Black Sea oil
 

Hi,

I've been searching Google for pages which might give me proof of the high sulphur content of Black Sea oil/fuel, but have yet to find anything useful. They have all been irrelevant so far, but I'm looking for some statistics which will prove that Black Sea oil contains higher levels of sulphur than oil from other countries.

I really need this information, but so far have only managed to find the BSREC page (which isn't very useful either, because it doesn't say anything about high sulphur levels or compare the statistics with other oils).

If you know anything about Black Sea oil, then I would really appreciate your help. I need to put up a case against this (because there are several connections between Black Sea oil fumes and unhealthiness), and I've been given a hint that it could be from the higher sulphur content of Black Sea oil in the nearby tankers (ie. more SO2 being emitted into the air), but I need to find evidence. Google has failed me, and so I'm hoping desperately that a Black Sea oil enthusiast will come along soon. Hehe!

Thanks in advance,

M. ;)

how many Volcano's are on this planet?? how many are active right now?? how many of these are spewing CO2, acids, and other crap in the air...........how many years have these volcano's been doing this, and yet humans still evolved..........all you global warming kooks need to get a life and quit spreading FUD!

Mankind IS NOT the cause of so called Global warming!!

Err, freakyg - this has nothing to do with global warming, mate. It's got to do with the fact that some of my family are getting rashes from it. Alright? I just need proof, and you telling me that humans aren't the cause of global warming is not what I was looking for - that's an entire debate in itself. I'm just looking for any facts there may be about high sulphur levels in Black Sea oil. That's it.

Sure, volcanos have been around probably for most of the planet's existance. But then so have various carbon sinks. That is, CO2 goes into the atmosphere and various processes take it back out (plant life, escaping into space, etc.). If CO2 were to accumulate in the atmosphere forever, the climat would become warmer and warmer as the greenhouse effect kicked in.

If this happend in the past, gradually, over a period of millions of years, this wouldn't be a big deal as long as the climate stayed in a fairly tolerable zone. Life can evolve to fill certain niches, but we don't find deserts and arctic tundra to be filled with a variety of life either.

Since the beginning of the industrial age, humans have been steadilly increasing the amount of CO2 that is being added to the atmosphere, while at the same time we have been destroying one of the major carbon sinks, the Amazon rainforest. The additional greenhouse gasses are staying in the atmosphere.

The climate will change. A near as paleoclimatologists can tell, the climate of the earth has changed over time. It's been hotter than it is now and colder. Termperature averages will flucuate from year to year. What is alarming, is that the rate of change appears to be increasing.

The climatic changes that are coming (and there is no doubt that the climate is changing, only doubt as to the reasons) are not completely understood, nor do we understand the impact that they will have, scope, or severity. Depending on what happens, the lives of millions if not billions of people will be effected. Some will die, some will need to endure hardship; economies will be disrupted, some will be destroyed.

I think future generations are going to be very unhappy with the mess we have left them.

Refinery processes control the sulfur content of the end product. Low Sulfur diesel is supposed to be mandatory in the US sometime in 2006.

As to if Black sea oil is more sulfuric or less I can't find anything to support that. I know it varies by region but I haven't found anything that breaks down which regions have certain properties.

Blinker_Fluid - thank you for your reply. I have discovered some more information, and it is not that sulphur levels of Black Sea oil are exceedingly high, but rather that to cut costs the oil isn't being refined according to standards - and so they end up with higher sulphuric content.

I have finally managed to find some links to back up my complaints about SO2 and its concentration coming from the nearby ships. Take a look at these two: 1 and 2.

Out of curiosity, what indicators do you have that there's a causal link there?

I was misled - both my mum and a few others are actually having breathing problems. They are just generally not feeling well, and at times the smell around their homes can be awful. We have been told that sulphur dioxide could be causing this (and indeed the proximity of the tankers, the nature of the oil and those two websites seem to prove this). That's why I'm assuming that SO2 could be the reason behind this - I'm hoping to get someone in soon to measure the levels in the air (using a COSPEC?).

-M.

Yes, difficulty breathing is a symptom of possible SO2 exposure, but it's also symptomatic for an number of respiratory irritants. Have the affected individuals seen a doctor?

Yes they have, but not strictly about it. The curious thing is that the breathing problems started around the time that those tankers came in - so the balance is swaying in their direction!

I guess I'll have to ask them what the doctors said. Although I hope somebody can investigate this issue soon, because it can't exactly be aiding our good health. ;)

I don't know if this is relevant or a complete red herring, but allergies to various sulfur based compounds (sulfa, penincillin and similar antibiotics, sulfates) is actually fairly widespread. I know many people who have had to stop drinking wine because of the use of sulfates as a preservative. You might suggest that your mother get tested for an allergic reaction to sulfur compounds.

Look at Hangdog42 being all on the ball with the differential diagnosis and stuff!

Hehe thanks Hangdog! Yeah, I'll ask her to get it checked up on soon - and if she does have allergies to sulphuric compounds then we may just have a case. In fact, local schools have also reported bad smells, although they claim that it is in fact an increasing amount of benzene...

We're just gonna have to wait until the experts come in! Bring on the U|33R 1337! Hahaha...

Also, if it's a possibility of atmospheric pollutants, isn't there any way that you can get someone connected with the local environmental health department to check/test air quality ???

I mean, sure if it's a sulphur related thing, then normally you'd smell it wouldn't you, but if it's something that doesn't have a noticable smell or is being masked by something else then who knows???? Probably only an environmental scientist.

sorry mate, that's about all I can suggest cos I spend my life making it (SO2/CO/CO2 etc etc ) i.e. from the exhaust of my 44 tonne truck!

bigjohn - the local health committee is quite hard to persuade, especially because of the current Chief Minister. My mum is going to send them a letter soon, and the schools who have complained ehave also sent letters. Hopefully we can get some action going.

Oh, and we do smell it - that's why we think it could be sulphur related - because sulphur compounds (mostly) stink. Bah, I'll have to hire an environmental specialist to sort this out (just a random question - how much does a COSPEC cost?).

Thanks,

M.