Ohio finds 200 dead geese, others sick along Lake Erie

[Emily]

Cause unknown but profound loss of muscle control observed.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/19/us-ohio-geese-idUSTRE71I0DX20110219

"Dead birds have been found along a 40-mile stretch but most have been concentrated near FirstEnergy Corp's Bay Shore power plant situated near Maumee Bay outside Toledo."

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Ohio finds 200 dead geese, others sick along Lake Erie

There is no suggested link to the power plant. Since the plant releases warm waste water, it may be supposed that the waterways around the plant remain ice free.

The Bay Shore Power Station is located on the south shore of Lake Erie near the confluence of the Maumee River and Maumee Bay near the city of Oregon (Figure 1). The facility operates four conventional steam boiler generating units with a combined nameplate rating of 631 MWe. Unit 1 has a circulating fluidized bed boiler while units 2-4 have either wall or vertical dry bottom boilers. Unit 1 was retrofitted in 2000 to consume petroleum coke generated at the nearby BP refinery. The remaining three units consume coal (Unit 1 is capable of burning coal if necessary) (EIA 2007). All four units are operated with once through cooling systems, wherein cooling water is withdrawn from a source, passed through a surface condenser to remove waste heat, and discharged to a receiving water.

http://www.epa.state.oh.us/portals/35/permits/BayshoreEvaluationFinal_022709.pdf

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Ohio finds 200 dead geese, others sick along Lake Erie

Not the first event this winter;


Dozens of ducks found dead along Maumee Bay shoreThursday, January 20, 2011
Tags:local
It was a mystery of sorts in Oregon Thursday morning.

People who live along Maumee Bay in one neighborhood woke up to find nearly two dozen dead ducks on the shore. The birds showed no signs of trauma.

Other geese and swans in the water seemed to be fine. No one knows what could have killed them.

...

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/story?section=news/local&id=7909918

 

[Emily]

Re: Ohio finds 200 dead geese, others sick along Lake Erie

This study was done after a wildlife mortality event in relation to a refinery in New Jersey. Apparently ducks and geese are sensitive to vanadium which is a by-product of both power generation and oil refining and a concern with crude oil spills.

http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/products/sciencebriefs/SB%2049%20V_science.pdf
Toxicity and Hazard of Vanadium to Ducks and Geese

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Ohio finds 200 dead geese, others sick along Lake Erie

Map of the area here;

http://wikimapia.org/1016323/BP-Husky-Refinery

Toledo BP website currently offline; http://www.toledobp.com/


Edit: I am not implying that this is a result of an emission from the BP site, although as a result of Emily's link above that possibility should be investigated.