100 tons of diesel fuel released into the Nile

[Bateluer]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/09/13/egypt.diesel.spill/index.html

(CNN) -- One hundred tons of diesel leaked into the Nile River after a barge sank in southern Egypt, but an official said the spill posed no danger to people or marine life.

The accident happened Saturday near the city of Aswan, 600 miles from the nation's capital of Cairo.

"All necessary measures have been taken to keep the situation under control," said Mostafa El-Saed, Aswan's governor.

He said the spill posed no danger to people or marine life, because the diesel was not poisonous, would not dissolve in the water and has a high rate of evaporation. He also noted that the river currents are higher this time of year.

The vessel, owned by the Nile Company for River Transportation, was carrying 240 tons of diesel -- 140 tons of which were safely transferred to another ship.

Authorities are testing the water every half hour, and the investigation of the accident is ongoing, El-Saed said.

Let me get this straight, you drop 100,00 liters of diesel fuel into a river, and its perfectly safe, for humans and marine life? Gonna have to call BS on that. River currents being higher may be good for the Nile to flush it out, but that just means the diesel is going to be dumped into the Mediterranean. Only plus side of that is that its a larger body of water.

 

[drebo]

Diesel is lighter than water, so it floats to the surface. It also evaporates much more quickly.

100 tons of diesel in the atmosphere isn't really that bad.

 

[superccs]

Should cut down on the mosquitoes a little since it causes an interuption in their larvae's ability to pierce the water's surface tension.

Light oil called golden bear is used all over for that specific reason, vector control.

So yeah things will be effected... don't amphibians dissolve in diesel?