Facing South

Scientists found chemical dispersants lingering in Gulf long after oil flow stopped

By Marian Wang, ProPublica

Chemical compounds from the oil dispersants applied to the Gulf of Mexico didn't break down as expected,
according to a study released this week. Scientists found the compounds
lingering for months in the deep waters of the Gulf, long after BP's
oil had stopped spewing.

"The results indicate that an important component of the chemical
resisted rapid biodegradation," said scientist David Valentine of U.C.
Santa Barbara, one of the investigators in the study.

The findings contrast with
what the Environmental Protection Agency has asserted about the
dispersants, which the agency allowed BP to use in unprecedented

"We do have information about the individual components of the dispersant," the EPA says on its website. "The available peer-reviewed literature indicates that the components biodegrade fairly rapidly."

The information about the components in the dispersant, it's worth
noting, was provided to the agency by the dispersant manufacturer. As we've pointed out,
the EPA also relied on the manufacturer to provide data on the
dispersant's toxicity and approved it for use in the Gulf without doing
independent testing.

The study's investigators emphasized that the dispersants' effects remain largely unknown.

"We still don't know just how serious the threat is," said Valentine. "The deep ocean is a sensitive ecosystem unaccustomed to chemical
irruptions like this."

In the aftermath of the spill, the EPA concluded that the use of dispersants was a "wise decision." Agency scientists had reported that no dispersants were detected in waters near the Gulf shore, according to McClatchy.

The research was funded by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the National Science Foundation.


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re: Scientists found chemical dispersants lingering in Gulf long

The compounds in the dispersant did degrade rapidly. That is why there is not test for Corexit. That is why there are only two markers used to identify if it had ever been present; DOSS and Propylene Glycol. But as we know there is a problem with those markers. It is found in abundance in the coastal and near shore waters already from numerous point sources.