Epa Bans Chemical Dispersants in BP Gulf Oil Spill

On April 20, a BP oil rig exploded leaving 11 dead, an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico of 4 million barrels and an on-going daily spewing of 5,000-70,000 barrels daily. BP has been using Corexit chemical dispersants, but the EPA has banned them as too toxic. The United Kingdom has already banned the Corexit chemical dispersants as highly toxic (containing 38% 2-butoxyethanol by weight,according to the Corexit MSDS- Material Safety Data Sheet). Corexit chemical dispersant products were used in the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989. When BP began using the Corexit, the MSDS wasn't even shown to workers. Workers also lack basic toxic waste handling equipment. They wear raincoats and cotton gloves. Not much protection.

The concept of a dispersant is to neutralize the oil spill's toxic effects by breaking it down a spreading it around. /> Toxic or not, breaking oil spills in little pieces, spreading them around and polluting the entire water system on the planet sounds like a foolish idea. Two reasons. BP have you ever heard of the expression oil and water don't mix? Second problem, rather than containing the spill with barriers and sponging it up, now we're going to disperse it everywhere. BP must fail to realize that our earth is 70% water and it isn't called a 'water system' for nothing. Our world's water sources are connected.

Nut to use a toxic oil spill dispersant? That's just insane and criminal. Now the gulf and ocean (and river, lake, pond...) inhabitants and wildlife are not only threatened by oil pouring into their waters, but also by toxic chemicals used to clean up their waters. I don't have the numbers, but my suspicion is that chemical dispersants are the cheaper oil spill clean up options. The EPA has finally banned the Corexit chemical dispersants and insisted that BP find cleaner, greener less toxic options. But has already passed with Corexit in use. Will BP acknowledge the ban and find less toxic oil spill clean up options? BP has pledged $500 million dollars to fund research on oil spills. Very nice, I'm sure, but what about doing something more proactive and less dangerous about the oil spill you've already made, BP?