skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina s congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Myorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Scientists: Dispersant Health Impacts a "Failure of Chemicals Policy"

play audio
Play

Friday, June 11, 2010   

WASHINGTON, D.C. - More than one million gallons of chemicals called dispersants have been sprayed into the Gulf of Mexico in an attempt to break up the plume emanating from the B.P. oil spill, but some of the key ingredients were kept secret until this week. They finally were revealed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) following a public outcry over health problems experienced by some clean-up workers. One of the ingredients used in the early stages of clean-up - 2-butoxy ethanol - is designated a chronic and acute health hazard and was linked to health problems experienced by cleanup workers following the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989.

Richard Denison, a senior scientist with Environmental Defense Fund, says putting Gulf workers at risk is an example of what he calls a failed federal chemicals policy.

"The current law does not mandate that EPA assess the actual safety of dispersants or their ingredients."

The dispersant manufacturer said it preferred to keep the ingredients secret because they consider the formula proprietary. But, Louisiana chemist and activist Wilma Subra says, until the full ingredients list was released Wednesday, many of the health care professionals treating possible dispersant-linked health problems weren't sure what to do.

"People who went for medical assistance were not able to have appropriate medical treatment because of lack of information about what the chemicals were."

Gina Solomon, senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, says that, before the full ingredients list for the dispersant formula, Corexit 9527, was released Wednesday, one of the only sources for safety information was a data sheet, which had very little information about actual safety risks, except one disturbing note.

"That it causes mutation in, 'microorganism, not otherwise specified.' What is someone supposed to do with that information?"

Denison's group is part of a coalition of 250 environmental and public health organizations calling for an overhaul of the three-decades-old Toxic Substances Control Act. He says that law would encourage innovation and the development of safer, more effective dispersants. An overhaul bill, known as the Safe Chemicals Act, is pending in the Senate, and is expected to be voted on this summer.

The EPA's list of ingredients is available at www.epa.gov/bpspill/dispersants.html#list.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …


Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …


More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social media platform X temporarily shutdown searches of "Taylor Swift" following the release of explicit deepfake images in early 2024. (Mdv Edwards/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Social Issues

play sound

A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has pr…

Environment

play sound

A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops. Excess nitrates can wind up …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021