http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/14260-1
              
June 1, 2010
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Conservation groups want to get to the bottom of the chemicals being poured into the Gulf of Mexico in an effort to break up the oil gushing from the Deepwater Horizon spill. Earthjustice, the Florida Wildlife Federation, and the Gulf Restoration Network are demanding disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the actual formula of the 800,000 gallons of dispersants that have been pumped into the Gulf in the last month.

David Guest, managing attorney for Earthjustice, says they’ve also requested proof of effectiveness and toxicity reports for the dispersant, called Corexet, because they’re concerned about its threat to people, wildlife, and the environment.

“It’s so toxic that you can’t touch it with your bare skin, and if it’s something that is that powerful, we should have our eyes open about putting hundreds of thousands of gallons of it into the sea.”

Guest says the spill, which now has spread over 10,000 square miles, will have long-term economic and ecological effects on Florida and the entire Gulf region. He says once the EPA discloses the ingredients used in the dispersants, researchers can begin studying the impact of the chemicals.

“You need to know things like: If a school of fish swims through a plume of Corexet do they all die? Does it sink to the sea bottom and kill all the shrimp eggs so you wipe out the shrimp fisheries for many years? Those are the things you need to know.”

The groups are calling on the EPA to make this information public, in spite of the objections of the oil company BP and the dispersant manufacturers. Guest says the chemicals are being dumped into the Gulf in unprecedented amounts, and more knowledge is critical to protecting the Gulf from further damage.

Special thanks to Richard Charter