Video: Some concerned over raining oil from use of chemical dispersants on Gulf oil spill

BP continues to use the chemical dispersant corexit 9500 on the Gulf oil spill.  AP Photo

In the video below a person claiming to be in River Ridge, Louisiana along the Gulf Coast records what appears to be oil flowing in the streets after a rainstorm.  The man behind the camera claims that the oil actually came from the skies above.  The presumption is that the storm picked up the oil from the Gulf of Mexico and dumped it back on the coast.  If true, the video would certainly be a source of concern for Gulf Coast residents as it could pose a serious risk to public health, among other things.

Many who saw the video immediately reacted with skepticism.  It would have been possible for the man behind the video to put oil in the street to set up some kind of hoax.  Oil generally does not evaporate and it would therefore theoretically be impossible for a rainstorm to pick up the oil from the Gulf.  Even the Environmental Protection Agency chimed in saying there was "no data, information or scientific basis that suggests that oil mixed with dispersant could possibly evaporate from the Gulf into the water cycle."

However, others are saying that conclusion is bit premature.  The blog Jalopnik cites a 2003 study entitled "Oil in the Sea III: Inputs, Fates, and Effects" which was released by the Ocean Studies Board, Marine Board, and Transportation Research Board for to question the EPA conclusion.  The study shows that oil in open water begins to lose some of its volume.  This process may be accelerated by the use of chemical dispersants which can change the chemical makeup of the oil on the surface.  At that point, the study shows, oil can, in fact, evaporate.

The video and story emerging from reveal part of the tragedy of the Gulf oil spill.  The entire disaster has been described as one giant science project.  The EPA may be correct in saying no evidence exists that chemical dispersants allow oil to evaporate.  However, that evidence may be lacking simply because we have never used chemical dispersants at this rate on this large of a spill before.  Scientific experiments often lead to surprising conclusions.  Unfortunately, in this case the people of the Gulf Coast appear to be the guinea pigs.  We may never find out whether the chemical dispersant did in fact cause oil to rain on the Gulf Coast, and that lack of certainty should be very disconcerting.