[Coral-List] Fwd: Gulf Oil Spill, dispersants

[Bill Allison]

This newsletter just arrived a few minutes ago. It cites a number of
publications relevant to your inquiry.

http://www.seaweb.org/news/oceanupdate.php

On Mon, May 17, 2010 at 2:47 PM, Ed Blume <eblume2702 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Several posters described experiments to determine the impact of oil on
> coral.  Has one done (or does anyone know of) research on the ingredients
> to
> Corexit, as described by BIll Allison?
>
> *Although the formula of Corexit, the main dispersant being used is
> proprietary, an online search identified some important ingredients as:*
>
> *- 2-butoxyethanol: organic solvent, toxic, said to kill most arthropods,
> biodegradable*.*
>
> *- sulfonic acid esters: common in many household products such as
> detergents
> & in sulfa drugs (anti-biologics) - toxic (add detergent to an aquarium &
> watch).*
> *- propylene glycol: an alcohol used in many household products, readily
> biodegradable*.*
> Ed Blume
> Madison, WI
> On Sun, May 16, 2010 at 9:52 AM, Bill Allison <allison.billiam at gmail.com
> >wrote:
>
> > A number of list members have suggested that the dispersants could be
> > problematic and should be investigated. It is ironic and alarming that
> oil
> > dispersants inimical to life are being used in unprecedented quantities
> to
> > make the problem “go away”, that is, to make it invisible &
> > coincidentally(?), to make the largely unknown causal chain of
> > environmental
> > harm much harder to trace. We now have visible oil + invisible oil +
> > ~2,000,000 liters of toxic dispersants in the Gulf, and the meter is
> still
> > running - apparently an order of magnitude faster than announced some
> days
> > ago.
> >
> > Although the formula of Corexit, the main dispersant being used is
> > proprietary, an online search identified some important ingredients as:
> >
> > - 2-butoxyethanol: organic solvent, toxic, said to kill most arthropods,
> > biodegradable*.
> >
> > - sulfonic acid esters: common in many household products such as
> > detergents
> > & in sulfa drugs (anti-biologics) - toxic (add detergent to an aquarium &
> > watch).
> >
> > - propylene glycol: an alcohol used in many household products, readily
> > biodegradable*.
> >
> > *BIODEGRADABLE - sounds good BUT: it means that microrganisms break it
> > down,
> > consuming oxygen in the process. Propylene glycol which I suppose is the
> > carrier and main component, is said to have a very high BOD. Add to this
> > the
> > BOD created by the decomposition of creatures large & small killed by oil
> &
> > dispersants, and that of microbes feeding on the oil itself. There is
> > speculation about whether the resultant emulsion will sink or float and
> an
> > expectation that the whole mess will disperse and be diluted, so becoming
> > even more invisible. Recall that many species of marine larvae travel in
> > the
> > near-surface few millimeters of the sea. Depending on the timing of
> > spawning
> > events and dispersal, might this have a negative impact on larval
> > recruitment across a spectrum of marine life?
> >
> > On the positive side (I’m kidding), Corexit is made in USA, the stock of
> > the
> > producer has appreciated, & the costs the whole clean-up bundle will be
> > added to GNP (I’m not kidding). Is that an insane system or what?
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > ________________________________
> > Say what some poets will, Nature is not so much her own ever-sweet
> > interpreter as the mere supplier of that cunning alphabet, whereby
> > selecting
> > and combining as he pleases, each man reads his own peculiar lesson
> > according to his own peculiar mind and mood. (Herman Melville, 1852)
> > _______________________________________________
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> > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
> >
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________________________________
"reality leaves a lot to the imagination..."  John Lennon