Gulf Oil Spill: Federal Estimates Again Eclipsed By Reality

Of what is known about Corexit (banned in the UK) is that one of the ingredients causes damage to red blood cells and kidneys in laboratory animals



A professor with the University of Maryland noted there has not been adequate research to say if Corexit, or any dispersant, is less harmful than oil.



"What you're doing is...making an environmental tradeoff. You're not getting oil coming to those shorelines. What you're doing though, is dispersing that oil down...down into the ocean where you're going to be killing and impacting the environment there," she said. And the long-term effects are unknown, she added.



The EPA originally approved the use of dispersants on May 10 and BP has defended the use of the chemicals even after the agency began questioning the toxicity levels. Ault said dispersants allow the oil to break down under the water, avoiding a large, and visual sign, of BP's liability.



"It's trying to reduce the surface impact," he said. "The reason they are using it is to reduce the obvious visual effect."



http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/06/07/95474/with-1-million-gallons-of-dispersants.html
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