The dispersant presently being used to break up errant oil in the Gulf of Mexico, known as COREXIT®, is reported to be less toxic than alternative products, according to preliminary tests carried out by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Despite this assertion, environmentalists are concerned about the use of this dispersant chemical compound and are making their concerns known.
Aaron Viles of the Gulf Restoration Network, a New Orleans-based environmental group, has voiced his concern that the consequences of the use enormous quantities of the compound in the Gulf, may have unintended, damaging consequences.
Viles complains: "This has never been done, this kind of volume, this kind of application," adding "It's all really a giant science experiment, and we're terribly concerned that in the long run the impacts are going to be significant, and we really don’t know what we're doing to the ecosystem."
The group is calling for the immediate cessation of dispersant use in the Gulf. Viles said: "We're very concerned that BP is using a product that they know that they have on hand, and that they're not really being challenged to use better products."
In May of this year, the group sent a letter to President Obama, detailing some of their concerns.
Corexit is produced by Nalco Holding Company, which is associated with BP and Exxon. The current product being used in the Gulf is COREXIT 9500, which replaced the use of COREXIT 9527 after the latter was deemed by the EPA to be too toxic for use in the Gulf.
On May 19, 2010 the EPA demanded that BP choose a less toxic alternative to Corexit, to be selected from a list of EPA-approved dispersants, giving the company 24 hours to comply with the order. BP refused, claiming that alternative compounds were not available in great enough supply to meet the demands of such a massive spill and also voiced concerns over the toxicity of the alternative compounds.
Although the manufacturer's safety data sheet on Corexit concludes that "The potential human hazard is: Low,” they also admit that "No toxicity studies have been conducted on this product." Nalco advises that workers applying Corexit should wear breathing protection and work in a ventilated area.
Environmentalists have worked to compel Nalco to publicly reveal the chemical compound and concentrations of each chemical are in the product, but although Nalco has divulged the chemical constituents, they have refused to release any data about concentrations. The company claims that the information is proprietary and considers that information to be a trade secret. They also claim to have shared that information with the EPA.
One chemical found in Corexit 9527, 2-butoxyethanol, was identified as having caused lasting health problems in workers involved in the cleanup of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, including "respiratory, nervous system, liver, kidney and blood disorders".
The government's Deepwater Horizon Response website reports that more than more than 1.62 million gallons of dispersants have been used thus far, including more than 1.03 million gallons of surface dispersant and more than 590,000 gallons of subsea dispersant.
© 2010 Craig Portwood
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