Gadgetory

100,000 tons of methane that's how much methane was released following the massive blowout of a well connected to the fourth largest u.s. natural gas storage facility last October in Aliso Canyon California the well was finally plugged on February 10 2016 but by then the damage was already done the Aliso Canyon gas leak was the largest methane leak in US history according to the first study of the blowout that means that it dumped more methane into the atmosphere than the Deepwater Horizon oil spill or the collapse of the yagi natural gas storage facility in 2001 methane is an incredibly dangerous greenhouse gas although it doesn't linger as long in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide it's far more potent because it can absorb heat very effectively and trap it in the atmosphere and more heat trapped in the atmosphere means higher average temperatures around the world which can have many consequences melting IceCaps rising oceans extreme weather and ecosystem loss to name a few that's why it was important for researchers to determine exactly how much methane was released from the Aliso Canyon leak to begin to estimate how much damage was done to do that the researchers used surface air sampling devices and a specially equipped plane that flew over the area of the leak 13 times between November 7th 2015 and February 13 2016 2 days after the leak was temporarily sealed they found that at its peak the Aliso Canyon gas leak doubled the rate of methane emissions from the entire Los Angeles basin and temporarily created the largest known human cause point source of methane in the US doubling the next largest source and Alabama coal mine that means that the Aliso Canyon leaks impact from the global climate is equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of over half a million passenger cars the gas leak didn't just release methane however samples taken near homes in the nearby town of Porter Ranch contained above normal levels of potentially dangerous compounds present in natural gas including benzene toluene and xylenes benzene especially is a known carcinogen not levels higher than one part per million methane leaks aren't uncommon natural gas facilities but what's especially worrisome here is how long it took to fix the leak SoCal gas attempted to seal the leak seven times over a hundred and twelve day period before it finally succeeded California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency On January 7th nearly two months after the leak began thousands of people relocated from the area after complaints of nausea and other illnesses connected with methane exposure became widespread the disaster has drawn attention to the broader issues associated with natural gas production rogue emissions crumbling infrastructure and lacks regulations instead of relying on information released from companies like SoCal gas the company that owns the ruptured well independent researchers could provide fast and accurate information to regulators and the general public during major chemical releases having reliable and continuous measurements of natural gas and other facilities could prevent major incidents like the Aliso Canyon blowout from happening again