The nonprofit environmental law group Earthjustice, in July of 2010, filed a lawsuit in federal court to force the EPA to release all available information about the dispersants that were being dumped in large quantities into the Gulf of Mexico. The suit was filed on behalf of the Gulf Restoration Network and the Florida Wildlife Federation. Finally, in July 2011, the EPA released a list of 57 chemicals that are in the dispersants eligible for use under the National Contingency Plan for hazardous chemical spills.. That list would be virtually meaningless for most of us unless you were an organic chemist with an extensive knowledge of the research done on these chemicals. Earthjustice teamed up with Toxipedia to review all the scientic literature on these chemical componds and has now released their comprehensive report. The report, appropriately titled "The Chaos of Cleanup" is available on the Earthjustice website. I stongly recommend bookmarking it and reading the complete report when you have time. A chart outlining the findings on all 44 chemicals for which information could be found is located at Toxipedia.org. (There were no available studies on 13 of the chemical components. In summary:
Potential Impact on Human Health
Of the 57 chemical ingredients, 5 are linked to cancer: 1 is a possible human carcinogen, 1is a likely human carcinogen, 1 caused cancer in tests on rats, 1 caused cancer in animal tests with unknown relevance to humans, and 1 causes effects that can later lead to cancer in humans.
33 chemicals are potential, suspected, or known skin irritants and toxins. Effects include
slight skin irritation, skin sensitization, skin burns, and rash.
33 chemicals are potential, suspected, or known eye irritants. Effects include slight eye
irritation, corrosion, permanent eye damage, and blindness.
11 chemicals are suspected or potential respiratory toxins or irritants.
10 chemicals are suspected kidney toxins.
8 chemicals are suspected reproductive
toxins or have been shown to cause adverse
effects to reproduction in test animals.
7 chemicals are suspected liver toxins.
6 chemicals are suspected neurotoxins.
5 chemicals are suspected to be toxic to the immune system.
4 chemicals are suspected blood toxins.
3 chemicals are associated with asthma.
1 chemical is a suspected to be toxic to the endocrine system.
....
Potential Impact on Marine Environment
8 chemicals are suspected or known to be toxic to aquatic organisms.
5 chemicals are suspected to have a moderate acute toxicity to fish.
4 chemicals possibly adsorb on suspended solids or sediment and thereby pose a greater threat of entering the food chain through consumption by marine organisms.
1 chemical has a high potential for bioaccumulation.
Due to the safety concerns over using an unprecedented amount of dispersant (1.84 million gallons) and using it in ways never tried before (underwater) the EPA
charged BP with finding a safer product than Corexit, but BP waffled and claimed there was 'not enough' of any other product available. The EPA then did require that they be given the exact chemical composition of the two Corexit products used(9527 and 9500). The effects on human health caused by the chemicals in those specific compounds (Corexit 9500and 9527) correlate eerily to reports of symptoms experienced by cleanup workers and Gulf residents who were exposed.
t Sorbitan, mono-(9Z) 9-octadecenoate,poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl) derivs (CAS# 9005-65-6)
Exposure may cause chemical pneumonitis (inflammation of lungs and difficulty
breathing) and intestinal obstruction
Adverse reproductive effects have occurred in experimental animals
t Butanedioic acid, sulfo-, 1,4-bis(2-ethylhexyl)ester, sodium salt (CAS# 577-11-7)
Listed as a suspected neurotoxicant
Toxic to blood
Classified as moderately toxic
Strong irritant to eye and may irritate skin by removing natural oils
Ingestion causes diarrhea and intestinal bloating.
t 2-Propanol, 1-(2-butoxy-1-methylethoxy)(CAS# 29911-28-2)
Listed as a suspected neurotoxicant
Prolonged exposure to skin may cause
drying of the skin, leading to dermatitis
t Distillates (petroleum), hydrotreated light(CAS# 64742-47-8)
Confirmed animal carcinogen with unknown relevance to humans
Prolonged inhalation of high concentrations may damage respiratory system
Frequent and prolonged skin contact may cause dermatitis• Exposure by inhalation can cause dizziness,headache, nausea, drowsiness, and
unconsciousness (NIOSH)
t Ethanol, 2-butoxy, CAS# 111-76-2 (only found in Corexit 9527)• Confirmed animal carcinogen with unknown relevance to humans• Although not registered as a carcinogen,the chemical “should be handled as
a CARCINOGEN - WITH EXTREME CAUTION”according to the New Jersey Department
of Health
Prolonged or repeated exposures can damage liver and kidneys
Exposure may damage developing fetus
Limited evidence that it may damage male reproductive system in animals and
affect female fertility in animals
People exposed to high levels for several hours reported irritation of the nose and
eyes, headache, a metallic taste in their mouths, and vomiting
Unforunately, without more research, this is not causal evidence, but I hope that the judge would take this into consideration when people are suing BP simply to have their medical bills paid for.
After a full year of waiting for EPA to release this information, there are still gaps in what we know about these dispersants. Allowing companies to site confidential business information the exact formulas for each product is not known. Without knowing the percentage of a given chemical in a product, or what combination of chemicals are in each product it becomes impossible to predict what dosage of a product would be toxic or even to predict which product would be safest. A Safe Dispersant Act, which would address some of these issues, was introduced in the Senate last July but never passed.
Unless there are clearer guidelines mandated by the EPA for safety testing (the current regulation has requirements for testing but nosafety criteria) nothing will change. The only requirement, as it stands now, is that a product be at least 45% effective! |
