Hobbies And Interests
PR Cleanup
The most notable effect of dispersants is that, if used properly, they effectively hide spilled oil on the surface of the water and on the beachfront. The photogenic usefulness of these chemicals is not lost on the public relations departments of the oil companies responsible for these spills. It enables them to manipulate public perception, leading us to believe the threat has been neutralized.
Toxicity to Marine Life
There have been studies done on Corexit that show it is both fatal and toxic to undersea life, causing massive kills of certain kinds of fish in sub-surface sea levels. This can have a ripple effect on the local ecosystem. For this reason, Corexit has been banned or restricted in many offshore areas. The lack of corporate regulation and consistent ecological protection laws failed to prevent it from being used on the Deepwater Horizon spill.
Dilution
The proven effect of the Corexit dispersant is that it breaks up oil droplets, causing these smaller droplets to disperse into a wider area, preventing them from forming slicks that gather on the surface and stick to seabirds and aquatic mammals. Natural processes, like bacteria, eventually break down the dispersed droplets.
Cumulative Effect
There is growing concern that the combination of chemicals in dispersant, interacting with oil droplets, eventually exacerbates the problem and does not constitute safe removal or mitigation of an oil spill. A study by the Environmental Defense Fund seeks to prove that smaller amounts of dispersed oil combined with the chemical dispersant are more toxic than a much higher concentration of spilled oil.