Operation Truth: Toxic Rain Reality Check Testing

Today should be a day of celebration with family and friends, however, I find myself looking up at the sky and getting the latest updates on the gulf and my local weather conditions. Instead of shooting fireworks I am preparing my rain water containers to catch a sample from the next system that comes through later today. July 4th 2010 may be just a day I will never forget.

I have posted on several threads that I was attempting to set up a project in order to perform rain analysis of potential chemical compounds due to the gulf spill. The biggest problem I have faced thus far is finding a lab that has parameters in place to test for oil compounds and other chemical agents such as Corexit. The Universities labs that I contacted only perform “drinking” water analysis. I did find a lab late Friday that I believe will be able to perform such an analysis. Unfortunately the individual with the expertise regarding this type of testing had left for the holiday weekend. I am hoping Tuesday we will we have the right lab needed for this project.

I was going to wait until I confirmed everything with the lab before announcing this project here on ATS. However, after what happened yesterday I decided there could not be a better day to begin this project than July 4th, 2010

As many know here on ATS, I have been following “precipitation systems” forming off the gulf with great concern. I started the Hurricane Alex thread before Alex became official to get members to start thinking “what if” theories on the dispersants being used by BP and if we should have a concern for a potential toxic rain scenario.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

I watched hurricane Alex as it formed, create a huge cloud / rain band all the way up to Ft Smith Arkansas. Alex had created a counter clockwise motion drawing up moisture right over the spill area. As Alex moved across land there seemed to be a tail of rain bands moving up through Texas then shifting NE which would lead them right over SW Missouri.

Saturday morning I knew we had a chance of rain as I watched the system move NE. Around noon yesterday I left for the store to get some containers that I could use to obtain rain samples. It’s about 4 miles from my house to the nearest Wal-Mart. While I was driving a slight rain began to fall. By the time I left the store it was raining consistently. The first reaction I had was to look for oily streaks on my windshield. I was pretty focused on this at first, but I saw no evidence of oil. My next observation was the road way and puddles of water forming on the side of the road. I was looking for an oily skim over the water. But that is not what I saw.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Instead I saw a milky substance foaming on the road. I was traveling down a road that was four lanes. As cars passed I could see the milky foam appearing as a trail behind the cars.

I honestly had a freak out moment as I attempted to debunk what I was seeing. Was it oil on the road? Pesticides? Some type of detergent? Am I the only one seeing this?

I knew I had to get a sample as the rain was coming down pretty heavy. I decided to turn into a neighborhood to attempt the process.

The following are a series of videos regarding the rain as it came down, in Joplin Mo.

In the first video you will see I am on the side of the road at an intersection. I placed the rain container on the hood of my car to capture a sample. I then decided to video what I could with my cell phone. The video is rough, short and slightly rushed due to the rain but you can definitely see exactly what I was seeing everywhere on the road way.

You will see foam forming next to the curb. As I started moving toward the intersection, you can see the white bubbles that make up the foam forming as i drove my car through it. While I was video taping the intersection, a truck passed by and you can see the white foaming bubbles creating a trail.



The wind blew my container off my vehicle so I decided to rush home to obtain another sample. On my way, I observed the whitish foam in the standing water along the roadside.

As I arrived I noticed something immediately. My gutter off our front porch had the white foamy bubbles from the rain as it pooled hitting the bricks.

At that very moment I knew, what I had observed on the roadway was not a build up of oil, it was something else.

The next two videos are the gutters that run off the front porch.





I honestly could not believe what I was seeing. I have never seen rain respond in this manner
Our swimming pool was crystal clear an hour before the rain. It was now milky or cloudy looking and I could barely make out the third step.

It had stopped raining so I decided to go over to the neighbor’s house whom oddly enough I had recently informed of the potential threat from the gulf. We looked at his pool which has a blue vinyl bottom. I was not able to make out the deep end of the pool due to being cloudy. It had been clear that morning. We looked at the gutter on his patio and he had the exact whitish foam substance as seen on mine.

It began to rain again as I left my neighbors house. After a couple of hours of rain I noticed, the rain itself appeared cleaner with less residue.

I collected two samples from this rain system.

In the next video you will see me shake up one of the samples that is pale yellow. Notice how foamy it gets. This is what I saw all over the road as vehicles traveled over the wet pavement. Another member wanted me to smell the sample as I told her I think I have been exposed enough for one day. I should also comment that there was no foul smell in the air yesterday.



So what is it? I have never seen anything like this before. If you have experienced something even close please let me know. Is it toxic? I don’t know, but, that’s what Operation Truth is all about.

I want to know the truth. There are many videos here on ATS regarding the BP spill. From oil rainbows in the streets to chemical burned gardens, is it possible that a Gulf Toxic Rain could affect us?

Well let us find out through testing rain samples.

Operation Truth: Toxic Rain Reality Check project is headed by three members including myself here on ATS. Hx3 and Paxnatus are the other two.

Hx3 will be monitoring the results and posting them on a Google map he created so all can see. Here is the link:

realitycheck.no-ip.info...

Our goal is to initially get a total of 20 samples from the areas affected by the Gulf moisture.

I am asking for members here to take part in this project so we can all learn the truth.

Hopefully the lab that I contacted Friday will be able to perform the test. If you know of a lab that has the parameters set for this type of testing please provide the information.

The lab information will be kept confidential until the results are posted.
I am not soliciting anything other than a rain sample here on ATS. I don’t want your information at all. You can send in your samples anonymously.

So what do I need?

Two water samples from your area. One sample will be kept for records and the other for testing.

Information needed:
1. City
2. Date
3. Time Collected
4. Precipitation conditions
5. Is collection contaminated? (meaning did you collect rain from gutter..ect)

I feel the best container to ship rain samples in is the basic water bottle. I used a funnel to help speed up the collection.

This is he only way I know so we may learn the truth.

I will be providing more information on this project as it develops.

More updates to come after the holiday.

Hopefully TPTB here at ATS will allow such a solicitation of rain samples from its members.

“May the truth set us free”

Thank you,

Cloudsinthesky


[edit on 4-7-2010 by Cloudsinthesky]

[edit on 4-7-2010 by Cloudsinthesky]

I'm sorry but those videos are more pixelated than the first Atari video games. I can't tell anything about the rain water quality in them.

I live in St. Louis and the rain band you experienced yesterday gave us showers this morning. There was nothing different or unusual about the rain.


[edit on 4/7/2010 by Chamberf=6]

It doesn't matter how pixelated the pictures are, there is something odd about the rain, and water! I'm sure i've seen something similar on lakes (we have an artificial resevoir, turned lake called Chasewater near me) where they use speed boats and stuff. Loads of foam appears on the waters edge in the right conditions

So let me get this straight you think that the oil you took crappy video of is oil from the gulf spill?

It couldn't possibly be oil rising to the surface of the road from the road itself?

its been awhile since it has rained in Joplin. most of the roads in joplin are either asphalt or concrete with several layers of slurry seal. both types of roads are made with oil products. not to mention all the cars leaking oil on the road as they travel down said roads.

Did you get a sample of the "Toxic Rain" to be analyzed? do you have those results to prove the rain had oil from the gulf?

Sorry my friend but i live in Joplin, i have lived here for 30+ years. and in those 30+ years every time it rains you see oil and the white "foam" on the road when it first starts raining!

Do us all a favor and stop fearmongering unless you have real proof that its actual oil from the gulf of mexico falling down on lil ol Joplin MO!

Edit to add. you also seem to forget that every house in Joplin has asphalt shingles on their roofs. the oil from those will mix with the rain water and it all eventually runs to the streets.

all your videos have proven is that oil mixes with rain water as it flows down your roof, and that oil mixes with water as it rises to the surface of a street.

[edit on 7/4/2010 by Mercenary2007]

One thing I'd like to fill you in on pertaing to many of the petroleum products and by products found in oil is their ability to be absorbed through skin contact.

the majority of these coompounds, such as benzine and tuolumine, will build up in your system over continued exposure, causing chronic illnesses to begin affecting you, as the chronic buildup of these toxins destroy your immune system.

If you choose to expose yourself to rain that is found to be toxic, you yourself will be just as toxic as your findings...

If you didn't know that then I've helped you on your quest. If that was already common knowledge to you, well, at least I tried. ==

reply to post by Mercenary2007


Thanks for your reply and its good to see another Joplin person.......Sorry in many ways to see that as well.....

I never said it was oil in my post. No fearmongering here......

The sample will be tested along with others that are being collected.......

I will let the testing speak for itself.................

Thanks again for your response......I am not originally from Missouri and I guess it shows from this post !!

[edit on 4-7-2010 by Cloudsinthesky]

reply to post by Mercenary2007

Pardon me, but, I didn't hear his OP state anything specific about a Oil Sheen.

He was pointing out the Foamy Residue that was coating everything and I could clearly see the trail left by that SUV as it passed him at the intersection...

If I were you I'd try to keep an open mind...even if it isn't Corexit there's still a lot of Toxins in the Air that are washed out everyday...

Have a look at this straight from the State of Michigan...

www.michigan.gov...

www.michigan.gov...

...from here...

www.michigan.gov...

[edit on 7/4/2010 by Hx3_1963]

reply to post by Mercenary2007

It couldn't possibly be oil rising to the surface of the road from the road itself?

its been awhile since it has rained in Joplin. most of the roads in joplin are either asphalt or concrete with several layers of slurry seal. both types of roads are made with oil products. not to mention all the cars leaking oil on the road as they travel down said roads.

No it couldldn't possibly be oil rising to the surface of the road from the road itself! That is unless the OP doused his house in Oil! Did you not see the run off coming through the gutters and pooling? There is a white creamy looking foam forming! How do you explain that? Don't bother you can't

There is something in the rain I am sure of this. Why is it so hard to believe this is true? Someone has actual video footage of this taking place, and the deniers and skeptics are some of the first to respond.

If you can't handle the truth, then perhaps you should look for a forum that pulls the wool over your eyes!

The lab results will be posted and the truth will stand by itself!

reply to post by Hx3_1963



There is no filmy residue that coats everything. the only filmy residue is in the water after a vehicle passes through it.

and i do have an open mind. and stated a fact that what the op saw is normal in this city even before the Gulf spill and before the first drop of Corexit was even sprayed on the spill in the gulf!

Maybe you should have actually read and understood what i wrote before you posted?

yes there are a lot of toxins in the air that get washed out everytime it rains. But the OP should be more worried about whats in the ground in 1000's of times greater concentrations than whats falling from the sky in lesser concentrations.

As i said i Have lived in Joplin for 30+ years the bigger threat to a persons health in this town is the lead in the ground not the rain falling from the sky!

reply to post by Mercenary2007

So let me get this straight you think that the oil you took crappy video of is oil from the gulf spill?

It couldn't possibly be oil rising to the surface of the road from the road itself?

its been awhile since it has rained in Joplin. most of the roads in joplin are either asphalt or concrete with several layers of slurry seal. both types of roads are made with oil products. not to mention all the cars leaking oil on the road as they travel down said roads.

Guess I read that wrong eh? K

Your post is centered around Oil products seeping/coating the roadways...his OP is discussing this Foam and has no mention of Oil Raining from the sky...

[edit on 7/4/2010 by Hx3_1963]

reply to post by Hx3_1963


no worries. sometimes i have to read a post a few times because i skip over something and jump to the wrong conclusions.

the op said this

"The first reaction I had was to look for oily streaks on my windshield."

that is why i said oil. but either way the oil sheen and the foam in the water on the roads is a normal after it rains here. atleasts as long as i can remember in my 30+ years living in this town. its not something new that just started happening after the gulf spill.

[edit on 7/4/2010 by Mercenary2007]

reply to post by paxnatus

guess in your blind attempt to defend the OP you missed this?

Edit to add. you also seem to forget that every house in Joplin has asphalt shingles on their roofs. the oil from those will mix with the rain water and it all eventually runs to the streets.

all your videos have proven is that oil mixes with rain water as it flows down your roof, and that oil mixes with water as it rises to the surface of a street.

[edit on 7/4/2010 by Mercenary2007]

i guess you have never looked in the street a few minutes after it has started raining and seen a sheen of oil on the road. or you just never noticed it until after the oil spill in the gulf... so since you only noticed it after the spill it must be from the gulf of mexico right? yeah your right its from the gulf spill i'm wrong. pffffffffft yeah right! i'm just more observant than you.... or what i don't have a fearmongering agenda like you maybe!


"The lab results will be posted and the truth will stand by itself!"

so the lab results will prove what exactly?
he used plastic containers which are made from oil
he collected rain water from the street, which the street is either asphalt or concrete with slurry seal coatings... both asphalt and slurry seal are made from oil.
he took a water sample from his downspout? which was contaminated from the oil in his asphalt shingles

do you see where i'm going with this? his samples were contaminated with oil and various other compounds from the beginning. he is wasting his time testing the samples from yesterday. he contaminated them from the start with oil and oil by products. granted not intentional but contaminated none the less.

reply to post by Mercenary2007


Again, I do apreaciate your post and comments about Joplin Missouri. You are correct about the lead concern..........

Now back to the whitish foamy substance............There is only one problem in which maybe I did not explain well enough in my post is where did I get the samples from.......

I took two samples...........

One sample that I labled as "contaminated" from the gutter seen in the video.....

The other sample from the middle of my yard.............

That sample took several hours to get as the rain was light. But it too had the residue of the white foam...........Not as much as the one sample from the gutter which only took 10 second to fill.......

I completely understand oil build up on the roads...........Not once did I even see a rainbow effect or oil skim in the puddles............TRUST ME I WAS LOOKING!!!

So I have a "clean" sample that has whitish foam............No road build up there.........

This thread is not about me, my theories or the other members who are part of this project........

We are seeking the truth and the only way to do that is to get off your A## and do something unlike many members here and other fourms......

I am even willing to pay for the damn testing.........

With all that said.........If you are interested and have concerns with the rain in your area let this thread know..........

The results will not be skewed and we will put this issue to rest..........

If you are here to debate what we are doing.........Dont waist your time!!

Thanks again

Cloudsinthesky

reply to post by Mercenary2007

See...your still on the wrong track here...he IS NOT talking Oil...he's talking of the FOAM...

And Lab's recommend Plastic Containers as Glass contain Boric Acid that desegregates samples...

Melting glass with a low boric-acid content
www.springerlink.com...

Once again...it's not the Oil...

[edit on 7/4/2010 by Hx3_1963]

@cloudsinthesky
You need to get intouch with Dr. Riki Ott.
She is a toxiccoligist, she worked the Exon Valdez spill cleaning.
She has a web site. She has been working along the coast.

In the old days when people made their own soap they used ash.
I have no idea if this makes the foam just though I would mention it.

what causes foam in water?

The development of foam occurs due to changes in the water surface tension and the physical introduction of air.

so lets see you have a SUV driving through water forcing air into the water. the SUV is also putting pressure on the water molecules. result? foam!

you have water falling several feet through a downspout trapping air in th water when it hits the ground putting more pressure on the water molecules. result FOAM AGAIN!! imagine that!

sorry there could be hundreds of reasons for the foam in the water. not just oil compounds from the gulf spill. and as i said earlier oil sheen on the roads and foam in the same water on the roads is nothing new and has been happening way before the spill in the gulf even happened.

But i guess since there is a massive oil spill everything that happens today is a result of that spill huh?

even though you have probably noticed the oil sheen and foam in the same water on the same road. and even noticed the foam at the base of your downspout long before the oil spill even happened.

@ hx3 it is about the oil because at the base of his claims is oil and or oil compounds. you can try and twist it all you want but even you know i'm right that when it comes down to it..... its about oil!

i guess i'm just more observant than most people in this thread.

[edit on 7/4/2010 by Mercenary2007]

reply to post by Mercenary2007

Fine...hope you Garden is doing well...

Clouds has noticed damage to his for no apparent reason...maybe he'll take some samples to his local AG Lab for diagnostics...Hmmm...

IF he does I'll update my maps to include these results as well...

[edit on 7/4/2010 by Hx3_1963]

reply to post by Hx3_1963


actually my garden is doing great thank you! I don't know where clouds lives at here in Joplin but i live on the N.E. side of town. the tomato plants are blooming, the elephant ears are bigger this year than last year. and no i repeat no damage to them what so ever.

Clouds i hope you sterilized those bottles before you collected your samples.

this is very odd...i live in wash state and a couple of months ago after a good rain i noticed my car was covered with a white substance that obviously came down with the rain..i had forgotten about it till i saw this thread. i had never seen this before either, now im wondering what is this white stuff?