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View Full Version : Dispersants Making it Worse?




JaylieWoW
08-03-2010, 10:01 AM
More Toxic? (http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/breaking/Dispersants_making_spill_more_toxic_-99650644.html)


.....Dr. William Sawyer, a toxicologist, is part of a team of scientists hired by law firms — led by Smith Stag of New Orleans — that are representing Louisiana fishermen and environmentalists.

The scientists collected and analyzed globs of oil, sand, and water from more than a dozen sites in four states along the Gulf.

Sawyer told NBC News that the findings are troubling. "We now have compelling evidence that the dispersant has enhanced and increased the toxicity from the spill," he said. .....

During a discussion with a good friend of mine (who is a rabid animal rights person) regarding the environmental impact of the oil spill, I kept trying to get her to understand that while the oil was toxic to the marine and animal life, that I believed the FOREIGN chemicals being dumped into the ocean would have a far worse impact than us just trying to skim as much as we can and letting mother nature handle the rest. The priority should be on capping off the flow of oil. She was frantic, .. omg omg... how can you say that... we have to save the animals... what do you mean we shouldn't do everything we can to clean it up... omg omg.. how can you say this isn't a bad thing!!!

Well, I never said it wasn't bad, but you get the point. She just couldn't get far enough past the leak part in order to see the potentially worse damage we might be making with the dispersants. My point to her was that while there is a need for urgency, there also was a far greater need for rationality. Getting frantic about things and knee jerking to fix them usually makes things worse than doing nothing at all. I'll have to send her an email with this news story.

Brian4Liberty
08-03-2010, 11:05 AM
There is no doubt that the dispersants are making the oil go places that it would not go naturally. It's very likely that this will result in the oil effecting plants and animals that it would not naturally effect.