Yet gusher no reason to rejoice
Expert says oil blowouts a rarity
TULSA, Okla. (UPI)—"Gone are the days when an oil gusher was reason to rejoice," says one of Sun Oil Co.'s outstanding environmental experts. "Today a blowout just means a lot of wasted oil and a mess that must be cleaned up."
Harold F. Elkin, Sun's coordinator of environmental conservation, doesn't feel water pollution is a new problem but one more highly publicized recently, generating complex technical and legal problems for oil companies
"Major oil spill incidents have
shaken the public confidence in our ability to conduct our operations in a manner that will not harm the environment," Elkin said at a recent University of Tulsa course.
"Oil spills have cost the industry millions of dollars in production-as well as clean up costs- But such costs are insignificant compared to what these spills have cost us in public confidence and goodwill.
Drillers go to great lengths to prevent blowouts," he says. "During drilling operations, it is normal to use at least three or four blowout preventers and numerous control valves. Off shore wells are also equipped with a special automatic safety device called a downhole storm choke, which closes the hole automatically when there is a rupture in the system.
"And yet despite our best efforts, on Jan. 28, 1969, oil drilling from an offshore platform in the Santa Barbara Channel triggered a flow of oil into the open sea. Some of this oil found its way onto the Southern California
shoreline. The resulting contamination of beaches, harbors and boats propagated a wave of public concern over the safety of all offshore drilling ventures.
"Yet at the same time," he adds, "The well that experienced the blowout was but one of 300 producing wells in the channel where over 900 wells had been drilled over the years without incident.
`Inhibitions' stopped Nixon
WASHINGTON (UPI) — Sen. John G. Tower (R-Tex.) said he believed President Nixon was unwilling to intervene with U.S. troops in Cambodia to prevent a Communist takeover because of "inhibitions" imposed on him by Congress.
Tower said in a UPI "Washington Window" interview that it was "possible that Cambodia could fall" although the country had been given arms and had been helped by U.S. assaults on Communist border sanctuaries.
Asked why the United States was unwilling to defend Cambodia with troops as it has in South Vietnam, Tower replied, "Well, I think the President is thinking in terms of the inhibitions imposed on him by a hostile Congress."
Tower did not say he had any definite information that Nixon had ever been considering the use of troops to protect the Lon Nol government in Cambodia.
LOS ANGELES (UPI)—Relief supplies for earthquake stricken Peru are piling up and there seems no immediate prospect of transporting them to South America, several donor groups reported.
The total of food, medicine and clothing on hand neared 300,000 pounds.
Relief supplies for Peruvians await delivery
About 220,000 pounds were stockpiled at Los Angeles International Airport. Another 60,000 pounds awaited shipment from San Fernando Valley State College in nearby Northridge.
"We have to either get transportation or stop the operation," said Genaro Sornosa of Monterey Park, Calif., a former Peace Corps worker who is trying to coordinate handling of relief supplies for Peru.
A May 31 earthquake left an estimated 800,000 persons injured or homeless in Peru and an estimated 50,000 killed.
Andrea Fischbach, a member of the International Students Club which organized the relief project, said it had been promised two planes to transport the goods in an arrangement made by Sens. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.) and Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz). Miss Fischbach said, however, representatives of the senators called her Friday and said budget limitations prevented requisition of the planes.
"We have contacted 11 different airlines," said Maj. Lincoln Upton, Salvation Army coordinator, "but no plane is available—even with our organization offering to foot the bill of $25,000."
The Salvation Army tried to hire a jet transport to move some supplies but found no plane was available.
14 KANSAN June 23
1970
Nixon has announced that U.S. troops would not be used in support of the Lon Nol government and has limited the present U.S. operations to a limit of 21.7 miles within Cambodian territory.
recognized that it must be able to do better, and began marshalling the necessary resources to find better ways of getting the job done. Our earlier oil spills task forces had produced an American Petroleum Institute (API) primer on oil spill cleanup.
Tower said a majority of the senators "don't want any additional involvement in Cambodia and don't want us to come to the aid of this country. The disposition in the Senate is to wash our hands of Cambodia altogether."
He called the attitude inconsistent because "in the past members of the Senate have urged Asians to defend themselves. And now that perhaps the Cambodians are showing some disposition to do that, we say we're going to wash our hands of it, we're not
going to help you at all."
The Senate probably will vote late this week on the Cooper-Church amendment designed to cut off funds for retaining U.S. troops in Cambodia after June 30, the President's deadline for ending the Cambodian operations.
The next vote on an amendment is scheduled Monday on a proposal by Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) to add language stressing that nothing in the Cooper - Church amendment would take away from the President "that constitutional power which may be necessary to protect the lives of United States armed forces wherever deployed." It is expected to pass with a near unanimous vote.
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"In February 1969, within a matter of weeks after the blowout in Santa Barbara, the API held a special meeting to discuss the whole spectrum of issues attendant to the oil pollution problem.
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A permanent subcommittee on oil spills cleanup was established to develop a program. The API board of directors has thus far appropriated $1.2 million to fund the subcommittee work through 1970.
"Oil pollution has brought complaints from ordinary citizens as well as vocal and influential conservationists. Legislative proposals, on both state and local levels, are being considered which will make it more difficult for us to find, produce and transport oil and other petroleum products required by society. Future development of offshore oil reserves will probably be delayed as a consequence of our offshore accidents. The swift development of oil reserves on Alaska's north slope has been jeopardized.
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"The subcommittee initiates and supervises its work through four task force groups, each dealing with a separate aspect of the cleanup problem.
"The problem has been aggravated by unfavorable, and in some cases unfair, publicity," Elkin adds. "But the problem is serious and real, and our industry must solve it."
"Early last year, our industry
"One group is responsible for research on equipment and materials, another for insurance and legal problems, a third is studying the industry's response plans for dealing with spills and a final group is responsible for maintaining and improving government liaison."