Zeno Swijtink
07-02-2010, 07:43 AM
Bloomberg
Dispersants Have Similar Effects on Fish, EPA Says (https://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-30/dispersants-have-similar-effects-on-fish-epa-says.html)
June 30, 2010, 6:25 PM EDT
(Updates with statement from Nalco in seventh paragraph.)
By Jeff Plungis
June 30 (Bloomberg) -- Tests on eight dispersants used on oil spills show all have similar effect on marine life and none act as endocrine disruptors, chemicals that can interfere with reproduction, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said.
The EPA tested products including Corexit, used by BP Plc to clean up its Gulf of Mexico oil spill, to ensure that decisions about dispersants are based on the best scientific evidence, Paul Anastas, assistant administrator for research and development, said today on a conference call with reporters.
“Oil was enemy No. 1 in this crisis,” Anastas said on the call. The EPA’s results indicate the eight dispersants, including Nalco Holding Co.’s Corexit 9500 used by BP, show roughly the same impact on aquatic life, Anastas said.
Two dispersants, Corexit 9500 and JD-2000, were generally less toxic to small fish, the EPA tests showed. JD-2000 and SAF- RON GOLD were among the least toxic alternatives to mysid shrimp. The EPA also tested Dispersit SPC 1000, Nokomis 3-F4, Nokomis 3-AA, ZI-400 and Sea Brat #4, all listed on a national contingency plan.
BP, which was asked by the EPA on May 24 to cut back its use of Corexit, has since reduced the volume by about 70 percent since the April 20 spill, Anastas said. Regulators aren’t recommending that BP switch chemicals, he said.
The tests evaluated the toxicity of the chemicals without being mixed with water, Anastas said. Additional toxicity tests are planned on the oil and the mixture of oil and dispersants, he said.
The EPA said dispersants biodegrade in weeks, haven’t been found in water-column tests and haven’t settled on the Gulf floor, according to a statement from Nalco today.
“We have always supported a systematic, science-based process to evaluate the dispersants being used to break up the oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico,” David Horsup, a Nalco division vice president, said in the statement. “We agree that additional testing on alternative products is needed.”
--Editors: Steve Geimann, Larry Liebert
To contact the reporters on this story: Jeff Plungis in Washington at [email protected];
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Larry Liebert at [email protected]
Dispersants Have Similar Effects on Fish, EPA Says (https://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-30/dispersants-have-similar-effects-on-fish-epa-says.html)
June 30, 2010, 6:25 PM EDT
(Updates with statement from Nalco in seventh paragraph.)
By Jeff Plungis
June 30 (Bloomberg) -- Tests on eight dispersants used on oil spills show all have similar effect on marine life and none act as endocrine disruptors, chemicals that can interfere with reproduction, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said.
The EPA tested products including Corexit, used by BP Plc to clean up its Gulf of Mexico oil spill, to ensure that decisions about dispersants are based on the best scientific evidence, Paul Anastas, assistant administrator for research and development, said today on a conference call with reporters.
“Oil was enemy No. 1 in this crisis,” Anastas said on the call. The EPA’s results indicate the eight dispersants, including Nalco Holding Co.’s Corexit 9500 used by BP, show roughly the same impact on aquatic life, Anastas said.
Two dispersants, Corexit 9500 and JD-2000, were generally less toxic to small fish, the EPA tests showed. JD-2000 and SAF- RON GOLD were among the least toxic alternatives to mysid shrimp. The EPA also tested Dispersit SPC 1000, Nokomis 3-F4, Nokomis 3-AA, ZI-400 and Sea Brat #4, all listed on a national contingency plan.
BP, which was asked by the EPA on May 24 to cut back its use of Corexit, has since reduced the volume by about 70 percent since the April 20 spill, Anastas said. Regulators aren’t recommending that BP switch chemicals, he said.
The tests evaluated the toxicity of the chemicals without being mixed with water, Anastas said. Additional toxicity tests are planned on the oil and the mixture of oil and dispersants, he said.
The EPA said dispersants biodegrade in weeks, haven’t been found in water-column tests and haven’t settled on the Gulf floor, according to a statement from Nalco today.
“We have always supported a systematic, science-based process to evaluate the dispersants being used to break up the oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico,” David Horsup, a Nalco division vice president, said in the statement. “We agree that additional testing on alternative products is needed.”
--Editors: Steve Geimann, Larry Liebert
To contact the reporters on this story: Jeff Plungis in Washington at [email protected];
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Larry Liebert at [email protected]