Gulf Coast exposed to chemical 2-butoxyethanol - Deadly to the Valdez Clean Up Crews!

Lots of info about Corexit 9500 (and 9527) on this post:

Thread: Mods gave me permission to repost so here goes - BIO-WARFARE: Corexit dump in the Gulf may just be the perfect delivery vehicle

And, that's where a poster declared the likely suspect as 2-Butoxyethanol as an answer to my question about what's dissolving the barnacles all the way down to the substrate.

These pictures cannot be posted enough, in my humble, heartsick opinion:

A 20 to 30 year-old pier piling on the South shore of Mobile Bay:

August 2009 encrusted with layers of barnacles:



June 2010 at low tide:



As one marine biologist said: "BP has taken a 2 dimensional problem and made it 3 dimensional."

2-Butoxyethanol (bu-tox-zi-eth-an-ol) has many names, including ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylene glycol butyl ether, ethylene glycol n-butyl ether, Butyl Cellosolve, butyl glycol, butyl Oxitol, glycol butyl ether, Dowanol EB, Gafcol EB, Poly-solv EB, and Ektasolve EB. Common abbreviations for 2-butoxyethanol include BE and EGBE. It is a clear, colorless liquid that smells somewhat like ether. Most people can begin to smell 2-butoxyethanol in air at 0.10–0.40 parts of 2-butoxyethanol per million parts of air (ppm). These levels are about 500 times lower than the present standard for worker exposure. 2-Butoxyethanol has been found in air, water, and soil as a contaminant. It is completely soluble in water and in most organic solvents. This means that when 2-butoxyethanol and water or 2-butoxyethanol and organic solvents are mixed, the mixtures form one layer, unlike mixing oil and water which separate into two layers. 2-Butoxyethanol is a fire hazard when exposed to heat, sparks, or open flames.

2-Butoxyethanol in the environment comes from some industrial activities. It is usually produced by a reaction of ethylene oxide with butyl alcohol, but it may also be made by the reaction of ethylene glycol with dibutyl sulfate. 2-Butoxyethanol is widely used as a solvent in protective surface coatings such as spray lacquers, quick-dry lacquers, enamels, varnishes, and latex paints. It is also used as an ingredient in paint thinners and strippers, varnish removers, agricultural chemicals, herbicides, silicon caulks, cutting oils, and hydraulic fluids. It has other uses in metal cleaners, fabric dyes and inks, industrial and household cleaners (as a degreaser), and dry-cleaning compounds. It is also used in liquid soaps and in cosmetics.

[link to www.atsdr.cdc.gov]

2-Butoxyethanol has been around for a looooong time.

[link to www.who.int]

An Excerpt:

"In one report involving a number of small studies,
the exposure of two males to 113 ppm (546 mg/m3) 2-
butoxyethanol for 4 h produced nose and eye irritation
as well as disturbed taste, but there was no evidence of
haemolytic effects. Similar effects were observed in a
second study in which two males and one female were
exposed to 195 ppm (942 mg/m3) 2-butoxyethanol for two
4-h periods, separated by a 30-min period of no
exposure. When two males and two females were
exposed to 100 ppm (483 mg/m3) 2-butoxyethanol for 8 h,
the effects included vomiting and headache. No clinical
signs of haemolysis were observed in any of the
subjects; however, following exposure to 195 ppm (942
mg/m3) 2-butoxyethanol, increased osmotic fragility of
erythrocytes was observed in vitro (Carpenter et al.,
1956)."

A little more near the end of the paper:

"13.2 Advice to physicians
In case of intoxication, immediate supportive
measures should be given, as central nervous system
depression, respiratory paralysis, hypotension, and
metabolic acidosis have been observed in the few hours
post-exposure. Close monitoring for renal toxicity and
possible haemodialysis are mandatory in the subsequent
days (renal insufficiency may develop 2–3 days postexposure)
until recovery is achieved, on average by the
second week post-exposure.

13.3 Health surveillance advice
Periodic medical examination of the haematopoietic
system should be included in a health surveillance
programme.

13.4 Spillage
As 2-butoxyethanol is toxic and absorbed through
the skin, emergency crews need to wear proper equipment,
including a mask with cartridge for organic vapour,
for handling spills. The chemical should not be allowed
to enter drains or watercourses."

awesome, awesome stuff here OP.


thanks for sharing.

You are so welcome, AC! I guess everyone realizes by now that we are husband and wife. We work for ourselves, writing software, so we manage to put a lot of time into reading and research.

We also posted a lot of pictures and videos about the death of the barnacles and bugs and flowers, etc. at Thread: Barnacles and Squirrels in Fort Morgan, Alabama from where we went to Fort Morgan in the Gulf in June.

We have a lot of friends and family in the Gulf...

I hope they stay healthy. You should get them to leave.

Thank you for sharing our concern, AC!

Unfortunately, the mentality in Lower Alabama and along the Emerald Coast is the same as the coonasses: "We don't leave for hurricanes; we don't leave for shit".

I'm gonna see if i can find a link to Diane Sawyer interviewing a group of Louisiana folks where were vehement about it...

Make sure they stay away from any seafood, we saw on German tv tonight people eating seafood in LA, and everyone here is speachless about it.
We really don't know what to say when we see that.

One Louisiana restaurant owner in Diane's interview that i mentioned above said that he was embarrassed to death to be serving shrimp from Texas.

So maybe you watched folks eating shrimp from Texas.

...hope so.