THE BIGGEST METHANE LEAK EVER

A natural gas leak with seemingly no end

Ingrid Lobet, December 14, 2015 (NPR/Marketplace)

"A giant stream of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, is blowing hundreds of feet into the air in Los Angeles County for the seventh week…[The California Air Resources Board says it is already 25% of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. It] cancels out hundreds of smaller efforts over more than a decade to clamp down on escapes of the…far more powerful climate-warming gas than carbon dioxide…[This] has created a high risk work environment for those trying to extinguish the leak. And many residents of nearby Porter Ranch say an additive in the gas is making them ill…

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“Pilots flying low have been told by the Federal Aviation Administration to stay clear of the plume for fear of igniting the vapors. More than 1,800 families have sought relocation due to the fumes. Southern California Gas Co. officials say it will be months before the [gas pouring out of the ground near a damaged storage well can be stopped. Experts] say this is the biggest, most complex leak that they have ever seen…All the methods the company has tried so far to kill the well have failed. Now experts who fought the Kuwait oil field fires have joined the effort. The safety of the some 100 workers on the site is also a concern…[On some days, the company cannot perform certain work because of the gas’s volatility]…” click here for more

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