From: Bellona
US EPA proposes amendments to oil dispersant use as health issues in Gulf worsen
NEW ORLEANS –Nearly five year after BP’s 4.9 million barrel oil
spill the Gulf of Mexico, which it inundated with 2 million gallons of
the cancer-causing chemical Corexit during clean up efforts, the US
Environmental Protection Agency has proposed amendments to standards
governing dispersant use in oil spills, the agency said earlier this
week.
NEW ORLEANS –Nearly five year after BP’s 4.9 million barrel oil spill
the Gulf of Mexico, which it inundated with 2 million gallons of the
cancer-causing chemical Corexit during clean up efforts, the US
Environmental Protection Agency has proposed amendments to standards
governing dispersant use in oil spills, the agency said earlier this week.
Numerous studies since the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster have
shown that the dispersants BP used on the spill — and especially the
mix of oil and dispersants — was far more toxic to some organisms than anyone knew. Among them was a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Pollution, which said the combination of Corexit and crude is 52 times more toxic than crude alone.
“During the Deepwater Horizon response, chemical dispersants were
used without prior understanding of their impact on the health of the
people and the animals that depend on the Gulf of Mexico,” said Marylee
Orr, executive director of the Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN). “Many of these impacts continue today.” MORE
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