PLEASE REPOST THIS! Petition to Stop the Use of Dispersants in the Gulf HERE

Dispersants & Dispersed Oil

BP’s preferred dispersants, thus far, have been Corexit 9500 and 9527, which are manufactured by Nalco, Inc. BP executives and board members have direct financial ties to Nalco, so that the m0re Corexit they use in their “clean-up” efforts the more they stand to profit from the disaster on the back-end.

This explains why the EPA’s May 20th order for BP to stop using Corexit dispersants within 24 hours, due to their high toxicity and relative ineffectiveness versus other products on the market, was entirely disregarded by the company. Sadly, this event revealed just how toothless our government’s regulatory agencies are vis-a-vis powerful multinational corporations, and how critical it is that we not rely on our representatives to hold BP accountable. We need a grassroots movement and must demand the end of further dispersant use in the Gulf.

Let’s take a closer look at Corexit. According to the EPA’s dispersant comparison chart Corexit 9500, for instance, has the highest toxicity to Menindia fish of all 18 dispersants tested. Only 2.61 parts per million of Corexit 9500 (mixed with oil at a ratio of 1:1o) is required to kill 50% of fish exposed to the chemical within 96 hours. In other words, 1 gallon of the Corexit 9500/oil mixture is capable of rendering 383,141 gallons of water toxic to point of being lethal to 50% of Menindia fish within 96 hours of exposure.

When compared to another EPA approved dispersant, Nokomis 3-F4, Corexit 9500 is 38 times more toxic to Menindia fish and 17 times more toxic to Mysdopsis “fairy” shrimp.

Corexit 9500 and 9527 were also determined to be the least effective dispersants of all 18 tested, further confirming that BP’s decision to use these products is based on an attempt to profit handsomely from their use, and not their expressed goal of “cleaning up the mess.”.... (cont.)

[link to oilspilltruth.wordpress.com]