3 ms·

Yup. It’s actually opposite of what he (the attorney) said. Gasoline (with a density of 0.72kg per liter) floats, and in fact it also evaporates. Which makes it

Yup. It’s actually opposite of what he (the attorney) said. Gasoline (with a density of 0.72kg per liter) floats, and in fact it also evaporates. Which makes it partially self-cleaning (although there always seems to be some residue...). Not that gasoline vapors are great, but the local environmental problem could in principle be less than for an oil spill as oil is almost identical in density with water (light crude oil floats on water and heavy crude oil, like tar sands oil, sinks in water... although both tend to have both lighter and heavier components so both things happen).

fuzzfactor 6y ago
That's right, gasoline has always floated on water. Mostly it evaporates but it still toxifies the water for a period of time. Gasoline is not the only thing going through Colonial: https://colpipe.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/media/6.4.4-cpc-product-specifications-december-2018.pdf https://colpipe.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/media/6.4.4-cpc-p... All are consumer products also preferred by military operators. It can be noted that the two cleanest fuels on the list, butane and R100 renewable diesel, are not like the others. Butane is never transported along any of the main lines, and at this time R100 still exists only on paperwork.
Judgmentality 6y ago
But if the gasoline evaporates, doesn't it just rain down again later? It still has to go somewhere. Or do we just have ever-increasing gasoline clouds? EDIT: Thank you to everyone for the informative responses.
- fuzzfactor 6y ago
  >do we just have ever-increasing gasoline clouds? Well, not quite. It does remain in the atmosphere as it dissipates and is diluted, but the whole time even at the source its concentration is usually too low to condense. It just becomes air pollution, categorized as Air Toxics although some of the same natural hydrocarbons are referred to as "Unburned Hydrocarbons" when they are emitted after incomplete automotive combustion.
- nate_meurer 6y ago
  No, volatile organics are quickly degraded by sunlight and oxygen. The atmospheric half-life of mid-length aliphatic hydrocarbons such as octane is less than a week. I don't know for sure, but my guess is that only a small portion of evaporated volatiles is scrubbed out of the air by precipitation. The people living around that spill are going to be breathing some nasty shit for the foreseeable future.
- csours 6y ago
  It turns into smog, partially. It will condense on surfaces, and some fungus and bacteria will consume it, or its products of decomposition eventually. Some of it goes into peoples and animal's lungs, etc
  - Robotbeat 6y ago
    Yup. And around 1% of the volume of gasoline is benzene, which is wonderful. I hate the smell of the stuff. Since going electric, I hate the smell of gas stations and avoid going to them for any reason.
- robocat 6y ago
  Evaporated gasoline would be classified as a VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) AFAIK - but certainly that is a good keyword to use to look for the environmental/atmospheric effects.

fuzzfactor 6y ago

That's right, gasoline has always floated on water. Mostly it evaporates but it still toxifies the water for a period of time. Gasoline is not the only thing going through Colonial: https://colpipe.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/media/6.4.4-cpc-product-specifications-december-2018.pdf https://colpipe.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/media/6.4.4-cpc-p... All are consumer products also preferred by military operators. It can be noted that the two cleanest fuels on the list, butane and R100 renewable diesel, are not like the others. Butane is never transported along any of the main lines, and at this time R100 still exists only on paperwork.

Judgmentality 6y ago

But if the gasoline evaporates, doesn't it just rain down again later? It still has to go somewhere. Or do we just have ever-increasing gasoline clouds? EDIT: Thank you to everyone for the informative responses.

fuzzfactor 6y ago
>do we just have ever-increasing gasoline clouds? Well, not quite. It does remain in the atmosphere as it dissipates and is diluted, but the whole time even at the source its concentration is usually too low to condense. It just becomes air pollution, categorized as Air Toxics although some of the same natural hydrocarbons are referred to as "Unburned Hydrocarbons" when they are emitted after incomplete automotive combustion.
nate_meurer 6y ago
No, volatile organics are quickly degraded by sunlight and oxygen. The atmospheric half-life of mid-length aliphatic hydrocarbons such as octane is less than a week. I don't know for sure, but my guess is that only a small portion of evaporated volatiles is scrubbed out of the air by precipitation. The people living around that spill are going to be breathing some nasty shit for the foreseeable future.
csours 6y ago
It turns into smog, partially. It will condense on surfaces, and some fungus and bacteria will consume it, or its products of decomposition eventually. Some of it goes into peoples and animal's lungs, etc
- Robotbeat 6y ago
  Yup. And around 1% of the volume of gasoline is benzene, which is wonderful. I hate the smell of the stuff. Since going electric, I hate the smell of gas stations and avoid going to them for any reason.
robocat 6y ago
Evaporated gasoline would be classified as a VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) AFAIK - but certainly that is a good keyword to use to look for the environmental/atmospheric effects.