Some say it is highly toxic and will be in the food chain for the rest of our lives.
Others say it is relatively harmless.
What is the truth?
Was the use of the dispersant Corexit an intelligent response to the oil spill?
Tag Archives: dispersant
Oil Spill Discussion Takes Center Stage
ResearchOne’s kick-off event featured a look at the Deepwater Horizon oil spill impact.
TAMPA, Fla. (Oct. 11, 2010) – ResearchOne kicked off Monday with a look back at USF’s work in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which for the past six months has placed the College of Marine Science on the international stage.
While scientists broke new ground in tracking the spill, identifying the plumes of oil beneath the water and in the Gulf’s sediments and its potentially toxic effects on marine life, still much work is underway to fully assess the impact of the environmental disaster.
“We have never had so much oil and so much dispersant put into the Gulf of Mexico,” said College of Marine Science Dean William Hogarth. “We don’t know what the ramifications will be.”
Michael Crosby, Senior Vice President for Research for Mote Marine Laboratory, a USF partner in spill research and in other endeavors, said scientists must take a long-view of the Gulf to see how species adapt to the impact. if the Gulf follows the same course as Prince William Sound did in Alaska after the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill, it could be a decade or more before the true impact on marine life is known, he said.
“Just because the well is capped doesn’t mean this is over by a long shot,” Crosby said. “The real damage, the real impact to the ecosystem and the economy of this state has yet to come.”
USF President Judy Genshaft launched the ResearchOne events, noting that relevant, real-world science remains USF’s distinguishing attribute and connects the world of research science to everyday events and the public in a meaningful way.
“We were out there right away, and that makes all the difference,” Genshaft said.
Below is a video documentary on the College of Marine Science’s response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill:
Thick patches of floating brown foam washing up all over Gulf — Previously tested positive for “oil and dispersants” (PHOTOS & VIDEO)
Mac MacKenzie, Grand Isle LA, January 16, 2011:
Click here for full album.
Lorrie Williams, Ocean Springs MS, January 17, 2011:
Click here for full album.
Denise Rednour, Long Beach MS, January 16, 2011:
What’s the foam? Recent independent test results from Long Beach, MS were revealed in a January 12, 2011 article by Dahr Jamail and Erika Blumenfeld, The Tragic State of the Gulf of Mexico: Sampling Reveals Oil and Dispersants on Mississippi Coast:
[A] sample from the area, containing both sand and a brownish foam on the water that local residents and fishermen believe is the result of dispersed oil, contained 14.68 ppm ORO, confirming the presence of crude oil. this sample also contained ethylene glycol, a chemical in the dispersants. …
A small inlet on the beach was filled with brown foam and oil sheen. a sample of sand covered with the foamy sheen contained 175 ppm ORO. …
A dead jellyfish found on Long Beach, Mississippi, nearby a large amount of the aforementioned thick, brown foam, was tested and found to contain 15 ppm of ethanol, one of the chemicals in the dispersants, along with low levels of n-Butanol, another chemical present in the dispersants…
Based on comparative analysis of Corexit 9500 and the sample collected, the sample appears to contain approximately 500 ppm of dispersant.
A water sample in the same area, taken in an area covered in thick, brown foam, contained propylene glycol, one of the confirmed ingredients of Corexit 9500.
Most efficient oil spill clean up method ?
out of skimmers, sorbents and dispersant which of these methods is the most efficient method to clean up an oil spill
factors that depend on efficiency are:
cost
impact on environment
amount of oil cleaned up
how quickly the oil was cleaned up
If the spill is on water it is contained by closely linked floats and then skimmed from the contained area.