Jerald Ault, a professor at the University of Miami, said Corexit could have “significant” effects on the food chain and on environmental and human heath.
“It’s uncharted waters and the magnitudes are so large,” Ault said of the potential consequences and of the reports that dolphins and other animals are dying from the chemicals. “Eventually the correlation starts to say, (the animals) weren’t dying before and they are dying now. Geez, I wonder what the correlation is.”
In a letter to BP’s CEO Tony Hayward, officials from Louisiana asked about the unknown effects of dispersants.
“As heads of Louisiana’s agencies that oversee public health, environmental quality and wildlife and fisheries... we have serious concerns about the lack of information related to the use of dispersants in fighting the oil spill at and below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, and what, if any, impact the dispersants could have on our people, water and air quality,” the letter read.
BP replied and sent documents from Nalco — the manufacturer of Corexit — that classified the health and environmental risks as “low,” despite the fact that one of the ingredients causes damage to red blood cells and kidneys in laboratory animals
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