Posted on 07/01/2010 5:58:54 PM PDT by Qbert
The oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico is clearly harming wildlife and the economy of the region, but just how is it affecting human health?
It's a question coastal residents and visitors want answered -- but so far, those answers are hard to come by.
Although health professionals in Alabama and beyond are monitoring reports of illnesses in the Gulf, they say it could be months or years before the full impact is understood.
"A lot of it depends on how long it continues and to what degree," said Tom Miller, assistant state health officer at the Alabama Department of Public Health. "There are a lot of unknowns, to be honest."
The health department is tracking reports of oil exposure from people seeking treatment in emergency rooms or urgent care centers in Mobile and Baldwin Counties. As of the beginning of this week, 37 people had been tallied since the monitoring began May 14, Miller said.
Of those, 22 had inhaled oil fumes or vapors; 11 had skin contact; three had swallowed the oil and one had both touched and inhaled it. For now, Miller said, the best bet is for residents or visitors to stay away from the oil in the water or on the beaches. The department has reinstated advisories against swimming at and near Dauphin Island and is particularly warning pregnant women, asthmatics, children and the elderly about avoiding contact with the oil, dispersants and vapors. "You don't want to touch it and walk in it, and you don't want to take home a souvenir," Miller said. "We've been getting stories of people taking tarballs home as souvenirs."
(Excerpt) Read more at blog.al.com ...
Some of us are around crude every day, I’ve been coated with, I’ve fell in it, had it in my eyes my mouth and breathe it most every day just like hundreds of thousands of others. They’re really trying to scare people!
This may be a stupid question, but I wonder what will happen (if anything) when the chemicals that were disbursed are swept up and come down as rain elsewhere? How toxic is it? If it breaks up oil, will harm automobile tires that roll through it? Will it harm roofing materials? I know it will be in diluted form, but how much would it take to create damage?
I'm not worried about the petrol, just what they injected in it!!!!!
You do know that Kristallnacht isn't possible here, not without a major reason to disarm/encamp the South.
Clandestine Chemical Contamination/warfare anyone?
Where did Hussein's chem weapons go? Where are they now?
Zacktly whut wuz they injecting into the stream underwater?
If you're talking about the "evil dispersant" CoRexit 9500, then you have nothing to worry about. Its ingredients are pretty innocuous.
A list of the ingredients of CoRexit 9500 and some common uses in consumer products:
Sorbitan, mono-(9Z)-9-octadecenoate....Skin cream, body shampoo, emulsifier in juice
Sorbitan, mono-(9Z)-9-octadecenoate, poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl) derivs....Baby bath, mouth wash, face lotion, emulsifier in food
Sorbitan, tri-(9Z)-9-octadecenoate, poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl) derivs.....Body/Face lotion, tanning lotions Butanedioic acid, 2-sulfo-, 1,4-bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester, sodium salt (1:1).....Wetting agent in cosmetic products, gelatin, beverages
Distillates (petroleum), hydrotreated light....Air freshener, cleaner
The main reason that the eco-freaks are bad-mouthing the dispersant is that it "is" toxic to aquatic species. The surfactants in it coat gills and gill equivalents and interferes with their ability to get oxygen from the water.
Yep. Can’t claim to be a toxicologist, but if oil was some dangerous poison, we’d all be dead.
CNN reports that all of the Americans who worked on cleaning up the Exxon Valdez spill are dead. Average life expentency for them - 50 years old.
The gases coming out of the volcano and the corexit are what is dangerous to human health.
As with everything, some people on shore are going to be more sensitive to these toxins than others. But it does not look good for the workers exposed to the chemicals and gases every day based on past experience. This is a very serious problem for Americans on the Gulf coast.
I don’t trust Obama’s government to let people know - people are going to have to do watch their own health and do their research and save themselves. I don’t think Obama gives a flying flip whether Southerners die or not. He fancies himself Lincoln; the second civil war prez.
Yeah, I feel the same way. I saw an article somewhere today that said the EPA had done tests on Corexit, and that there shouldn’t be any health concerns...but then the article revealed that the EPA hadn’t actually done tests on Corexit when it’s mixed with oil. Nice to know that on day 72 after it’s already been dumped in the water...
That's a big IF! Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Who knows for sure what they injected?
What ever it was the oil brought it to the surface.
It’s soap!
The EPA and the rest of the regulatory agencies know exactly "what they injected".
The whole point of using the dispersant is to NOT "bring the oil to the surface". Oil naturally floats. The purpose of the dispersant is to cause the oil to go into solution and/or into very small droplets (called micelles) so that it does NOT come to the surface (and later wash onto beaches and into marshes), but stays in the water where the naturally occurring oil-eating bacteria can attack and destroy it more effectively.
Bringing oil into solution is precisely what your detergent does in your dishwasher and washing machine, which is why most of the dispersant is SOAP (surfactant).
Plenty of tests have already been done by other entities than the EPA (mostly university labs doing environmental studies of various sorts). At least some of this data can be located on-line. I ran across at least one such study some while back (and no, unfortunately I didn't keep the URL).
All the EPA work will do is cross-check the above studies.
” The EPA knows and the rest.. know exactly “What they injected.”..
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CoRexit 9500 is the only dispersant that has been used. It does NOT contain 2-butoxyethanol.
Yes, CoRexit 9500 is more toxic TO AQUATIC SPECIES than oil, but so are virtually all the alternative dispersants. But its toxicity to humans is nil.
And I suggest you might look at a few sources other than eco-freak propaganda.
Wrong CoRexit. Not used in BP spill. Try again.
LOL. That factor is exactly why BP refused to use it.
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