BP Amoco is going to take big tankers of sludge, back them up to the water’s edge, and start dumping the shit there. Right?

WRONG! Jesus, NOBODY would do that. That is certainly what the press would have you believe, but none of it is true. Here’s what ACTUALLY happens.

Refining uses/requires water for cooling of the refining process. Heat exchangers run water on one side, refined product on the other side, the refined product gives up it’s heat to the water, and the warmed water is poured back into the lake. It’s mixed with cool water so it doesn’t thermally shock the water at the vent.

Sometimes, a pinhole rusts through (lake water is not kind to plumbing) and some product gets mingled with the water. Sometimes it’s just the gasket dressing that causes the contamination. Sometimes the gasket itself. At any rate, it would require a facility as large as the refining facility to filter this tiny amount of contaminant out of the water.

let’s put this in perspective.

You are careful about your vehicle. You change the oil on a regular basis. You’re concerned about the environment so you take your oil in for recycling. When you’re done with the oil change, you wash your hands. The oil on your hands goes down the drain. Twenty other people in your neighborhood do the same. Now, you’ve polluted, on that day, about the same as BP. What will you do about that?

Nobody wants to see any body of water polluted. Trust me, I grew up on a lake so polluted it used to burn. I’m a fisherman and a hunter, and I like to see nature pristine and clean.

But I’m not an idiot. I understand how manufacturing works, and if the EPA says it’s ok, they’re the most restrictive agency on the damned planet, so it’s got to be better than good. Get real.