Thursday, July 24, 2014

Four years later and the BP oil spill is still affecting the Gulf of Mexico


Four years later and the BP oil spill is still affecting the Gulf of Mexico


Traces of a chemical contained in dispersants used to break up oil during the 87-day BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 were found in material deposited on deepwater corals six months after the spill, and in weathered oil patties on Gulf Coast beaches four years later, according to a scientific letter published online this week in Environmental Science & Technology.


It is important to note that these reports of daily oil discoveries and further environmental damage come at a time when BP is attempting to renege on its oft-stated “Commitment to the Gulf.” BP is repudiating the Contract and Settlement Agreement it made with area businesses and individuals that compensates them for economic and environmental losses associated with the spill.


In addition, BP claims that the beaches have been cleaned and that all is well along the Gulf Coast. This despite the fact that the United States Coast Guard calls BP’s remediation claims premature, the USCG saying the cleanup effort is “not over by a long shot.” Now BP claims that it is the victim.


Researchers found tiny amounts of DOSS, an abbreviation of the chemical compound dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate, in both the oil patties and deepwater sediment. The research conducted by scientists with Haverford College in Pennsylvania and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts raises new questions about the assumptions on how quickly two COREXIT brand dispersants disappeared after being used to break up oil into tiny droplets, said lead author Helen Kirsty White, an assistant professor of chemistry at Haverford.


“Now that we know the compound can exist for up to four years, it’s important to understand whether the oil and dispersant mixture is toxic and the way it is exposed to life in the Gulf of Mexico,” White said. “Those are important questions to be answered in order to understand the impact or damage it might be having on the environment.”


Since the end of BP’s official cleanup efforts in June 2013, over 45,850 tar balls and 3,912 pounds of Deepwater Horizon oil have been documented and removed from Florida’s beaches alone, not including Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana or Texas. On an average survey day, the FDEP team covers no more than 1,000 yards of beach, less than 1% of Florida’s shoreline that was impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Therefore, these numbers represent a very limited snapshot of residual oiling on Northwest Florida’s beaches.


From this data, it appears BP has left town well before the job was done. So much for the company’s “Commitment to the Gulf.” Read more about the story here.


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