Thursday, August 19, 2010

Chemical Dispersant Questions

1. Is chemical dispersant really toxic?

2. Have more animals died since the introduction of the dispersant?

3. What chemicals are in the dispersant and how toxic are they?

3 comments:

  1. #2) http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/05/gulf-dispersants/

    This website talks about how the chemicals in the dispersant if more effective more three times more lethal to silverfish and twice as lethal to shrimp because it is more toxic.

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  2. #1) Yes it is because some of the dispersants have a chemical in it called Corexit 9500 which has highly toxic side effects and BP keeps on dumping millions of gallons of this dispersant for a reason, it is spreading the oil mess and it is killing off the wildlife faster. So Austin it is toxic! :(

    http://www.politicolnews.com/bp-using-toxic-corexit-9500/

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  3. 1A. Yes, chemical dispersants are toxic. They have "the potential to bioconcentrate" which means that chemicals can gather in fish tissue. Therefore when the small fish's predator eats it, it will have the chemical and possibly go all the way up the food chain.

    2A. There aren't any real facts about how many animals have died because we may not see the dead animals. So there really isn't a way to tell.

    3A. No one really knows how toxic these dispersants are because no toxicity studies have been conducted on them. It is toxic to humans, but not to the point where it will kill us. The dispersant may cause central nervous system problems, dizziness, vomiting, anesthetic or narcotic effects.

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