re: Assumption Parish sink hole environmental impact: Links in OP

I'd be more worried about the relief well pressuring down the leaky well and then allowing it to collapse.

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nightmare scenario

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Not likely. It isn't full of radioactive waste or anything.

A total collapse is also not very likely.

...As authorities have already warned of potential radiation and explosions, fears have been prompted by bubbling in the water. The sinkhole is near areas where there has been exploration for oil and gas in the past, which would make the presence of low levels of naturally occurring radioactive material possible, according to ABC News.

Well, I hope for the best. Good luck.

Naturally occuring radioactive material in the earth I'm pretty sure.

Supposedly less than 20 cubic feet of NORM in that cavity

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I think the caution right now is the fact that over 900,000 barrels of liquid propane is being stored by Crosstex very near this collapse and fears are that further instability could cause issues with that storage facility.

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I thought it was liquid butane

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Is the sinkhole close to any major population areas or major highways?

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It depends on your definitions of major pertaining to both. The towns around that area are pretty small. The highways are also fairly small, but they do have some strategic importance for industries in the area.

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If the salt dome collapses, what sort of disaster are experts predicting? I came upon an animation that appeared to indicate that the underground salt dome is incredibly huge

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Nobody expects a collapse of the full dome. Basically, most of the salt is still in place. Collapse will come proportional (for the most part) to the size of the voids (caverns/wells) within the dome. As it stands, the big issues you are looking at are the creation of a lake, salt intrusion into freshwater swamps (ecological disaster), and release caused by structural failure of nearby wells/caverns or pipelines.

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I'm imagining a nightmare scenario if the dome collapses. Am I wrong?

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There is only one nightmare scenario for me, but it would take a chain of serious failures, which are highly unlikely in my opinion. The big fear is the release of the contents of other caverns. I don't know what they are all holding, but it's not out of the realm of possibility that some really nasty stuff has been hidden away in that dome.

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could this turn into a deep inland salt water lake?

Guess I better start reading up on what is happening

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Deep? No, think about it this way. South Louisiana is built from silt for the most part. Try building a steep mound of mud. It's not going to happen. It will eventually slide to a lower Angle of Repose. I would expect it to get wider and shallower. Now, most of it is apparently only like 50' deep. The 400+ foot depth is more like a narrow rabbit hole. All of that said, I do not know the geology of that area.

Salt? Yes, however, that would cause serious problems with the nearby waterways. I would expect that the final remediation will include cycling fresh water into the new lake while pumping out the brinier water. The salinity will need to be brought down in time for spring and the high waters that could push that high-salinity water into the surrounding swamps.

Holiday Inn last night

ETA - I think I should clarify that it depends on how you define deep. It may very well end up being 35-40 feet deep, which is pretty damn deep for down here, but not a "deep lake" by geological standards (think Great Lakes).