[StBernard] MURPHY OIL SPILL

[Westley Annis]

Hmmm, has anone whose getting "personal samples" and bringing them to have
them tested by labs considered one thing?

...that one can scoop a personal sample from a site that IS in the red zone,
etc. and carry it to the labs, have it tested positive for contamination,
and claim it came from your site?

I'm not certain that this hasn't been done, nor that it will "fly" in court,
or with Murphy. True, this action can cause a "reaction" (in physics law
terms Of Newton?), to have Murphy become interested enough to THEN send
their own chemists, team, etc. to do their own testing. 

So, to emphasize, what's to keep people out there from being honest if there
are workarounds and diversions (albeit devious to try and beat or expediate
the system) by some?  The point? Personal samples may not be an answer and
other ways can be costly with no guarantee for the prize sought by victims
of Murphy's spill.

Things seemed so disfunctional *before* the storm. Then came a bitc& named
Katrina...and now we know better, don't we?

Jer.

-----Original Message-----

Alan,

In response to your comment. . ."Everyday that passes the oil will evaperate
and futher testing will not indicate oil.  Time is not the the homeowners
side."  Fear not.  Remember what we learned in chemistry class - "matter
cannot be created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction" - and this
particularly applies to petroleum and its biproducts.

True, over time it can "appear" to be less evident, but don't worry - it's
still there.  It might even seep deeper into the ground as the rains come -
but it's still there.  In the future, soil analyst might need to bore just a
little deeper, but they'll find it.  Also, why wait on Murphy?  While I'm
not certain of the precise cost, I can't imagine it would be too expensive
for you to bring some samples to an independent lab for an analysis.  Just
be sure to document everything you do - video taping is a good idea.
Perhaps the testing service can go out to your property for an additional
charge.  I'm certain some folks through this correspondence can lead you to
a soil analysis service - or try the yellow pages or google to find one.

That's how I would proceed - and probably will since my residence is in the
spill zone.

Best of luck to you,

John Scurich