EPA Petitioned to Ban Use of Oil Dispersants Found Toxic to Marine Life
A petition filed by the non-profit environmental group Earth Island Institute is asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ban use of two oil dispersants used in the BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster from use during oil spill response.
The petition announced Aug. 19 in Berkeley, Calif. identified the chemical dispersants as Corexit 9527A and 9500A, products currently authorized under the National Contingency Plan for use in oil spill response.
According to key studies compiled in the petition, the Corexit dispersants are potent respiratory and skin sensitizers that cause chronic breathing difficulties and reoccurring skin rashes and potent carcinogens that trigger multiple cancer pathways.
The studies also show the dispersants to be potent neurotoxins that cause brain...