Posted on 06/24/2010 9:26:31 PM PDT by unspun
by Nancy Matthis at American Daughter
The toxic chemical dispersant Corexit 9500 was pumped into the Gulf to counter the oil spill. Now it appears to have gassified, entered the atmosphere, and rained down on inland farmers, damaging crops and killing songbirds:
One month ago, on May 24, The European Union Times wrote about a report prepared by Russia's Ministry of Natural Resources for President Medvedev -- Toxic Oil Spill Rains Warned Could Destroy North America:
A dire report prepared for President Medvedev by Russia's Ministry of Natural Resources is warning ... that the British Petroleum (BP) oil and gas leak in the Gulf of Mexico is about to become the worst environmental catastrophe in all of human history threatening the entire eastern half of the North American continent with "total destruction".By June 10 the San Fransico Chronicle reported crop damage -- BP oil spill Corexit dispersants suspected in widespread crop damage:Russian scientists are basing their apocalyptic destruction assessment due to BP's use of millions of gallons of the chemical dispersal agent known as Corexit 9500 which is being pumped directly into the leak of this wellhead over a mile under the Gulf of Mexico waters and designed, this report says, to keep hidden from the American public the full, and tragic, extent of this leak that is now estimated to be over 2.9 million gallons a day.
The dispersal agent Corexit 9500 is a solvent originally developed by Exxon and now manufactured by the Nalco Holding Company of Naperville, Illinois that is four times more toxic than oil....
A greater danger involving Corexit 9500, and as outlined by Russian scientists in this report, is that with its 2.61ppm toxicity level, and when combined with the heating Gulf of Mexico waters, its molecules will be able to "phase transition" from their present liquid to a gaseous state allowing them to be absorbed into clouds and allowing their release as "toxic rain" upon all of Eastern North America.
Even worse, should a Katrina like tropical hurricane form in the Gulf of Mexico while tens of millions of gallons of Corexit 9500 are sitting on, or near, its surface the resulting "toxic rain" falling upon the North American continent could "theoretically" destroy all microbial life to any depth it reaches resulting in an "unimaginable environmental catastrophe" destroying all life forms from the "bottom of the evolutionary chart to the top"....
....It seems like damage brought by the oil gusher has spread way beyond the ocean, coastal areas and beaches. Collateral damage now appears to include agricultural damage way inland Mississippi.The warning on the Corexit 9500 label is clear enough:A mysterious "disease" has caused widespread damage to plants from weeds to farmed organic and conventionally grown crops. There is very strong suspicion that ocean winds have blown Corexit aerosol plumes or droplets and that dispersants have caused the unexplained widespread damage or "disease"....
"Keep container tightly closed. Do not get in eyes, on skin, on clothing. Do not take internally. Avoid breathing vapor. Use with adequate ventilation. In case of contact with eyes, rinse immediately with plenty of water and seek medical advice. After contact with skin, wash immediately with plenty of soap and water. Wear suitable protective clothing."Now the stuff is raining down on us!
It has been well-known in the oil industry since the 1980s that oil-eating microbes can clean up the oil with no lasting environmental impact. They were developed at the behest of the Texas Land Office and the Texas Water Commission, and used successfully in 1990 to clean up a large oil spill in Galveston (see Business Insider -- An Oil-Eating Microbe That's Been Around Since 1989 Could Single-Handedly Clean Up BP's Entire Oil Spill).
There is big money and even bigger players in this scam. While they are letting the oil blow wide open into the Gulf, the stakes and profit rise.By now an outraged public has become aware of the microbes, which were warehoused in large quantities and available for use in the Gulf. But it is too late to use them now that Corexit has depleted the oxygen in the water. The microbes need oxygen to live long enough to eat the oil.The Dolphins, Whales, Manatees, Sea Turtles and fish suffocate and die. The coastal regions, salt marshes, tourist attractions and the shore front properties are being destroyed, possibly permanently. The air quality is diminished. The Gulf of Mexico fishing industry is decimated.
All to create a need for their expensive and extremely profitable poison.
The European Union Times report sums it up best:
...the greatest lesson to be learned by these Americans is that their government-oil industry cabal has been just as destructive to them as their government-banking one, both of which have done more to destroy the United States these past couple of years than any foreign enemy could dare dream was possible.But to their greatest enemy the Americans need look no further than their nearest mirror as they are the ones who allowed these monsters to rule over them in the first place.
H/T: Serg N of Common Sense Patriots Related reading:
JoAnneMor -- Bombshell exposé. The real reason the oil still flows into the Gulf of Mexico.
[Note: Jo Anne Mor represents the best of the Blogosphere, an ordinary blogger whose dedicated work uncovers hidden evils that endanger us and makes them public knowledge.]
The Next Right -- BP's strange Democrat bedfellows
One of the top media consultants for British Petroleum gave free rent to a politician who became White House Chief of Staff. And, no, this was not Karl Rove giving a freebie to Andy Card. No, the recipient of the favor was Rahm Emanuel and the benefactor was Stanley Greenberg....© Nancy Matthis, all rights reserved, published with permission.
CAS #
Name
Common Day-to-Day Use Examples
1338-43-8
Sorbitan, mono-(9Z)-9-octadecenoate
Skin cream, body shampoo, emulsifier in juice
9005-65-6
Sorbitan, mono-(9Z)-9-octadecenoate, poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl) derivs.
Baby bath, mouth wash, face lotion, emulsifier in food
9005-70-3
Sorbitan, tri-(9Z)-9-octadecenoate, poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl) derivs
Body/Face lotion, tanning lotions
577-11-7
* Butanedioic acid, 2-sulfo-, 1,4-bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester, sodium salt (1:1)
Wetting agent in cosmetic products, gelatin, beverages
29911-28-2
Propanol, 1-(2-butoxy-1-methylethoxy)
Household cleaning products
64742-47-8
Distillates (petroleum), hydrotreated light
Air freshener, cleaner
111-76-2
** Ethanol, 2-butoxy
Cleaners
The EPA, the Centers for Disease Control, and 30 major industrial countries all think this is much better for the environment than the oil.
The environmentalist whackos say otherwise, as does apparently the Russian minister of energy or something like that.
In my opinion, these people are not "experts", they don't seem to know how this stuff actually works, or what it's properties are. The people we pay to make these decisions certainly have come to a different conclusion.
And before you tell me that I can't trust the EPA, when is the last time you remember the EPA saying something that was dangerous is actually SAFE? They are known for telling us that safe things are dangerous.
And when is the last time the CDC told people things were safe when they were not? Isn't the CDC the group that had us all worked up over the swine flu?
Government doesn't underplay things, they are paid to overregulate.
What I've read indicates we have all the ingredients, what we don't have is the relative concentrations. I posted the ingredients above this post in a table format, along with a list of household items that use them.
“I posted the ingredients above this post “
Thank you very much for doing this. This is far more useful than listening to some Green’s babble. Get the numbers. Get the ingredients. It’s the start of moving towards an answer.
Never look diretly at “Corexit” ....
But seriously, I think this is all bad news ....
There are many freepers here from big pharma and big agra that carry water for their masters, I’m sure they are a few who will carry water on this issue here too, they are easy to spot as well.
It couldn’t be that they actually believe in what they do for a living, and are trying to provide their expertise?
No, you’re right, that could be it, it’s just that they’re wrong and in large part brainwashed/uneducated ...
Which will be about to be ignored...
However, the Corexit is separating the oil into its constituent parts, harming both the ocean and the air.
1,250 barrels of Corexit treating 1.6 million barrels of crude oil is doing all of this, rather than the 8,000 psi wellhead pressure, the 40% methane concentration, the mile long transit from release point to surface... So if they cease to treat the oil at the wellhead with Corexit, then everything will be just fine, and we can use all the great traditional clean up methods.
Sorry, I've run out of suspension of physics for this week.
I was at Pensacola Beach yesterday and ate supper at a beachfront restaurant while witnessing the giant photo op of a clean up.
Funny that the only beaches that were closed were the only beaches that would support the caravans of buses and media trucks. Just a half mile away the beaches were open and people swimming.
http://lmrk.org/corexit_9500_uscueg.539287.pdf
Personally, I wouldn’t want prolonged exposure to Skin cream, body shampoo, Baby bath, mouth wash, face lotion, Body/Face lotion, tanning lotions, Wetting agent in cosmetic products, Household cleaning products, Air freshener, or cleaners.
And I certainly wouldn’t want it in my eyes and I wouldn’t want to be inhaling it all day long. Unfortunately for our fish and other wildlife, they have no choice.
There are some dispersants that are as safe as drinking a cup of coffee (I know this for an absolute fact). I don’t recommend you drink Corexit 9500. Some of these would be cheaper too.
Yeah, it might be okay to touch skin cream, body shampoo, cleaners, household cleaning products, etc., but I wouldn’t recommend ingesting it or prolonged exposure.
“I think this is all bad news ....”
Well, of course it’s not good news. It’s difficult to paint an ecological disaster as an Ivory Snow commercial. The situation is what it is. Pols will fight it with sound bites and photo ops, as they have neither expertise or capabilities to solve the problem.
Practitioners, on the other hand, tend to actually DO something about the problem. As yet, there is no perfect solution to the problem facing them. However, they know more than most about what will help the situation. Given the environmental problems we’ll be facing in the short term, I’m not willing to go “all wobbly” when it comes to taking constructive action.
Now, there are those that will go into hysterics simply from what their friends tell them. Others, will forgo parroting the PC mantra and actually expend the time and do some research. It’s not that hard with the internet. What is disheartening is listening to the number of folks that clearly don’t have a clue about what they are talking about. I’m specifically referencing the enviros, and their fellow travelers of the day, the press.
Neither is particularly well educated about the particular subject they are holding forth upon, yet that does not stop them from turning their amp volume up to 11. To listen to them, one might think they were politicians themselves. In truth they are minions of the same, which gets into agendas, and dark alleys that I’m not really not comfortable walking down.
I can’t emphasize this enough. Do your own research, if you are really interested in the problem. Don’t rely on others to do it for you. Most people are quite happy to be led, which accounts for why the country’s in such a pickle of late. There’s no reason you have to make the same mistake.
Thank you.
It's the argument of deceit, to put words in the mouth of one's adversary, then to diecredit them.
Choose your sides wisely.
Or, in this case, if you really wish to, keep arguing that the dispersant they are using is ineffective, therefore they should keep using it. I think I might find more challenging arguments at DU or HuffPo.
BTW, have you seen the video of the jets they are spraying into the petroleum, at its point of entry? BTW2, are you an expert in this field? I have communicated with one. Maybe you would like to be introduced. (Don't worry, this last paragraph is rhetorical.)
They didn't. The EPA asked them about this, and BP responded, and the EPA agreed with the response.
The statement is correct.
Toxicity and Effectiveness | Emergency Management | US EPA
Appendix C to 40 CFR part 300 (PDF) (23 pp, 187K, About PDF) describes methods for required effectiveness and toxicity tests for specific product categories.
Product |
Toxicity (LC50 values in ppm) |
Effectiveness (%) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Menidia (96-hr) |
Mysidopsis (48-hr) |
Prudhoe Bay Crude Oil |
South Louisiana Crude Oil |
Average of Crude Oils |
|
BIODISPERS | 5.95 | 2.66 | 51.00 | 63.00 | 57.00 |
COREXIT® EC9500A | 2.61 | 3.40 | 45.30 | 54.70 | 50.00 |
COREXIT® EC9527A | 4.49 | 6.60 | 37.40 | 63.40 | 50.40 |
DISPERSIT SPC 1000™ | 7.90 | 8.20 | 40.00 | 100.00 | 73.00 |
FINASOL OSR 52 | 5.40 | 2.37 | 32.50 | 71.60 | 52.10 |
JD-109 | 3.84 | 3.51 | 26.00 | 91.00 | 58.50 |
JD-2000™ | 3.59 | 2.19 | 60.40 | 77.80 | 69.10 |
MARE CLEAN 200 | 42.00 | 9.84 | 63.97 | 84.14 | 74.06 |
NEOS AB3000 | 57.00 | 25.00 | 19.70 | 89.80 | 54.80 |
NOKOMIS 3-AA | 7.03 | 5.56 | 63.20 | 65.70 | 64.50 |
NOKOMIS 3-F4 | 100 | 58.40 | 62.20 | 64.90 | 63.55 |
SAF-RON GOLD | 9.25 | 3.04 | 84.80 | 53.80 | 69.30 |
SEA BRAT #4 | 23.00 | 18.00 | 53.55 | 60.65 | 57.10 |
SEACARE ECOSPERSE 52 (see FINASOL® OSR 52) | 5.40 | 2.37 | 32.50 | 71.60 | 52.10 |
SEACARE E.P.A. (see DISPERSIT SPC 1000™) | 7.90 | 8.20 | 40.00 | 100.00 | 73.00 |
SF-GOLD DISPERSANT (see SAF-RON GOLD) | 9.25 | 3.04 | 84.80 | 53.80 | 69.30 |
ZI-400 | 8.35 | 1.77 | 50.10 | 89.80 | 69.90 |
ZI-400 OIL SPILL DISPERSANT (see ZI-400) | 8.35 | 1.77 | 50.10 | 89.80 | 69.90 |
Thank you for the ping.
Your argument: the dispersant is harming the environment and will be a significant toxic source, and should be ceased immediately, and other methods used to clean up the crude oil spill. No words put in your mouth, that is your argument. Please correct me if I am not summarizing it to your satisfaction.
My argument: This isn't a crude oil spill in any conventional manner. What reaches the surface is a separated petrochemical spill that can be broken down into four major groups:
Use of underwater or surface dispersant is immaterial to the component parts I listed - that's what reaches the surface anyway. But using the dispersant helps reduce the damage done by that medium oil.
Now what about the toxic concerns of the dispersant itself? Bleach is a toxic substance. You absolutely don't want to drink the stuff. But put a few drops into contaminated water, or into water that will be stored for long time, you make it drinkable. The source material is deadly - you drink that bleach straight up, you could easily suffer severe health effects. But diluted, it serves as a very helpful substance.
The same can be said for the dispersant. Toxic alone, but so diluted by the volume of water that you're dealing with that it the beneficial effects of breaking apart that medium oil into smaller droplets outweighs any toxic effects.
I know this is completely against the propaganda you've been posting on here, and digs hard into the conspiracy theories, but if you've a credible source that disputes anything I've said in here, I'd love to read it.
The only component material in the dispersant that is not contained in larger quantities in the spill itself or the ocean environment is sulfur, and the sulfur content, according to material safety sheets, is about 6%, or when put into context of release amount including the spill itself, about 4 ppm. Enough that it would create an odor if the spill was on land, but mixed with the trillions of gallons of water in the gulf, unmeasurable by any scientific devices I know of.
To summarize: This isn't a conventional crude oil spill which we can use all the tricks and toys that we've designed over the years. The toxicity of the dispersant is diluted enough to pose no major health risk. Not using the dispersant leaves pools of medium oil which is difficult to clean up due to the surrounding tar solids, and poses a significant risk of damage to the ocean environment.
bump
I guess i don’t understand the chart you posted. IT looks like the Corexit has the lowest “toxicity number” in your chart for both 24 and 48-hour. But I have no idea what that number means, or if smaller is better.
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