about the resonse plans in Thailand. The only actual plan they had was to call Singapore for help and then let the army and volonteers clean up the mess.

With some of the largest companies in the world involved in operations around Map Ta Phut and Rayong (Shell, Chevron, PTT) you would imagine that they would have the skimmers and booms instantly available in the area to immediately clean up a small leak like 50,000 litres.

You would have thought that they had learned something from the mess they created in Australia.

Very obvious to me that they have actually read the "books"...as the calling "Singapore" is 100% correct seeing as its the regional response center for this sort of accident is based in Singapore as all the specialist equipment and personnel is "pooled" in Singapore. in preparation for responses throughout SEA, not just Thailand

So all this having to "call Singapore for help" because Thailand is stupid and cant handle the situation ad need farangs to sort this out...is completely incorrect....calling the response center in Singapore is mandated in all the operators Response Plan's in Thailand for spills larger than a certain size

As as to whether there is SOPEP equipment in Thailand, yes there is, there will be legally madated minimums which need to be held, was it enough to deal with this spill...most lilkely not in this case.

[Timo Demetz]

What a pity for the beautiful beach in Koh Samet

[jamhar]

Latest satellite photo. Looks like the slick has all but disappated

Now comes the hard part, the clean up when very few are interested

[Soutpeel]

What a pity for the beautiful beach in Koh Samet

...beautiful beach on Koh Samet ?...jeez you dont get out much do you ?....if your comparing to say Pattaya beach...then yes I suppose you could say its "beautiful"

Edited August 2, 2013 by Soutpeel

[wilcopops]

What a pity for the beautiful beach in Koh Samet

...beautiful beach on Koh Samet ?...jeez you dont get out much do you ?....if your comparing to say Pattaya beach...then yes I suppose you could say its "beautiful"

so it's OK to deposit oil on beaches that in someone's opinion are not beautiful?

[johnbarpic]

Has anyone been to Koh Samet in the passed few days or weeks, we are booked to go in a few weeks would like to know if to cancel or still go.

is the spill affecting one side of the island or the complete Island

[ginjag]

Has anyone been to Koh Samet in the passed few days or weeks, we are booked to go in a few weeks would like to know if to cancel or still go.

is the spill affecting one side of the island or the complete Island

Study the stars as MERCURY comes to mind, I personally would opt out, and re book another place. some of the Island sand is clean but bathing in the area ???