Are you curious about COREXIT, and its effects on the biochemistry of marine life that comes in contact with it? COREXIT is the dispersant that BP has sprayed by the millions of gallons into the Gulf of Mexico to mask the oil spill effects of the Deepwater Horizon blowout.
First a word about what COREXIT is. It's a powerful industrial detergent made by NALCO Company, a chemicals firm in Naperville, IL, a BP affiliate. Detergents work by breaking up molecules of organic materials. (It has a highly polar end and a highly nonpolar end. So it forms micelles, to break up highly non-polar globules in water. Just like soap will break up the grease when you do the dishes.) Sounds almost benign. But, read on.
It's biochemical effect by ingestion is akin to blood thinner - it breaks up the molecules in your blood. MORE, below . . .
Detergents work remarkably well to dissolve and disperse oil sheens. They make oil seem to disappear on the surface. COREXIT breaks up the long chains of oil molecules and spreads and disperses them underwater, into small bits of hydrocarbons that aren't as visible to the human eye. But, they're still there, and dispersed oil still destroys ocean life, so the federal government has made it illegal to use the stuff. That is, unless you're a giant multinational corporation facing enraged beach owners and boaters.
If you or I were to accidentally spill a quart of motor oil off our power boat, and use liquid soap to disperse it, the Coast Guard would arrest us. The potential fine is $32,500 per incident. Title 33, Code of Federal Regulations, Sec. 153.305: "Prohibits the use of soaps or other dispersing agents to dissipate and/or mask oil on the water or in the bilge. Soaps emulsify oil, therefore, dispersing hydrocarbons through the water column and can be harmful to marine animals and bottom sediments. Violators are subject to criminal and civil penalties of up to $32,500 per incident (33 CFR 153.305)." (http://www.coastal.ca.gov/ccbn/EnvironmentalLawsBrochure.pdf;)
According to the California EPA, the stuff disperses "hydrocarbons through the water column and can be harmful to marine animals and bottom sediments."
In other words, it turns the ocean into a hydrocarbon toxic soup, a liquid smog, that has the same effect on marine life that hydrocarbons in the air have on land animals. It chokes them to death, slowly or quickly, depending upon the concentration of hydrocarbons, along with other health effects, such as cancers.
In addition, COREXIT has its own, separate toxic effects - it ruptures red blood cells. According to a warning notice posted at BP's own website: "Repeated or excessive exposure to butoxyethanol may cause injury to red blood cells (hemolysis), kidney or the liver." http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse....
BP has turned the Gulf into a giant vat of liquid smog mixed with blood thinner.
As Wile E. Coyote used to say, "Genius, sheer genius." Then, he blows up. But, we aren't 'toons, nor is all the life in the sea this is wiping out. What can you do about that? To borrow another popular icon, "Just Do It."
- Mark