For over a month now, BP has been tromping around with seeming impunity on our marshes, beaches and waters. The oil giant has gone so far as to pay nothing more than lip service when the EPA finally ordered them to find something less toxic than Corexit. We spoke with Bruce Gebhardt, with U.S. Poly., the manufacturers of Dispersit. They were asked for a bid, basically how quickly they could deliver some product, and how quickly they could deliver over 50,000 gallons per day of their water-based dispersing agent. Though Dispersit has been poised for just such an event, no order was placed. An even less toxic agent that BP has already ordered, 100,000 gallons of Sea Brat, sits on a loading dock waiting for BP to take delivery. [Read more…]
BP and the EPA Working in Symphony to Cover Up the Oil Spill?
From the very beginning, BP has been less than forthright about the damages and potential damages from the oil spewing out of the hole in the earth’s crust some 5000 feet below sea level and 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana.
From the very beginning, they have been arbitrarily underestimating the quantity of oil leaking from the exploded rig.
From the very beginning, they have been plotting to sweep the majority of the mess under the saltwater carpet. But how do you do that? With very careful, very clever planning, and a little help from some friends at the Environmental Protection Agency.
Early on, BP began spraying and injecting solvents into offshore waters. They claimed that dispersing the oil would be a good idea, better for the wetlands. Even then, their plot was in place. They knew that the truth was that the solvents would make the oil exponentially more toxic, (as would adding the solvent itself) but that didn’t matter. Dispersal solvents would see to it that a large portion of that oil never floated to the top or showed up at the shoreline. Why would they do that? Simple enough: If it doesn’t rise to the surface or wash up onto the shores, BP doesn’t have to pay to clean it up. [Read more…]
E.P.A. Violates Clean Water Act!
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which predicated the Clean Water Act of 1972, has violated that very law. In granting BP any sort of permission to utilize Corexit under the water and offshore, the EPA clearly exceeded its autonomy and mandate. We are calling for both BP and the EPA to be held accountable. Protect The Ocean demands that all use of Corexit (or any other offshore use of any “dispersing agent” cease immediately.
Corexit was approved for a very specific purpose — coastal oil spill cleanup. It was approved to be utilized in a very specific manner: sprayed (droplets, not mist) from airplanes or boats, over the oil slick. The approval goes into very exact language as to how the product should be utilized, and even talks about mitigating possible consequence to the humans spraying the product. It was NEVER cleared for deployment UNDER the water, nor offshore, nor at such depths. Temperature, pressure and environment all come into play, and those factors cannot be ignored. As a chemist, Lisa Jackson knew this… and yet she allowed BP to proceed. [Read more…]
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