Agent Used in Gulf Spill Is Destroying Marine Life

[David]

Big surprise that when you dump millions of gallons of Corexit into the Gulf to sink all the oil you spilled that it is going to mess things up big time.

Of course, I know that many people don't care about issues unless it impacts them personally. So, consider this: Many local seafood restaurants get their crabs and shrimp from the Gulf when local supply can not meet the demand or it is out of season. Yum, I'll have the Corexit Sampler Platter...and then you have to wonder why cancer and other similar diseases are at a near epidemic level these days.

[FONT=verdana, arial, tahoma][FONT=verdana, arial, tahoma]"The crabs aren't coming in. The problem is on the supply side. The Maryland crab harvest doesn't begin until April 1, and the supply from the winter harvest from the Gulf of Mexico has dwindled.[/FONT][/FONT]"

-- Maryland Seafood - News

""People in Chesapeake Bay used to brag about their crabs over the years," said Vince Guillory, a biologist with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. "Now when you go to eat crabs on the Chesapeake Bay, chances are they're Louisiana crabs.""

-- Crab-crazy Maryland finds itself a victim of BP's Gulf oil spill | NOLA.com

"By the time of the BP oil spill, [Leonard] Copsey (Drift Inn in Mechanicsville) had become accustomed to relying on Louisiana for oysters, shrimp and whole blue crabs, which the restaurant prepares in the traditional manner of the Maryland shore: steamed and dusted with Old Bay, a seasoning blend that has many of the qualities you'd find in a Louisiana seafood boil, minus the intense cayenne heat."

-- Crab-crazy Maryland finds itself a victim of BP's Gulf oil spill | NOLA.com

So, you might want to ask the source of your seafood when you go out. But, then there is always a chance the server won't give you an accurate answer or they could outright lie to you if they know why you are asking.

Scientists Discover the Agent Used in Gulf Spill Cleanup Is Destroying Marine Life​

3 years after the BP oil spill, new truths come to light—from deep inside the ocean​

http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/04/24/corexit-bp-deepwater-horizon-oil-spill-effects-marine-life​

Three years ago, when BP’s Deepwater Horizon began leaking some 210 million gallons of Louisiana Crude into the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. government allowed the company to apply chemical “dispersants,” Corexit, to the oil slick to prevent toxic gunk from reaching the fragile bays, beaches, and mangroves of the coast, where so much marine life originates. But TakePart's Ocean Expert expert and "Death at Seaworld" author, David Kirby, now reports that a number of recent studies show that BP and the feds may have made a huge mistake, for which everything from microscopic organisms to bottlenose dolphins are now paying the highest price.
Corexit dispersants emulsify oil into tiny beads, causing them to sink toward the bottom. When BP began spraying the Gulf, critics said Corexit is not only toxic to marine life on its own, but when combined with crude oil, the mixture becomes several times more toxic than oil or dispersant alone. Not surprisingly, BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley defended use of the dispersant saying it is s harmless to marine life,
In April 2012, Louisiana State University’s Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences was finding lesions and grotesque deformities in sea life—including millions of shrimp with no eyes and crabs without eyes or claws. Further to that, research has found:

• [FONT=&quot]Toxins at 3000 times the acceptable level in gulf seafood[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Dead dolphins in record numbers, killed by weakened immune systems and brucella bacteria[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Blue crab populations wiped out[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Oyster beds not reproducing[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]60% of coral on platforms killed[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Toxicity to rotifers, base of food chain, is 52 times higher with Corexit[/FONT]

Mutated seafood is not the only legacy left behind by Corexit. Earlier this week, TakePart wrote about Steve Kolian, a researcher and diver who, along with his team, took water and marine life samples at several locations in the months following the spill after Corexit had been used. Now, they and countless other Gulf residents are sick, with symptoms resembling something from a sci-fi horror film, including bleeding from the nose, ears, breasts, and even anus. Environmentalists, fishermen, and Gulf Coast residents contend.


Full Story: http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/04/24/corexit-bp-deepwater-horizon-oil-spill-effects-marine-life
The Effects on 9 Marine Animals Gallery: http://www.takepart.com/photos/corexit-bp-deepwater-horizon-oil-spill-effects-marine-life

 

[GWguy]

I find this as absolutely no surprise at all.

But I am heartsick about it. Not for me for the loss of seafood, I'm not a big seafood eater. The incredible damage to the marine environment is staggering. This is one that may take generations to recover from, and never fully.

 

[mamatutu]

Thanks for posting such very important information. It is truly heartbreaking and depressing. Mr. Dudley of BP probably had no clue of the ramifications of Corexit, and if he did, he lied to America. I am sure he was ready to go to any lengths to get the mess under control, and America off his back. I couldn't bring myself to look at the link of the 9 marine animals affected by this tragedy. Very sad, indeed.

 

[MMDad]

I wonder which is the lesser evil? The oil or the Corexit? Would the gulf be better off today if they had not used the Corexit?

 

[GWguy]

I wonder which is the lesser evil? The oil or the Corexit? Would the gulf be better off today if they had not used the Corexit?

Not sure, but this isn't very good...

Corexit is not only toxic to marine life on its own, but when combined with crude oil, the mixture becomes several times more toxic than oil or dispersant alone.

but while the oil may have been less toxic, it may have fouled and choked life anyway.

 

[MMDad]

Not sure, but this isn't very good...


but while the oil may have been less toxic, it may have fouled and choked life anyway.

That's what I'm wondering - if the cure actually helped or just made it worse. The Government measured their success by the amount that made it to shore. If all they did was hide it, but made the impact worse, they did worse than if they had just left it alone.

 

[bcp]

Not sure, but this isn't very good...


but while the oil may have been less toxic, it may have fouled and choked life anyway.

everytime the smart guys "fix" something, they end up screwing something else up worse.

but, to point.
The oil may have been less toxic, but killed more right off. Where the Corexit prevented a massive kill, yet the effects are deadly.

the question is this, what will be the lasting result in 20 or 30 years?
If the oil would have dissipated and been gone in 20, yet the chemicals used to sink it are still going to be at toxic levels. then we have a problem.

 

[GWguy]

When I was growing up, I spent many many hours on the beach of Long Island Sound, the 50s and 60s. I can't tell you how many times I stepped in 'tar', oil discharged from vessels directly into the sound, before there were clean air and water acts to prevent it.

There may have been tar on the beach, but the water was clear, marine life was abundant, rarely was there a sick or dead animal washed up. One of our favorite things was to use a small net to skim the surface of the water to see what we could get. We'd always find teeny tiny (1/4 to 1/2 inch) blowfish, flounder, pipefish, just all kinds of stuff, and it was all healthy. No lesions, no third eye (Blinky from Simpsons). It wasn't uncommon to bring in 2 to 3 foot stripped bass and blue fish every night.

I'm thinking they would have been far better off to just capture as much oil as possible with booms and forget the dispersants.

 

[bcp]

I'm thinking they would have been far better off to just capture as much oil as possible with booms and forget the dispersants.

or accept help from the countries that offered to send their oil skimmers down to assist in the clean up. Sometimes is ok to swallow your pride and not be the worlds hero.

 

[MMDad]

or accept help from the countries that offered to send their oil skimmers down to assist in the clean up. Sometimes is ok to swallow your pride and not be the worlds hero.

Or maybe they didn't want help because then these other countries would see what they were doing and let us know how bad it was.

The politics of that whole situation stunk. They were trying to make it look like they were in control, had everything handled, and were going to make BP clean up everything. Then they kicked out everyone who knew anything and screwed it up, all the while controlling everything that got to the press.

They knew that dead birds on the beach would be impossible to hide. But dead marine life in a few years? People will never notice.

 

[GURPS]

Not sure, but this isn't very good...

That's what I'm wondering - if the cure actually helped or just made it worse.

everytime the smart guys "fix" something, they end up screwing something else up worse.

when has the Gov. every done anything in a 'hurry' and the program was a success ...... let alone things they study for decades and still fork up

 

[DEEKAYPEE8569]

Big surprise that when you dump millions of gallons of Corexit into the Gulf to sink all the oil you spilled that it is going to mess things up big time.

Of course, I know that many people don't care about issues unless it impacts them personally. So, consider this: Many local seafood restaurants get their crabs and shrimp from the Gulf when local supply can not meet the demand or it is out of season. Yum, I'll have the Corexit Sampler Platter...and then you have to wonder why cancer and other similar diseases are at a near epidemic level these days.

[FONT=verdana, arial, tahoma][FONT=verdana, arial, tahoma]"The crabs aren't coming in. The problem is on the supply side. The Maryland crab harvest doesn't begin until April 1, and the supply from the winter harvest from the Gulf of Mexico has dwindled.[/FONT][/FONT]"

-- Maryland Seafood - News

""People in Chesapeake Bay used to brag about their crabs over the years," said Vince Guillory, a biologist with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. "Now when you go to eat crabs on the Chesapeake Bay, chances are they're Louisiana crabs.""

-- Crab-crazy Maryland finds itself a victim of BP's Gulf oil spill | NOLA.com

"By the time of the BP oil spill, [Leonard] Copsey (Drift Inn in Mechanicsville) had become accustomed to relying on Louisiana for oysters, shrimp and whole blue crabs, which the restaurant prepares in the traditional manner of the Maryland shore: steamed and dusted with Old Bay, a seasoning blend that has many of the qualities you'd find in a Louisiana seafood boil, minus the intense cayenne heat."

-- Crab-crazy Maryland finds itself a victim of BP's Gulf oil spill | NOLA.com

So, you might want to ask the source of your seafood when you go out. But, then there is always a chance the server won't give you an accurate answer or they could outright lie to you if they know why you are asking.

If "Speedy Dry" was used to capture then sink the oil in the water, the EPA would have something to say. If Dawn dishwashing liquid was used to disperse the oil, the EPA would have something to say. In addition to the other option; 'the oceans will eventually clean themselves; which of the three is the lesser evil? True, water breathing marine life cannot process Speedy Dry or dishsoap; but they cannot process oil tainted water either; and Speedy Dry is essentially ground up clay. Once it captures the oil, it will sink. :shrug:
Ol' BP just can't win. Granted, had the spill not happened in the first place.....but it did. :Fixed:

 

[ladyhawk]

If "Speedy Dry" was used to capture then sink the oil in the water, the EPA would have something to say. If Dawn dishwashing liquid was used to disperse the oil, the EPA would have something to say. In addition to the other option; 'the oceans will eventually clean themselves; which of the three is the lesser evil? True, water breathing marine life cannot process Speedy Dry or dishsoap; but they cannot process oil tainted water either; and Speedy Dry is essentially ground up clay. Once it captures the oil, it will sink. :shrug:
Ol' BP just can't win. Granted, had the spill not happened in the first place.....but it did. :Fixed:

In addition many of the things that are listed as far as the "Scientific Study" are and have been known for years... The research listed is mostly old news.. LOL

June

 

[DEEKAYPEE8569]

In addition many of the things that are listed as far as the "Scientific Study" are and have been known for years... The research listed is mostly old news.. LOL

June

To the casual observer though, to "let nature 'heal' itself" from something that was essentially "man made" just doesn't sound like a viable option, even though it may just be. The discussions then turn to all the 'what if's' and 'at what cost.....,' if nothing is done. The sad part; there is no immediate "magic" fix.