Dangerous Dispersant (Corexit) shares board members with Exxon and BP

Keith Olbermann is reporting that the dispersant being used in the Gulf oil disaster (Corexit) is highly toxic and only about 60% effective at best and there are other dispersants that could be used that are MUCH less harmful and up to 100% effective, but the board members of the company that make Corexit are also on the board of Exxon and BP...

Source

It has been confirmed that the dispersal agent being used by BP and the government is Corexit 9500, a solvent originally developed by Exxon and now manufactured by Nalco Holding Company of Naperville, IL. Their stock took a sharp jump, up more than 18% at its highest point of the day today, after it was announced that their product is the one being used in the Gulf. Nalco’s CEO, Erik Frywald, expressed their commitment to “helping the people and environment of the Gulf Coast recover as rapidly as possible.” It may be that the best way to help would be to remove their product from the fray. Take a look at some of the facts about Corexit 9500:

A report written by Anita George-Ares and James R. Clark for Exxon Biomedical Sciences, Inc. entitled “Acute Aquatic Toxicity of Three Corexit Products: An Overview” states that “Corexit 9500, Corexit 9527, and Corexit 9580 have moderate toxicity to early life stages of fish, crustaceans and mollusks (LC50 or EC50 – 1.6 to 100 ppm*). It goes on to say that decreasing water temperatures in lab tests showed decreased toxicity, a lowered uptake of the dispersant. Unfortunately, we’re going to be seeing an increase in temperatures, not a decrease. Amongst the other caveats is that the study is species-specific, that other animals may be more severely affected, silver-sided fish amongst them.

Oil is toxic at 11 ppm while Corexit 9500 is toxic at only 2.61 ppm; Corexit 9500 is four times as toxic as the oil itself. Sure, a lot less of it is being introduced, but that’s still a flawed logical perspective, because it’s not a “lesser of two evils” scenario. BOTH are going into the ocean water.

More at link...



[edit on 5/17/2010 by Benevolent Heretic]

Thanks for posting this here. Without knowing this I'd already predicted that the very entity that created this catastrophe would profit from it from its cleanup but this is just obscene and sounds almost like a ....Donald Rumsfeld scam. You really can't define the outer contours of these corporations as they blend and meld together as the need arises.

Another band-aid on a broken ankle.


The direct lines are being drawn, but nobody can stop them.

They just laugh at us in that limo en route to the bank.

Nice thread OP, thanks. Kind of odd how it is called corexit, kind of sounds like "corrects it" while doing just the opposite..go figure..

When it comes to petroleum corporations the equations are disgustingly simple:

Oil is scarce = Make money
Oil is plentiful = Make money
Hoard oil and lie about its scarcity to manipulate market = Make money
Make unnecessary wars at the cost of countless lives = Make money
Scorch the earth and kill the oceans = Make money

Any way one slices it, anything that happens, they will ALWAYS make money.

They are the world's biggest drug dealer and we are the addicts, and as long as we're jonesing, they will make money whilst raping us and laughing at our faces, to our faces.

reply to post by ChrisCrikey


I'll never forget the 30 Rock episode where Jack Donaghy says of his mentor (to paraphrase): He invented the night light and then started a campaign to make little kids afraid of the dark, he made billions.

This reminds me of that statement.

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


A couple observations.

Having lawyers as the bases of a government is pretty stupid. They know how to cover their ass and do nothing else.

Government, "supposedly" is there to protect the rights of it's citizens, nothing more, nothing less. How they doing these past few decades?

A company that has been shown, by recent release of information, forced their contractor to follow THEIR orders in the drilling and implementation of the work.

Now, we have a company, using a subsidiary that created a dispersant that may not even work efficiently and maybe very toxic.

This is almost like a bad tragic/comedy in the C movie theaters.

If a government, cannot and does not know what the hell it is doing, that is the main component of the problem, that will not protect the rights of it's citizens because of their complicit nature WITH Mega Corporations and Banksters, it is HIGH time we do something about it.

This government, in the past 3 months will not even talk to the media or the citizens without having it's questions prescreened. This government that has enslaved us to a debt that is over 10 times the GDP of the nation. This government that has willfully and neglectfully left our borders wide open while being entrenched in two foreign wars for WHAT THE HELL we do not even know. This government and it's cronie companies and banks have become a THREAT to our very existence as a nation.

IS it high time we eliminate the problem at it's source, at it's core? The federal government must be reined back to it's CONSTITUTIONAL parameters, NOW.

Originally posted by schrodingers dog
They are the world's biggest drug dealer and we are the addicts, and as long as we're jonesing, they will make money whilst raping us and laughing at our faces, to our faces.

You said it, friend. As long as we're driving our gas guzzlers and paying $2-3 a gallon, we're the source of the problem. The people have the power to stop this. That's probably the saddest part of it all.

reply to post by endisnighe


People are always complaining about government regulations, though. Would you really want government to come in and dictate where corporations have to buy their products and impose strict regulations on them?

I mean, I WOULD. I WANT government to regulate corporations, but most people on ATS are totally against it and (when it's convenient) they rail against the government for being so "big" and intrusive. You can't have it both ways.

The government is complicit in this, I agree, and so does Obama) but the main problem is the greed and the corporations who totally screw the people for their own profit.

Gulf Oil Spill Claims First Obama Administration Official

Chris Oynes, the Interior Department official in charge of overseeing offshore oil and gas drilling for the Minerals Management Service, will step down in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

You know what they say about hindsight... I'm not defending the government, but we need to look at the whole picture. When a teenager robs a bank, it's not just his mom's fault.

As I posted on the other thread. I'm off the grid, dont watch much television so I am out of touch with what landlocked America so I do know if the average American gets the magnitude of this. Everone I know is sick to their stomachs over this calamity and feel powerless. Many people will volunteer to clean up in their power boats if someone would simply play their fuel bill. The FED has dropped the ball and the corporation$ involved are not capable of fixing a problem of this magnitude. The fact they used so much of a toxic chemical already is insane.

I am worried what will happen to the water quality for the rest of my lifetime. The long term effects could last generations.

Originally posted by jrod
As I posted on the other thread. I'm off the grid, don't watch much television so I am out of touch with what landlocked America so I do know if the average American gets the magnitude of this. Everyone I know is sick to their stomachs over this calamity and feel powerless. Many people will volunteer to clean up in their power boats if someone would simply play their fuel bill. The FED has dropped the ball and the corporation$ involved are not capable of fixing a problem of this magnitude. The fact they used so much of a toxic chemical already is insane.

I am worried what will happen to the water quality for the rest of my lifetime. The long term effects could last generations.

Not just gasoline, you need respirators, hazmat suits, and the stuff to remove any oil from your skin (because this stuff does not come off easy). Work crews have been pulled from clean up sites, seven went to the hospital yesterday, this is toxic stuff!! ... Leave your boat moored in your garage or under a tarp next to your house!!

It is not just the water, but the air ...

The possibility exits that the Corexit can make oil go airborne (Wiki, etc) ... a theory someone needs to clarify the facts on ASAP.


I think they are hoping it will stay down under the warm water ... but nothing is certain, esp. with the hurricane season coming up.

It is not just your water table (and all the wetlands) ...

... It is all the states which get sea air from the Gulf ... and if this goes out the mouth of the Gulf and up the coast ... it may become a world size problem (because it absorbs into clouds) ... AND ... it really is toxic!!

Corexit can go airborne and be captured by clouds: ( maybe greenhouse stock will go up)

Christ!

Ingredients of Controversial Dispersants Used on Gulf Spill Are Secrets No More

Originally posted by schrodingers dog
When it comes to petroleum corporations the equations are disgustingly simple:

Oil is scarce = Make money
Oil is plentiful = Make money
Hoard oil and lie about its scarcity to manipulate market = Make money
Make unnecessary wars at the cost of countless lives = Make money
Scorch the earth and kill the oceans = Make money

Any way one slices it, anything that happens, they will ALWAYS make money.

They are the world's biggest drug dealer and we are the addicts, and as long as we're jonesing, they will make money whilst raping us and laughing at our faces, to our faces.

Here you go!

The fix is already in drums and waiting to land on the crude and gobble it all up!

Already tested in the Gulf with 100% excellent results and there is plenty (course with the current circumstance ... ??? ... Not to worry, the little guys will self replicate, so once on the job, all will be well!)

It is a tad long, but it has all the pertinent facts ... so happy day!

Gulf Oil Spill - gutsy solution .. 6 weeks all fixed!