In Gulf Spill, BP Using Dispersants Banned in U.K.

[IndianaGreen]

In Gulf Spill, BP Using Dispersants Banned in U.K.

by Marian Wang, ProPublica - May 18, 2010 2:24 pm EDT

The two types of dispersants BP is spraying in the Gulf are banned for use on oil spills in the U.K. As EPA-approved products, BP has been using them in greater quantities than dispersants have ever been used in the history of US oil spills.

BP is using two products from a line of dispersants called Corexit, which EPA data appears to show is more toxic and less effective on South Louisiana crude than other available dispersants, according to Greenwire.

We learned about the U.K. ban from a mention on the New York Times’ website. (The reference was cut from later versions of the article, so we can’t link to the Times, but we found the piece elsewhere.) The Times flagged a letter Rep. Edward Markey, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, sent to the EPA yesterday. The letter pointed out that both the Corexit products currently being used in the Gulf were removed from a list of approved treatments for oil spills in the UK more than a decade ago. (Here’s the letter.)

As we’ve reported, Corexit was also used after Exxon Valdez and was “later linked with health impacts in people including respiratory, nervous system, liver, kidney and blood disorders.” One of the two Corexit products also contains a compound associated with “headaches, vomiting and reproductive problems at high doses.”

http://www.propublica.org/ion/blog/item/In-Gulf-Spill-BP-Using-Dispersants-Banned-in-UK

[IndianaGreen]

1. Update: Fishermen Report Illness From BP Chemicals

Fishermen Report Illness From BP Chemicals

Toxicologist Says Chemicals Harmful, Can Lead To Death

POSTED: 10:53 pm CDT May 19, 2010
UPDATED: 11:42 pm CDT May 19, 2010

LAFITTE, La. -- More and more stories about sick fishermen are beginning to surface after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The fishermen are working out in the Gulf -- many of them all day, every day -- to clean up the spill. They said they blame their ailments on the chemicals that BP is using.

One fisherman said he felt like he was going to die over the weekend.

"I've been coughing up stuff," Gary Burris said. "Your lungs fill up."

Burris, a longtime fisherman who has worked across the Gulf Coast, said he woke up Sunday night feeling drugged and disoriented.

"It was like sniffing gasoline or something, and my ears are still popping," Burris said. "I'm coughing up stuff. I feel real weak, tingling feelings."

Marine toxicologist Riki Ott said the chemicals used by BP can wreak havoc on a person's body and even lead to death.

http://www.wdsu.com/health/23615203/detail.html

LBN thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4389614