Poisonous chemicals used to fight Gulf oil slick

[spanone]

are they fucking us more to win the public relations battle?

Dispersants’ ingredients — ‘proprietary recipes like Coca-Cola’ — are secret



As they struggle to plug a leak from a ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, BP and federal officials are also engaging in one of the largest and most aggressive experiments with chemical dispersants in the history of the country, and perhaps the world.

With oil continuing to gush from the deep well, they have sprayed 160,000 gallons of chemical dispersant on the water’s surface and pumped an additional 6,000 gallons directly onto the leak, a mile beneath the surface.

John Curry, director of external affairs at BP, said the company was encouraged by the results so far. But some environmental groups are deeply nervous.

“I understand it’s the only thing they can do,” said Paul Orr of the group Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper. “But I think it’s vital afterwards to really monitor what’s happening with aquatic life, with oil on the sea floor and things like oyster beds.”

Even in the best cases, dispersants are applied in what might be termed a lose-lose strategy. Scientists make the calculation that it is better to have the ocean filled with low concentrations of the dispersant chemicals — which are in themselves mild to moderate poisons — than to have dense oil on the surface or washing up onshore, places where it is most likely to harm wildlife.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36981842/ns/technology_and_science-the_new_york_times/

[xiamiam]

1. stupid logic..oil, chemicals and plasic..killing us and eventually the earth

i'm so sick of this way of thinking

[Wednesdays]

2. *facepalm*

:banghead:

[mod mom]

3. Rachel interviews LSU professor:

Blog bonus! How chemical dispersants work
Tue May 4, 2010 9:22 PM EDT
By Will Femia
Dr. Ed Overton, an LSU professor and analytical chemist who has been analyzing the oil samples from the spill in the Gulf of Mexico, explains how chemical dispersants work as they'd be applied to spill clean-up.

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/05/04/4242653-blog-bonus-how-chemical-dispersants-work