MSM finally reporting Dispersants linked to Cancer

WTSP Article

"People immediately began raising questions," says Marianne Engelman Lado of environmental law firm Earthjustice. "People started feeling respiratory problems, getting rashes, some reported vomiting."

"People asked BP, people asked the government what is in these products? The government said, we can't tell you...it's secret."

That response triggered Freedom of Information Requests from several environmental watchdog groups and a lawsuit to force federal officials to make the information public. Earthjustice eventually had their request granted confirming potential dangers.

According to an Earthjustice report released Monday, two formulas both manufactured by a company called Nalco were used in the Gulf, Coreexit 9500 and 9527.

They're just two of the 14 U.S. approved dispersants which altogether include 57 ingredients.

It remains unclear which of the ingredients were used as part of the Coreexit formula, but among the total 57 ingredients approved,

5 were associated with cancer
33 were associated with skin irritation, rashes to burns
33 were linked to eye irritation
11 were suspected respiratory irritants
10 were suspected kidney toxins.

The news is finally starting to get around to covering the Dispersant side of the Gulf Oil problem. This is Florida News, and it confirms some of the more common reports coming out of Louisianna and Mississippi. The rashes, vomiting, and the connection to the ingredients in Corexit.

I'm sure BP will just pay off the families and continue to hide the true size and scope of the disaster, but at least it is trickling into the mainstream news a little bit.

In learning how the Coreexit actually worked (by breaking the hydraulic bonds created by the ocean's surface tension, allowing the oil to sink below the surface) I didn't think it would bode well for humanity, given we're made out of water.

For over a year now, my happiest dreams involve me visiting seafood buffets. I suppose a replacement for Antonio Sabato Jr. was inevitable, but this just makes me feel old.

reply to post by chasingbrahman


In the beginning, I was worried about the huge amounts of the Corexit they were allowing to be used. The more I researched Corexit, the less concerned I became, because it is mostly just a super-charged soap. Then I became involved in the Test the Rain project that one of our ATSers initiated, and after seeing all of the legal hurdles and coverup that was involved, I became very concerned again.

I live on the Gulf Coast, and I know people that were out working the boom boats, and I know fisherman here, and I know scientists with Marine Labs here, and over time, it appeared everything was going fine. The Marine Life was not affected too much in my area, and the fisherman were still doing well.

Then, the dead dolphins started showing up, and there were some other sick marine life, and the reports from other states of sick people began to surface.

At this point, I don't know what to think, but anytime there is a coverup, there must be a reason, so I am starting to think BP has been covering up a lot of stuff from the very beginning. I also think we can't possibly know the extent of the damage for many years. The stuff will affect breeding, and development, and it will have to pass through the entire food chain. We won't know how bad it is for a very long time, and I'm afraid it will be much worse than we can imagine.

Hopefully, by the time the studies are conclusive and the evidence stacked, the disaster won't be a fuzzy memory from several summers prior. I worry that no matter what we learn from this, when the time comes again, profit will trump all. But perhaps pessimism has gotten the better of me today.

Dolphins escaping earth while issuing a "Thanks for the fish" farewell just isn't the sidesplitting comedy it once was.

reply to post by getreadyalready


Glad to see the *American* MSM finally reporting a little truth. Guess they have to eventually when too many people end up becoming ill.

Others in the world have been reporting it since early in the year:
english.aljazeera.net...

Good, but sad find. S & F for ya.

Didn't they list the ingredients in corexit while the event was happening? Pretty sure they did. It was one of the reasons folks were so angry (justifiably so). I'll do a search of the Times Picayune....
Nope, you're correct. My memory was off. They claimed the exact chemical makeup and ingredients were a trade secret.
EPA first said no, then when BP told them to say "yes", they said yes.
This aint Popeyes Chicken, man!

Thank you for shaing.

reply to post by getreadyalready


Cool you already posted this.

I just found it at Toxipedia.org today.

I have been looking over it, very distressing information.

Hell, the oil itself is no where near as dangerous as the dispersant materials.

I would have to say we just let the oil spill run it's natural biodegrade course, putting this stuff on it just seems to make things far far worse than they have to be.

Thanks for linking the report to everyone, however it's sad that no one really cares about this event anymore.

reply to post by muzzleflash


I agree. The oil is somewhat natural. When it floats on the surface and washes up on shore it makes a mess of the wetlands and breeding grounds, but the sun will photo-degrade it, and the filter fish will process it, and the enzymes in the water will take care of it. Once we added the other chemicals, we exasperated the situation exponentially.

We won't know the true effects of this mess for 20 years, and now there is pretty good evidence that the sea floor is seeping oil again, and they are out laying boom again.

Now what?

Originally posted by getreadyalready


We won't know the true effects of this mess for 20 years, and now there is pretty good evidence that the sea floor is seeping oil again, and they are out laying boom again.

Now what?

I heard about the recent seeps a few weeks ago. From what I read they checked the wellheads and they were fine. This led me to believe it was from cracks in the sea floor as well.

I didn't know it was enough to cause them to lay out more boom.

Any idea how large this recent event has become?

reply to post by muzzleflash


Supposedly it is 10 miles long and growing. I heard they hired 30 boats to lay boom.

This prompted reporters from the Moblie Press-Register to hire a boat and travel to the site themselves. Reporter Ben Raines wrote of his experience: “Floating in a boat near the well site, Press-Register reporters watched blobs of oil rise to the surface and bloom into iridescent yellow patches. Those patches quickly expanded into rainbow sheens 4 to 5 feet across. Each expanding bloom released a pronounced and pungent petroleum smell.”

Source

Additional Source with Video

reply to post by getreadyalready


Interesting, thanks for the video.

It appears this video is from a few weeks back as well.

If it was indeed a seafloor crack leak, I wonder if there are any actual methods devised in which to stop it? I am not sure exactly how you could plug such a leak without taking a seismic reading of the geology under the surface to determine exactly what's going on.

Perhaps toying with the pressure of the well itself can lessen the pressure and cause the leak to taper off a bit? I don't really know, especially since we have a great lack of data.

Hopefully we can find out more about what is going on under the surface sometime soon.

reply to post by getreadyalready


Missed this one. Thanks - am careful to buy shrimp labelled Pacific.

S&F &bump

It just saddens me sometimes what companies will willingly do. I can't believe what some families are doing just to cope.