{"id":566485,"date":"2010-05-17T06:26:12","date_gmt":"2010-05-17T10:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.prisonplanet.com\/?p=43059"},"modified":"2010-05-17T06:26:12","modified_gmt":"2010-05-17T10:26:12","slug":"dispersants-might-be-increasing-damage-from-gulf-oil-spill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/566485","title":{"rendered":"Dispersants Might Be INCREASING Damage From Gulf Oil Spill"},"content":{"rendered":"

Via Prison Planet.com \u00bb Commentary<\/p>\n

Washington’s Blog<\/a>
\nMay 17, 2010<\/p>\n

Everyone knows that the dispersants being dumped into the Gulf oil are toxic. As I wrote<\/a> Friday:<\/p>\n

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Highly toxic dispersants have been used to try to break up the oil. See this<\/a> and this<\/a>. Not only are dispersants being released underwater<\/a>, but the air force<\/a> is also dropping dispersants on the slick from above.<\/p>\n

The official information for the dispersant reveals<\/a> problems:<\/p>\n

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OSHA requires companies to make Material Safety Data Sheets, or MSDSs, available for any hazardous substances used in a workplace, and the ones for these dispersants both contain versions of a disturbing statement.<\/p>\n

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Both data sheets include the warning “human health hazards: acute.” The MSDS for Corexit 9527A [the dispersant apparently being used in the Gulf] states that “excessive exposure may cause central nervous system effects, nausea, vomiting, anesthetic or narcotic effects,” and “repeated or excessive exposure to butoxyethanol [an active ingredient] may cause injury to red blood cells (hemolysis), kidney or the liver.” It adds: “Prolonged and\/or repeated exposure through inhalation or extensive skin contact with EGBE [butoxyethanol] may result in damage to the blood and kidneys.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"Dispersants<\/p>\n

Indeed, the specific dispersant being used is more toxic and less effective<\/a> than other alternative dispersants, perhaps because of BP’s connections to the manufacturer.<\/p>\n

In addition, new questions have arisen as to whether the dispersants might actually being increasing damage from the oil itself.<\/p>\n

As the Christian Science Monitor notes <\/a>today:<\/p>\n

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More relevant could be the dispersant that BP is applying<\/a> to the oil at the source. BP officials have hailed the process as a success, noting diminishing oil at the surface. But the dispersant breaks the oil into smaller drops, which might instead be spreading throughout the water column, instead of rising to the surface.<\/p>\n

It is not clear what this would mean environmentally, though past research indicates that oil can be trapped in the seabed for decades<\/a> after oil on the surface is cleaned away.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Shouldn’t the use of dispersants be stopped until scientists figure out whether they will make things better or worse?<\/p>\n

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Related Posts:<\/h3>\n