PTTGC oil spill reaches Ban Phe Beach; tourist operators meet

[drdoom6996]

Love to see the "red army" out cleaning this one up, along with their yellow cousins.. Yingluck in her red gumboots and Sondhi in his sandals.. doing something positive for all Thai people for once - preserving their eco system, preserving their financial stability by keeping tourists coming.

I know there will probably be one leader standing by to help, and probably doing his fair share as he did in the floods. I will always admire Abhisit for what he did during the floods - perhaps other leaders (including Pladprasop, Dr. Weng and Chalerm) would gain some points with the public by spending whole days out cleaning up and bringing as many people with them as they can - not just for photo ops.

Come on leaders of Thailand, inspire the people and show them how it is done - then kick the backside of PTT (Petrol Throughout Thailand?) in the courts, even if the Govt is a big supporter of the company. Maybe a forced cut in all safety staff salaries for a period until the cost of the clean up is repaid would do the trick? Just a thought.

Are you kidding? I know you are. The PTP are busy getting 2.2 trillion baht and Taksin back. The oil spill does not pay them bribe money, might/will get them kickbacks, and does not vote.

[rosst]

It is time PTT came clean with how much oil was spilled, and tell us what they are going to do about it besides getting the army to help clear up.

I am always interested in the estimates of these spills, did someone have a meter on the pipe?? I have seen the pictures and read how much they have already removed and I am no rocket scientist but boy Oh boy have they got it wrong or what??

One would like to think they may be a little honourable and up the estimate a little, just to help with their credibility, still, I guess there is not much you can do starting from ZERO LOL

[Colabamumbai]

Maybe they could offer free oil changes to boost the number of visitors...

[NCC1701A]

the best thing anyone who is sick to death of the lies is to get to the beach and start making videos of the ruined beaches and putting them up on You Tube. This will go on for months. Link the video to lonely planet, forward to CNN BBC and even FOX.

[Banzai99]

Ah Yes, Tourism.There is no mention about concern to the ecosystem or the long term effects to those who live in the area year-round. Thailand...Hub of SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!

And you choose to live.......... where ?

[Notstupid30]

CAMPAIGN FOR SAMET ISLAND

Appeal for hair to soak up spill

The Nation

KOH SAMET: -- Concerned residents have pitched in to clear up the oil spill at Samet Island and are now campaigning for donations of hair to soak up the spill.

The call was spread over social networks including Facebook and Twitter for barbershops and beauty salons to donate the hair.

The hair would be stuffed into nylon stockings to form a "hair boom" and placed in areas of the spill to soak it up.

It is reported that each pound of hair is capable of absorbing as much as a gallon of oil. Wool, animal hair and fur coats could be used for the purpose.

The campaign also calls on people to visit the affected sites to help clean up the spill.

-- The Nation 2013-07-30

Hub of hairball

[SunsetT]

I just hope, in their hurry to clean up, they dont go crazy using toxic dispersant chemicals which could be even more damaging to the wildlife and environment than the oil.... Not to mention the possibility of a few more mysterious tourist deaths.

[Payboy]

The President of PTT was just interviewed on CNN ....he said the cleanup would be finished by TOMORROW!!!

Maybe he was referring to the compensation fund.

[Payboy]

Oh dear me. I have booked to stay at Rayong Resort in Baan Phe in 2 weeks' time. I hope things will get better soon.

No worries, if you don't mind the slightly greasier bacon at the breakfast buffet.

[SunsetT]

CAMPAIGN FOR SAMET ISLAND

Appeal for hair to soak up spill

The Nation

KOH SAMET: -- Concerned residents have pitched in to clear up the oil spill at Samet Island and are now campaigning for donations of hair to soak up the spill.

The call was spread over social networks including Facebook and Twitter for barbershops and beauty salons to donate the hair.

The hair would be stuffed into nylon stockings to form a "hair boom" and placed in areas of the spill to soak it up.

It is reported that each pound of hair is capable of absorbing as much as a gallon of oil. Wool, animal hair and fur coats could be used for the purpose.

The campaign also calls on people to visit the affected sites to help clean up the spill.

-- The Nation 2013-07-30

Hub of hairball

Who's going to donate the nylon stockings..........The Pattaya Layboys Charitable Association?

.........................They're not having mine!!!

[laban]

It is time PTT came clean with how much oil was spilled, and tell us what they are going to do about it besides getting the army to help clear up.

[metrox]

So sad :-(

[geriatrickid]

Love to see the "red army" out cleaning this one up, along with their yellow cousins.. Yingluck in her red gumboots and Sondhi in his sandals.. doing something positive for all Thai people for once - preserving their eco system, preserving their financial stability by keeping tourists coming.

I know there will probably be one leader standing by to help, and probably doing his fair share as he did in the floods. I will always admire Abhisit for what he did during the floods - perhaps other leaders (including Pladprasop, Dr. Weng and Chalerm) would gain some points with the public by spending whole days out cleaning up and bringing as many people with them as they can - not just for photo ops.

Come on leaders of Thailand, inspire the people and show them how it is done - then kick the backside of PTT (Petrol Throughout Thailand?) in the courts, even if the Govt is a big supporter of the company. Maybe a forced cut in all safety staff salaries for a period until the cost of the clean up is repaid would do the trick? Just a thought.

Despite the attempt to smear and blame the government for the actions of PTT management, your comments come off as extremely lame. Abhisit's PR efforts during the flood were just that, photo ops for political gain. The worst possible thing is to unleash unqualified and untrained "volunteers" on an environmental catastrophe. Do you really think Abhisit who has never been gainfully employed in the private sector and has no training in this matter is going to inspire people if he carries his pail and shovel to the beach? Right.

You offer up an idiotic suggestion to cut the salaries of "safety staff". Oh that's brilliant. You have no idea as to the cause of spill, but you want to punish all safety workers. The PTT board of directors is a who's who of the Thai oligarchies. These are the families that rule Thailand. This baord oversees the company and in most places would be held accountable. However, you want some poor low wage hardhat to be punished.

The "government" is not a supporter of PTT, but is an investor because PTT is a state owned asset. There is no point punishing PTT because the ultimate "owners" are the victims of the spill, the people of Thailand. The Royal Household also has shares in the company. PTT is Thailand. This is the real Thailand on display.

[geriatrickid]

It is time PTT came clean with how much oil was spilled, and tell us what they are going to do about it besides getting the army to help clear up.

PTT most likely does not know. Do you think the company should offer additional estimates if it has no way of supporting that claim?

[Faranguy]

Here is another way to do the math. You need the following

Flow rate of pipe, average internal diameter of the pipe, distance between valves on either side of the leak, time from start of leak until these valves are closed.

With that information you would get a reasonable estimation of the volume of released hydrocarbons by firdt calculating the contribution of a full bore loss until the valves are closed and then calculating drainage and adding that to make a final total.

[rbrooks]

Koh Samet is 13km2, the slick is at least the same size if not bigger and at least 2mm thick? that is a lot of litres.

Using these numbers then a 15 square kilometres slick at 2mm thick would be some 30,000 cubic metres which is some 30,000,000 litres. Quiet a difference from the supposed 50,000 litres spilled claim

Hope those back of envelope numbers are aright

If however oil was only 1mm and only dispersed over 30% of the area in balck.. i.e oil doesnt cover the entire area then the magnitude of the spill would be 4500 cubic metres or 4,500,000 litres .

From size of spill it might appeaer that PTT are being economical with truth as to number of litres that actually escaped.

Truth from officials in Thailand? Tourism is going to take a dump and looks like so is Thailand's pristine beaches. My heart goes out to the marine wildlife that will take a beating and hopefully they will take some time out to help them also.

[Thai at Heart]

Koh Samet is 13km2, the slick is at least the same size if not bigger and at least 2mm thick? that is a lot of litres.

Using these numbers then a 15 square kilometres slick at 2mm thick would be some 30,000 cubic metres which is some 30,000,000 litres. Quiet a difference from the supposed 50,000 litres spilled claim

Hope those back of envelope numbers are aright

If however oil was only 1mm and only dispersed over 30% of the area in balck.. i.e oil doesnt cover the entire area then the magnitude of the spill would be 4500 cubic metres or 4,500,000 litres .

From size of spill it might appeaer that PTT are being economical with truth as to number of litres that actually escaped.

Truth from officials in Thailand? Tourism is going to take a dump and looks like so is Thailand's pristine beaches. My heart goes out to the marine wildlife that will take a beating and hopefully they will take some time out to help them also.

It's almost like they have a pathological hate of telling the truth.

[AloisAmrein]

Thailand was a tourist's paradise.

[alphaflight]

I don't know if the Thai government has reached out for help, if not they should think about swallowing their pride and doing so; I doubt they are as equipped as some first world countries, to handle this type of disaster. PTTGC executives should be up to their elbows on the beach cleaning up this mess.....

[ABCer]

I am sick and tired of some posters arguing and bickering about this particular issue because it affects too many aspects of our life.

Some immediately take a defensive position "Why blame Thailand if oil spills happen all over the world".

Others try to teach us that "Diesel fuel will behave like crude oil".

Another group concentrates on "Emotionally tinted non-informative pictures" which should be reserved for future time when the disaster will be fully appreciated.

Therefore I offer the following rough estimates of the problem size we are facing.

My estimates are based on critical evaluation of information provided here on TV by Tywais (thanks) and Webfact (thanks).

If we accept the thickness of the oil to be 1 mm because the light fractions by now (3 - 4 days after the spill) have evaporated and from the latest satellite pictures the size of the oil slick to be 2,5 times that of the area of Koh Samet i.e. 30 sq.km. or 30,000,000 sq. m than each 1000 sq. m of the leak represents 1 cubic m of oil leaked.

In other words the actual size of the spill is minimum 30,000 cubic m. or 30,000,000 liters which is not even close to 50,000 liters offered by PTT.

For those who want to argue that the oil film is only 0.1 mm thick after nearly four days of evaporation the size of the oil spill must be 3,000 cubic m. or a measly 3,000,000 liters, - much closer to PTT statement.

Note: Anybody with a brain not as rusty as mine, please check my calculations.

Edited July 30, 2013 by ABCer

[Thai at Heart]

I don't know if the Thai government has reached out for help, if not they should think about swallowing their pride and doing so; I doubt they are as equipped as some first world countries, to handle this type of disaster. PTTGC executives should be up to their elbows on the beach cleaning up this mess.....

Oil spill response from Singapore have been there for 2 or 3 days.

Www.oilspillresponse.com

[Thai at Heart]

I am sick and tired of some posters arguing and bickering about this particular issue because it affects too many aspects of our life.

Some immediately take a defensive position "Why blame Thailand if oil spills happen all over the world".

Others try to teach us that "Diesel fuel will behave like crude oil".

Another group concentrates on "Emotionally tinted non-informative pictures" which should be reserved for future time when the disaster will be fully appreciated.

Therefore I offer the following rough estimates of the problem size we are facing.

My estimates are based on critical evaluation of information provided here on TV by Tywais (thanks) and Webfact (thanks).

If we accept the thickness of the oil to be 1 mm because the light fractions by now (3 - 4 days after the spill) have evaporated and from the latest satellite pictures the size of the oil slick to be 2,5 times that of the area of Koh Samet i.e. 30 sq.km. or 30,000,000 sq. m than each 1000 sq. m of the leak represents 1 cubic m of oil leaked.

In other words the actual size of the spill is minimum 30,000 cubic m. or 30,000,000 liters which is not even close to 50,000 liters offered by PTT.

Note: Anybody with a brain not as rusty as mine, please check my calculations.

Watching blue sky channel now. They have an estimate of at least 10 sq kms and say similar, that it is more than 1mn litres, forget 50k litres.

Either way, if you think if an Olympic swimming pool, that is 2.5mn litres. 50k litres is far too small an estimate to do this much damage and spread so far.

[zappalot]

Good to see that at least a few are out there with some brain left.

When I see what some folks have written yesterday

PhilipCook, on 29 Jul 2013 - 11:47, said: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.

...some sheen and particles...

and how many people thought the same by liking this post... Even today some believed more what some officials say instead of thinking by themselves... How easy it is to fool the majority of people, very sad...

Edited July 30, 2013 by zappalot

[biplanebluey]

Oh dear me. I have booked to stay at Rayong Resort in Baan Phe in 2 weeks' time. I hope things will get better soon.

It's Gonna take a bit longer than 2 weeks!!!!

[biplanebluey]

New Zealand has been at the forefront with this sort of operation and is almost world famous for their method of using sheep wool to soak up oil.It is the best known method and has been proved over many years to be extremely effective.If any of these dickheads had any knowledge of what they were doing they would also know that they would only have to ask.It would not be the first time the Kiwis have come to the rescue but of course I suppose losing face rears its ugly head again. Dougal the Kiwi

[annabel]

Love to see just like in 2011 floods.... Yingluck in her red gumboots and Sondhi in his sandals.. doing something positive for all Thai people for once - preserving their eco system, preserving their financial stability by keeping tourists coming.

I know there will probably be one leader standing by to help, and probably doing his fair share as he did in the floods. I will always admire Abhisit for what he did during the floods - perhaps other leaders (including Pladprasop, Dr. Weng and Chalerm) would gain some points with the public by spending whole days out cleaning up and bringing as many people with them as they can - not just for photo ops.

Come on leaders of Thailand, inspire the people and show them how it is done - then kick the backside of PTT (Petrol Throughout Thailand?) in the courts, even if the Govt is a big supporter of the company. Maybe a forced cut in all safety staff salaries for a period until the cost of the clean up is repaid would do the trick? Just a thought.

Easy to do standing in a yatch waving to all the Thais admiring her courage as she floats by ... IF SHE WERE HERE NOW I am sure she would be out there already waving to all the gullible Thais as to look how I am helping ... I am out here on the water no!...???

[annabel]

CAMPAIGN FOR SAMET ISLAND

Appeal for hair to soak up spill

The Nation

KOH SAMET: -- Concerned residents have pitched in to clear up the oil spill at Samet Island and are now campaigning for donations of hair to soak up the spill.

The call was spread over social networks including Facebook and Twitter for barbershops and beauty salons to donate the hair.

The hair would be stuffed into nylon stockings to form a "hair boom" and placed in areas of the spill to soak it up.

It is reported that each pound of hair is capable of absorbing as much as a gallon of oil. Wool, animal hair and fur coats could be used for the purpose.

The campaign also calls on people to visit the affected sites to help clean up the spill.

-- The Nation 2013-07-30

Oh Boy.. Animal hair too .... ok let's see the next truck load of dogs and cats diverted from Cambodia / Vietnam & China whatever as food for all ...Hey there buddies !!... Have good news and bad news ...= saved your lives from becoming breakfast, lunch and / or dinner, that was the good news, but sorry the bad news is that now we have to kill you by drowning you in the oil slicked sea to save our sorry asses.... This is Planet earth my friends.. didn't you know that before embarking on the Ark?? !! ... Please do come and visit us again in the future when you are reincarnated or whenever !!

[giggles]

isn't ban phe a center for fish sauce manufacture ??

[johnk46]

Koh Samet is 13km2, the slick is at least the same size if not bigger and at least 2mm thick? that is a lot of litres.

Thant should be than 2600000 liters or I did something wrong? - sounds alot

1300000 × 0.002 = 2600m3 x 1000 = 2600000liters

Edited July 31, 2013 by metisdead
Oversize font reset to normal. Do not post using overly large font.

[pattjock]

Koh Samet is 13km2, the slick is at least the same size if not bigger and at least 2mm thick? that is a lot of litres.

Thant should be than 2600000 liters or I did something wrong? - sounds alot

1300000 × 0.002 = 2600m3 x 1000 = 2600000liters

You missed one zero:

13,000,000 × 0.002 = 26,000m3 x 1000 = 26,000,000liters

Edited July 31, 2013 by metisdead
Oversize font reset to normal. Do not post using overly large font.