Summit County Citizens Voice

A C-130 Hercules from the Air Force Reserve Command's 910th Airlift Wing at Youngstown-Warren Air Reserve Station, Ohio, drops an oil-dispersing chemical into the Gulf of Mexico May 5, 2010, as part of the Deepwater Horizon Response effort.

Federal researchers say there are hopeful signs that bacteria are breaking up the dispersed clouds of oil; independent scientists aren’t so sure

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — Federal officials and BP executives seem to be downplaying the extent of the environmental impacts of millions of gallons of oils and dispersant seething below the surface of the sea in a toxic mix, while independent scientists warn that the dispersed oil can build up in the marine food chain, with widespread and long-lasting impacts.

In their July 26 update on the spill, Coast Guard Commander Thad Allen and NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco tried to convince the public that it’s getting harder to find oil to clean up — at least on the surface of the sea. Some mainstream media outlets repeated the claims, despite reports from residents and independent observers that huge oil mats are still floating up into coastal marshes, and that on many beaches, oil is buried just under the top layer of sand.

Lubchenco then went on to say there are indications that the crude oil still in the water is being quickly biodegraded by naturally occurring bacteria — finding disputed by several teams of independent university researchers working in the Gulf, who say it’s too early to make conclusions about the oil-dispersant mix.

“Bacteria that breaks down oil are naturally abundant in the Gulf of Mexico in large part because of the warm water there and the conditions afforded by nutrients and oxygen availability,” she said. “While there’s more analysis to be done to exactly quantify the rate of biodegradation, early indications show that the light crude oil is being, is biodegrading quickly. When oil is dispersed into smaller bits from the use of dispersants or by weathering it’s even easier for the bacteria to get to it and to consume it,” she said.

“We’re currently doing a very careful analysis to better understand where the oil has gone and where the remaining impacts are most likely to occur. To do this we’re working with the best scientific minds in the government as well as independent scientific community to produce an estimate of just how much oil has been skimmed, burned, contained, evaporated and dispersed.”

But Wednesday, BP officials with Joint Information Center couldn’t provide any detailed information about studies substantiating that statement, pointing instead to recent NOAA studies that detailed the spread and movement of the underwater oil clouds.

The best existing research on the subject has been compiled by a group of 100-plus scientists who recently issued a statement calling for an end to the use of dispersants and pointing out some of the environmental impacts.

Those researchers say the floating oil clouds will envelope and kill floating plankton, larvae, fish eggs and anything else at a sensitive life stage.

Here’s the relevant sentence from the statement:

• The vast quantities of dispersed oil in these plumes can enter the marine food chain and bioaccumulate in animal tissue, potentially impacting marine ecosystems over many years and over a broad geographical area. The same properties that enable Corexit to move through the oil also make it easier for the chemical to pass through cell walls, skin and membranes that protect vital organs and the surfaces of eyes and mouths, the scientists said.

The presence of the dispersant makes it easier for any oil that’s present to penetrate the body and cells, which can result in damage to every organ. Additionally, the scientists said not all of Corexit’s chemical additives have been disclosed. Under so-called proprietary information, the manufacturer has been able avoid disclosure, revealing the presence of some chemical only as part of a group of additives.

Without that specific information, it’s not possible to fully assess the impacts. The scientists go on to cite many studies showing that the application of dispersant is more toxic to marine life over a widespread area. The plumes of dispersed oil envelop and kill floating plankton, fish eggs and larvae — along with everything else at sensitive life stages.

Coral larvae are particularly sensitive to the combined effects of dispersant and oil, with zero percent fertilization rates when the mix is present, as compared to 98 percent fertilization rate with the presence of oil alone.

By the Numbers to Date:

•    The administration has authorized the deployment of 17,500 National Guard troops from Gulf Coast states to respond to this crisis; currently, 1,720 are active.

•    More than 24,800 personnel are currently responding to protect the shoreline and wildlife and cleanup vital coastlines. •    More than 4,200 vessels are currently responding on site, including skimmers, tugs, barges, and recovery vessels to assist in containment and cleanup efforts—in addition to dozens of aircraft, remotely operated vehicles, and multiple mobile offshore drilling units.

•    More than 3.41 million feet of containment boom and 7.82 million feet of sorbent boom have been deployed to contain the spill—and approximately 845,000 feet of containment boom and 2.48 million feet of sorbent boom are available.

•    More than 34.7 million gallons of an oil-water mix have been recovered.

•    Approximately 1.84 million gallons of total dispersant have been applied—1.07 million on the surface and 771,000 sub-sea. Approximately 577,000 gallons are available.

•    411 controlled burns have been conducted, efficiently removing a total of more than 11.14 million gallons of oil from the open water in an effort to protect shoreline and wildlife. Because calculations on the volume of oil burned can take more than 48 hours, the reported total volume may not reflect the most recent controlled burns.

•    17 staging areas are in place to protect sensitive shorelines.

•    Approximately 640 miles of Gulf Coast shoreline is currently oiled—approximately 362 miles in Louisiana, 108 miles in Mississippi, 70 miles in Alabama, and 100 miles in Florida. These numbers reflect a daily snapshot of shoreline currently experiencing impacts from oil so that planning and field operations can more quickly respond to new impacts; they do not include cumulative impacts to date, or shoreline that has already been cleared.

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Filed under: BP Gulf oil spill, Environment, oil drilling, Summit County Colorado Tagged: | BP, dispersant oil mix, Environment, Gulf oil spill, NOAA, Summit County Colorado, Summit County News, underwater oil plumes