12 January, 2011

BP Simply Hid the Body

They "simply hid the body" said Ian McDonald, Florida State University  oceanographer.
It may appear to many that the BP oil catastrophy in the Gulf of Mexico is over. But it is just a case of out of sight, out of mind and perhaps, just perhaps that is what was hoped for. But the people of the Gulf are still living with the awful results. It has not gone away at all.
Instead of a thorough clean up, dispersant was used to sink the oil to the bottom of the Gulf and, of course , as it would move,   eventually to other places.  The dispersant was an unprecedented amount and of a kind banned long ago in the UK because of its toxic effect.
Corexit is toxic and not as effective as some especially on the Lousiana crude on which it was used.
Even the EPA admits that Corexit 9500, and  EC9527A are toxic. Corexit was used in the case of the Exxon Valdez and resulted later in human illness including kidney,liver,nervous system, reproductive disorders and cancers.The link between Corexit and these illnesses after Exxon Valdez was confirmed.You can find information on Corexit and disease here, here.
Though these are a small sample of the sites showing correlation of Corexit and disease. There were reports of powdered corexit "sand" on the surface of the ocean along with huge plumes of corexit-oil beneath the surface.  These plumes are still being seen.

How did the  US government allow BP to pour all that dispersant into the Gulf of Mexico knowing that the UK itself had long ago banned that dispersant as too toxic for use?  It was shown in the UK to be harmful to sea life. Yet it was the quick way to "clean" up the oil, without cleaning it up at all. And, with large lawsuits headed their way, that was a prime focus.
Leading marine biologist Dr. Riki Ott said   “This is like treating cancer with something you don’t know is going to work or not, or you don’t know whether the cure is worse than the harm. You don’t know anything.”
BP disputed the claims that the chemical was too toxic , but money talks and when a company's money is on the line they may well jump quickly to clear up a problem. And the British tests on Corexit proved it was just too toxic for use.
Independent chemists testing the Gulf found that the corexit/oil mix was creating new toxic chemicals "some with double bonds".

Now, cleanup workers are becoming ill. Very ill. You can see the photos of just one case HERE. Necrotizing faciitis or flesh eating disease is being seen. Cat fish with bad chemical burns on them are found in abundance and it is not going away.
Children are testing positive for toxins in their bodies as a result of the spraying of Corexit. Some have tied the use of  it to the recent outbreak of Dengue fever and bacterial flesh eating disease increase.
This site  shows  that the problems of the Gulf Oil spill are far from over and far from being minor.  This is a very grave situation that has not been cleared up.  Workers are testing positive for toxins in their blood and infections and flesh eating disease are only a small part of  what is occurring.
Louisiana dead fish. photo:billy nungesser
Besides the illnesses,  fishermen reporting their nets are fouled with oil, besides the reports as far away as Columbia that the oil spill is  creating problems, there are also suspected cover ups of massive fish kills still occurring. We have seen animal deaths go up since the Gulf spill. Is it a contributor, or is it a main reason?
The photo to the right is of the largest fish kill in recorded history.

Perhaps we will not see the true outcome of all this for many years to come. I hope that is not so.



2 comments:

  1. unfortunately companies often take the easy way out with disastrous results

    ReplyDelete
  2. Utterly disgusting. It make me think if I should be buying fish or not because I am sure the fish companies are not going to let us know.

    ReplyDelete