BELEAGUERED energy giant BP was hit with further bad news this morning as it emerged dangerous arsenic levels have been found in seawater around the Gulf of Mexico.
British scientists warned that the oil spill is increasing the level of arsenic in the ocean, and could further add to the devastating impact on the already sensitive environment.
BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig has been spilling between 3,681,500 litres and 911,454,000 litres of oil into the sea per day since it exploded on April 22.
They said the arsenic then gets “magnified” up the food chain, as fish eat small amounts of the deadly poison and may eventually impact humans, researchers said.
Professor Mark Sephton said arsenic, which is found in seawater, was normally filtered out of the ocean when it combined with sediment on the sea floor.
“But oil spills stop the normal process because the oil combines with sediment and it leads to an accumulation of arsenic in the water over time,” he said.
“Arsenic only needs to be a 10th of a part per billion to cause problems.”
He added: “Our study is a timely reminder that oil spills could create a toxic ticking time bomb, which could threaten the fabric of the marine ecosystem in the future.”
http://www.news.com.au/world/more-bad-news-for-bp-as-arsenic-levels-rise-in-seawater-around-the-gulf-of-mexico/story-e6frfkyi-1225888272667
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/gulf_toxic_bomb_xgOomKo8AQzXKzc8aSxh0K
Hey, joe. Guess what keeps the OIL from combining with the SEDIMENTS. Those nasty, evil old DISPERSANTS, that's what. The dispersants keep the oil in solution and suspension, and prevent such combination. So this looks like another place where the use of dispersants was A GOOD THING.