A new study on Coast Guard workers who responded to the Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010 finds increased levels of exposure to toxic disperants led to a higher prevalence of coughing, shortness of breath, and more reporting of wheezing, skin rashes, vomiting and diarrhea.
Corexit
New Evidence BP’s Spill Dispersant Caused Harm to Humans and Wildlife
In the desperately dark days following BP’s Deepwater Horizon accident in April 2010, one of the issues that I highlighted on this blog was the dangers of BP’s chemical Corexit, which the oil giant was using to disperse the oil.
“Of particular concern is the ability to stop a blowout once it has begun.”
When Time magazine compiled a list of its “Dirty Dozen” people it held responsible for BP’s oil spill it is hardly surprising that BP’s two recent CEOs John Browne and Tony Hayward topped the list. Number three on the list, though, was a name most people had never heard of: Chris Oynes. Oynes was the … Read More
“Carpet bombed” dispersants act as a “delivery system” for oil
As BP prepared over the next few days to permanently seal its Macondo well, there is growing evidence that its use of dispersants is going to have severe political, ecological and legal ramifications. The political fall-out from their use intensified last week. Ed Markey, the Chair of the Committee on Energy and Commerce wrote to … Read More
US Government “Sock-Puppet” for BP Over Dispersants
The dispersant row continues. If people are worried about the legacy of what BP is doing in the Gulf of Mexico, they should watch the latest Democracy Now. In it EPA scientist Hugh Kaufman accuses the Obama Administration, including his own agency, the EPA, of being “sock-puppets for BP in the cover up” over the … Read More
BP: Ignoring the Lessons from History
When BP’s leak is finally plugged and the forensic examination begins into the disastrous events leading up to the spill, it should also examine the catastrophic events since the spill: and one of those will be the use of dispersants. The use of dispersants has been heavily criticised on this blog and well as by … Read More
You Can Hide, But You Can’t Run
Now that BP’s jury-rigged contraption to contain its massive Gulf of Mexico oil spew has failed, the company’s only resort is to continue pumping massive amounts of dispersant into the water near the wellhead, in an attempt to – what exactly? The dispersant goes by the trade name “Corexit.” It’s supposed to be a pun … Read More