The Gulf Experiment - Part Whatever

Terry Hazen, a PhD micro-biologist at Lawrence Berkley Lab who has studied oil spills extensively, cited the example of the massive Amoco-Cadiz spill off the coast of France. Five years after the spill, the coastline had returned to normal in areas that had been left untreated. But 32 years later, the areas that had been treated with dispersants, at great expense, have yet to recover.

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And although Corexit, the chemical in question, is known to be a fetal toxin that damages blood cells and kidneys cells, causing black urine among workers that come in contact with it, the EPA, after having banned it, later lifted the ban, not based on any new data, but only after changes in personnel and policies.

  TriplePundit

It has, however, been banned in the UK and other countries.

According to Chris Pincetich, a marine biologist and member of the Sea Turtle Restoration Project, [...] the EPA test [...] only requires that embryonic fish survive in [Corexit] for 96 hours. But Pincetich said that although the fish survived for three days, 90% were dead within two weeks

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Despite […] urgent warnings, BP continued to administer Corexit, an oil-based, industrial strength solvent, often under the cover of darkness, to the point that some two million gallons have now been intentionally introduced into the teeming gulf waters. [...] Why so much dispersant? Because, [...] it hides the oil. Oil fines are based on how much oil was spilled.

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Pincetich is concerned about the aerial spraying because of the tendency of the chemical to drift and evaporate in the warm southern air. Since no one knows what the real impact of these chemicals is, everyone in the region is part of a big experiment.

Riki Ott [author of “Not One Drop: Betrayal and Courage in the Wake of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill] says that if her family lived along the Gulf Coast, based on what she has seen these past three months, she would evacuate them immediately.

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Her main priority right now, having seen cleanup workers with headaches, dizziness, sore throats, burning eyes, rashes and blisters that are so deep, they’re leaving scars– is to get respirators for all of them.