New Fears Aboard Oil Platforms Near Newfoundland

At first, they were worried about being hit by de-orbiting debris. That threat has passed, only to be replaced by a new one: the possibility that highly-toxic fuel may leak out of the splashed-down debris.

Canadian officials say the fuel -- about 2.5 tons of it -- was inside the booster stage of a Titan IV rocket that lifted off from Cape Canaveral April 29th. The booster later fell into the water near the Hibernia oil platform, on the Grand Banks of Canada's Newfoundland.

Canadian authorities had initially ordered an evacuation of Hibernia and nearby rigs, but later rescinded the order after receiving US assurances that there was virtually no chance any of the platforms would be hit by the falling debris.

Now, there's a lot of concern about that highly-toxic, highly-corrosive fuel that was inside the booster's tanks when it fell to Earth.

“It is estimated that the fuel will remain in the two tanks when it hits the water and sinks to the sea floor,” said a draft contingency plan from Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada. The Canadian Press obtained the report after filing that country's equivalent to the Freedom of Information Act.

The dimethylhydrazine and nitrogen dioxide contained in the Aerozine-50 fuel mixture is said to be so toxic that even environmental suits can't protect humans from their deadly effects.

But any danger resulting from a water-release of the fuel “will be short-lived in the ocean environment,” Environment Canada's Sebastien Bois told the CP. “As such, it will not pose any significant long-term environmental risks.”

But Canadian lawmakers aim to put an end to the US practice of sending rockets up the coast and allowing them to drop their boosters in the waters off Canada -- a practice many neighbors to the north say is all too frequent. A bill enacted into law last month means hefty fines to ship captains who dump toxic material into the sea. Same goes for launch operators, apparently.

"There will be zero tolerance for such heedless abuse of our environment,” Newfoundland's Environment Minister, Tom Osborne.

FMI: www.nasa.gov, www.ec.gc.ca