The Amount Of Neurotoxin Pesticide Corexit Sprayed By BP Tops 1 Million Gallons

[cory777]

Source: Alexander Higgens blog


BP’s latest oil spill response update for June 4th says the total amount of the dispersant used in the Gulf of Mexico more than 1,021,000 gallons.

But what most people don’t know is that the active ingredient of the toxic chemical dispersant, which is up to 60% by volume, being sprayed by BP to fight the Gulf oil spill is a is a neurotoxin pesticide that is acutely toxic to both human and aquatic life, causes cancer, causes damage to internal organs such as the liver and kidneys simply by absorbing it through the skin and may cause reproductive side effects.

In fact the neurotoxin pesticide that is lethal to 50% of life in concentrations as little as 2.6 parts per million has been banned for use in the UK since 1998 because it failed the UK “Rocky shore test” which assures that the dispersant does not cause a “significant deleterious ecological change”.

Corexit has also earned the highest EPA warning label for toxicity which means the effects of the toxic chemicals to the eye are corrosive resulting in irreversible destruction of ocular tissue and other tissue with corneal involvement along with an burning that can persist for more than 21 days and effects to human skin are corrosive resulting in tissue destruction into the dermis and/or scarring.

Read more: http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2010/06/05/amount-neurotoxin-pesticide-corexit-sprayed-bp-tops-1-million-gallons/

[Mnemosyne]

1. KnR for later. Thanks cory! n/t

[w4rma]

2. Arrgh! Somebody stop them, yesterday! (nt)

[tblue]

10. Frog march! I want them behind freaking bars! nt

[tomm2thumbs]

3. Thanks for posting - hope someone from Rachel's group checks out posts here

these are the moments when you need a big megaphone on these things

[dgibby]

13. I sent it to her. n/t

[tomm2thumbs]

24. good job!

topic was moved - figured I'd drop a note to say 'cool'!

[midnight]

4. Wow. This sounds horrible. Good lord but this just gets more horrific.

[LakeSamish706]

5. You know, I donated to the Obama Primaries and the General, and seriously

he was the best of the candidates left standing. But, he has seriously let me down from what I expected to see with respect to change. At this point, I really want to see a New Democratic Party (that seriously leans left) from where we are now. The Repugs. have leaned farther right, and the Democrats have been leaning center right and I want to get back to a left leaning Progressive party. Anybody else on this train of thought?

[Lorien]

21. Yes, a significant percentage of us here are of the same mind. nt

[glitch]

6. Dumping a product illegal to use in Britain, just to limit their liability here.

Win-win for them, lose-lose for everyone and everything else. How very corporate. Enjoy those dividends in HELL, BP shareholders! :thumbsdown:

[Downwinder]

7. That stuff is worse than Agent Orange.

[wordpix]

8. would not be surprised if we discover this is BP's way of getting rid of toxic stuff they couldn't

get rid of before. You know, banned in Britain---what do we do with it? Dump it on the Gulf of Mexico to "cure" our problem. And the O admin fell for it.

FUCKERS

[Downwinder]

9. Well, the Gulf is now a toxic dump. When do we turn the

Grand Canyon into a land fill?

[wordpix]

17. I'm sure Waste Management is trying to figure that one out

[live love laugh]

11. Jesus Christ! I'm speechless. nt

[AsahinaKimi]

12. Are they

Trying to clean up the mess or just trying to kill us all?

[sakabatou]

14. I vote for #2

[Lorien]

23. They're just trying to cover their ass and profit at the same time

WHILE killing us all.

[inna]

42. Ding! We have a winner.

[SammyWinstonJack]

32. Kill the GoM then no reason not to Drill Baby Drill.

:grr:

[Stinky The Clown]

15. Some genius told me the dispersants BP is using is harmless

I was told this in a DU thread.

By a DU member.

The dispersant is harmless.

I didn't believe this DU member.

[time_has_come]

16. BLOGS ARE NOT LATEST BREAKING NEWS

or so i'm told.

And the poor journalistic writing of this adds support to that rule.

[glowing]

18. And now it has had enough time to evaporate into the atmosphere,

move within cloud systems, and is dumping it on my head in Tampa.. Which is why I'm sure my eyes are itchy and I've got a phlegm that won't go away... I feel like I'm in the middle of allergy season.

[Lorien]

20. My fibromyalgia has gotten far worse in the past two weeks and I'm further inland

than you are, but the same has occurred to me. Usually I only get this sick when lawn chemicals and bug sprays have been used by the neighbors, then it passes in a few days. This has gone on and on though, and it's worse when it rains. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I don't think that it's beyond the realm of possibility that both of us are being effected by this. I worry for all the animals that are even more sensitive to chemicals than we are. :-(

[glitch]

28. OMG Lorien!

:hug:

[Lorien]

19. This scares the heck out of me. Do any other people in the Gulf states have

Autoimmune diseases which have gotten far worse over the past few weeks? I have to wonder if the fumes from the oil or Corexit is making my symptoms far worse. And what of the daily rains down here; are they becoming toxic? It could be just chemical lawn sprays that are causing the problem, but then again....

[wordpix]

22. one big science experiment going on down there

[onestepforward]

25. The EPA told BP to stop using that crap.

Why they are still using it? I would really like to know.

[Karenina]

26. BP told the EPA to FUCK OFF.

They have ties with the company, NALCO, that produces it.

[Statistical]

27. The EPA could simply BAN it.

They "requested" BP use/find an alternative.

Essentially nothing.

Tomorrow the EPA could ban (I mean completely BAN) the substance and BP would be forced to stop using it.

I mean when EPA found out that MTBE was dangerous they didn't "request" gas companies stop using it. They banned it and put massive penalties for noncompliance. Then went back and fined gas companies for MTBE found in water supply.

So why is the EPA "requesting" companies do something rather than setting the "rules of the game"?

[GreenPartyVoter]

30. Because "strongly worded letters" are all you can expect in this day and age. The government

doesn't fight to protect the people any more.

[onestepforward]

34. Thanks!

I was hoping for a stronger EPA with this administration. I guess I will have to keep hoping.

[onestepforward]

33. Thank you!

A "request" to BP is meaningless. Our EPA is failing us. BP should have never used this stuff that is banned in the UK. This makes sense now.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

29. pesticide?

[mariawr]

31. Now I ask you..care for any Gulf seafood now? What a shame. nt

[dixiegrrrrl]

35. Guess what? They are serving that seafood.

Apparently, form this story, a bunch of people have been trained to "sniff" the seafood, and if it does not smell like oil, they are selling it!

Oil spill seafood testers sniff out tainted fish, shrimp, oysters at Pascagoula lab (with video)

"He's one of about 40 inspectors trained recently at a federal fisheries lab in Pascagoula, Miss., to sniff out seafood tainted by oil in the Gulf of Mexico and make sure the product reaching consumers is safe to eat."

http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2010/06/oil_spill_seafood_testers_snif.html

[blindpig]

36. In a few months....

the hatchling Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles whose mothers survived or missed this mess will be hitting the surf in the western Gulf....


Don't think a London bookie would make odds...

Kill Capitalism

[piedmont]

37. The 10,000 square mile plume area contains over 10 qaudrillion gallons

The average concentration of the dispersant would be less than one part per ten billion. The LD50 of 2.6 parts per million is likely to occur only VERY close to the oilcano, where the oil itself would be far more of a problem.

[dipsydoodle]

38. The actual issue here

isn't BP using it : its that they were not barred from doing so.

Not really much point is quoting USA / UK differences. I can remember the USA barring our red Smarties or M & Ms to you. So you can ban confectionary ok but not bother with "toxic dispersants" ?

Link for anyone who doubts me : http://everything2.com/title/Red+Dye+%25232

[Lorien]

39. BP was ordered by the EPA to stop spraying

but they ignored the order completely.

[dipsydoodle]

40. I wasn't aware of that

but it surprises me you can invade another country but can't stop a chemical from being used at home.
There's no sarcasm intended there.

[Scruffy1]

41. You mean "Simple Green" or the other one

Corexit 9527 is 2 butoxyethylene and the other one is petroleum distillates and propylene glycol.
2 butoxyethylene is commonly sold as "Simple Green" and the other is an irritant just like any other petroleum distillate. The real problem that using dispersants just might make things worse while making them look better. 9527 will break down over time (about 2-30 days).

[Quantess]

43. Holy shit.

:kick: