Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Gulf Chemist: BP Contractors Are Now Applying Toxic Dispersant - at Night and In an Uncontrolled Manner - Which BP Says It No Longer Uses
Bob Naman is an analytical chemist with almost 30 years in the field, based in Mobile, Alabama. When WKRG News 5 gave Naman samples of water from the Gulf of Mexico, Naman found oil contamination, and one of his samples actually exploded during testing due - he believes - to the presence of methane gas or Corexit, the dispersant that BP has been using in the Gulf:
WKRG.com News
But the story only starts there.
A few days ago, Naman was sent a sample of water from Cotton Bayou, Alabama.
Naman found 13.3 parts per million of the dispersant Corexit in the sample:
Parts per million might not sound like much.
But the EPA has found that exposure to 42 parts per million killed 50% of mysid shrimp within 4 days (and most of the remaining shrimp didn't last much longer).
And finding any Corexit is a little perplexing, given that Admiral Thad Allen said on August 9th that dispersants have not been used in the Gulf since mid-July:
We have not used dispersant since the capping stack was put on. I believe that was the 15th of July.More imporantly, Naman told me that he found 2-butoxyethanol in the sample.
***But I would tell you, there are no dispersants being used at this time.
BP and Nalco - the manufacturer of Corexit - have said that dispersant containing 2-butoxyethanol is no longer being sprayed in the Gulf. As the New York Times noted in June:
Corexit 9527, used in lesser quantities during the earlier days of the spill response, is designated a chronic and acute health hazard by EPA. The 9527 formula contains 2-butoxyethanol, pinpointed as the cause of lingering health problems experienced by cleanup workers after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, and propylene glycol, a commonly used solvent.Moreover, Naman said that he searched for the main ingredient in the less toxic 9500 version - propylene glycol - but there was none present. In other words, Naman found the most toxic ingredient in 9527 and did not find the chemical marker for 9500.
Corexit 9500, described by [Nalco's spokesman] as the "sole product" Nalco has manufactured for the Gulf since late April, contains propylene glycol and light petroleum distillates, a type of chemical refined from crude oil.
Since BP and Nalco say that no dispersant containing 2-butoxyethanol has been sprayed in the Gulf for many months, that either means:
(1) BP has been lying, and it is still using 2-butoxyethanol. In other words, BP is still Corexit 9527 in the Gulf
or
(2) The dispersant isn't breaking down nearly as quickly as hoped, and the more toxic form of Corexit used long ago is still present in the Gulf.Naman told me he used EPA-approved methods for testing the sample, but that a toxicologist working for BP is questioning everything he is doing, and trying to intimidate Naman by saying that he's been asked to look into who Naman is working with.
I asked Naman if he could rule out the second possibility: that the 2-butoxyethanol he found was from a months-old applications of the more toxic version of Corexit. I assumed that he would say that, as a chemist, he could not rule out that possibility.
However, Naman told me that he went to Dauphin Island, Alabama, last night. He said that he personally saw huge 250-500 gallon barrels all over the place with labels which said:
Corexit 9527Here is a picture of the label (click on photo for larger image) of dispersant on Dauphin Island:
(The A version of the dispersant - 9527A - contains 2-butoxyethanol).
Naman further said that BP contractors are applying Corexit 9527 at Dauphin Island and at Bayou La Batre, Alabama.
Naman also told me that Corexit 9527 is being sprayed at night, and that it is being applied in such a haphazard manner that undiluted 9527 is running onto beach sand. For confirmation of many of Naman's claims, see this, this and this.
Naman sent me the following additional pictures showing Corexit pollution, use and storage:
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A bird eating a fish right next to the area where Corexit is handled:
Naman also sent me the following picture showing a strange oil mixture in the Gulf:
8 comments:
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Posts
I greatly appreciate you posting all of these pieces on your site. I come here to find out what is really happening around the GOM.
ReplyDeletehttp://eye-on-washington.blogspot.com
when becomes obvious that this spill is still leaking, still destroying the global ecology; that a majority of seafood will be unedible and toxic, that this disperant and the oil that was meant to keep hidden beneath the surface of the ocean by it, are swept up into the upper atmosphere, only to be rained down upon our agriculture and our children and us...resulting in famine and cancerous death; these mercenaries will be on the streets as well to qwell the resulting riots.
ReplyDeleteWow, pretty impressive when you think about it. Wow.
ReplyDeleteLou
www.isp-logs.es.tc
I keep reading here.
ReplyDeleteThis is getting to the point of no return.
I hope this post is seen by many.
Keep posting and keep writing.
GW,
ReplyDeleteNot to quibble, but this photo shows a drum labeled Corexit 9500. The label showing the 9527 doesn't show where the drum was when taken. Not that I don't believe the source, but you gotta document, document, document.
Don
I and my family are victims of this genocide by BP's spraying of the deadly and unreported use of Corexit. We have moved away from the Gulf and the symptoms have gotten better. A good site to look at is Project Gulf Impact. Making it known that there is a blood test to help those still there find out if they have been poisoned and to what extent. Also, I have researched and found that lemonade made with Real Lemon juice and a good B-Complex help the symptoms. We had the full range from headaches and nausea/vomiting to blood from the kidneys and intestinal tract. Find out now and do your research. The media and government are not going to tell you about this tragedy.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your posting of these photographs. It is difficult to find the truth these days on the Gulf of Mexico Oil Crisis. It is very much appreciated. Also, if you'd like we also provide information over at http://www.GulfofMexicoHealth.com that might be of interest to your readers.
ReplyDeleteI have more news for those suffering from the effects of the Corexit poisoning. Please go to http://www.gcbarefootdocs.org and you can get detox information from these courageous people. Also, they are offering free detox kits for those who cannot afford them.
ReplyDeleteEveryone get the word out. It's up to us, not the media or government agencies. They won't tell the truth about this.