The Environmental Protection Agency has told BP to find a less toxic dispersant chemical to use on the oil leaking from the site of the Deepwater Horizon accident.
Currently two version of ‘Corexit’ are being used on the spill (see: The science of dispersants). Now the oil company has 24 hours, as of yesterday, to identify a “less toxic alternative”. If it can’t do this then it will have to tell the EPA and the Coast Guard why.
The amounts of dispersant currently being used have led to suggestions that the Gulf of Mexico has become a giant experiment since the accidental sinking of the drilling rig Deepwater Horizon. Equally ground breaking has been the use of these chemicals deep underwater.
“Because of its use in unprecedented volumes and because much is unknown about the underwater use of dispersants, EPA wants to ensure BP is using the least toxic product authorized for use,” says the EPA.
But BP’s chief operating officer Doug Suttles told American TV that “right now we cannot identify another product that is available that’s better than Corexit” (via ABC).
He added, “It’s making a difference in this fight to try and keep this stuff from coming to shore.”
More Oil News
BP has yielded to pressure from the US Government by publishing a live webcam of its giant oil leak beneath the Gulf of Mexico.
A Canadian regulator tightened offshore drilling rules on Thursday in response to the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, forcing new restrictions on Chevron Corp’s operations off Newfoundland.
– Reuters
Today marks the 1 month anniversary since the blowout, explosion, and the death of 11 on Deepwater Horizon drill rig.
– A round up of depressing facts from Deep Sea News
Image: false colour shot of Deepwater Horizon oil slick from NASA’s Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer / NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team