4/8/13, "Deepwater Horizon: Gulf of Mexico 'deep-cleaned' itself," BBC, Jason Palmer
"New details have emerged
about "self-cleaning" effects in the Gulf of Mexico witnessed in the
wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill....
In a sense, it is no surprise that the seas should host oil-hungry microbes; natural seeps from the ocean floor have been releasing oil into the world's waters for millions of years....
What is becoming clearer with time is that the chemical dispersants typically used in clean-up efforts to break masses of oil up into small droplets does more harm than good.
A study in Environmental Pollution in February found that the toxicity of the oil-dispersant mix was 52 times more toxic to bacteria that are important to the ecosystem than either component alone....
The group's work presented here also showed that dispersants interfered with other natural processes that degrade oil, including effects from sunlight and ground-level ozone."...
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4/18/11, "EPA faces lawsuit over dispersant use in Gulf oil spill," biologicaldiversity.org
"Studies have found that oil broken apart by the dispersant Corexit 9527 damages the insulating properties of seabird feathers more than untreated oil, making the birds more susceptible to hypothermia and death. Studies have also found that dispersed oil is toxic to fish eggs, larvae and adults, as well as to corals, and can harm sea turtles’ ability to breathe and digest food. Formulations of the dispersants being used by BP, Corexit 9500 and 9527, have been banned in the United Kingdom due to concerns over their impacts on the marine environment." (item at end of article)
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6/25/10, "Maker of Controversial Dispersant Used in Gulf Oil Spill Hires Top Lobbyists," Greenwire via NY Times, Mulkern
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