Dispersants : Myths and Facts

March 2019. The National Contingency Plan, which governs our nation’s oil and chemical pollution emergency responses, was last updated in 1994—25 years ago! The Plan governs dispersant use during oil spill response. The most commonly used Corexit dispersants are now known to increase, rather than mitigate, the harm from oil alone to people and wildlife.

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Thumbnail photo by ©Julie Dermansky 

#WhatsThePlanEPA Fact Sheet

April 2020. Get the quick facts on why and how we are challenging the Environmental Protection Agency's National Contingency Plan.

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Independent Studies

Ambient air concentrations exceeded health-based standards for fine particulate matter and benzene during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (J Air Waste Manag Assoc.)

August 9, 2021

A First Comprehensive Baseline of Hydrocarbon Pollution in Gulf of Mexico Fishes (Scientific Reports)

April 20, 2021

Impact of dispersant on crude oil content of airborne fine particulate matter emitted from seawater after an oil spill (PubMed)

May 19, 2020

Ten years after Deepwater Horizon: Whistleblowers continue to suffer an unending medical nightmare triggered by Corexit (Government Accountability Project, 2020)

February 3, 2020

BP Gulf Science Data Reveals Ineffectual Subsea Dispersant Injection for the Macondo Blowout (Frontiers in Marine Science)

October 30, 2018

A Review of Literature Related to Human Health and Oil Spill Dispersants (PWSRCAC)

April 29, 2018

il Spills and Dispersants Can Cause the Initiation of Potentially Harmful Dinoflagellate Blooms (“Red Tides”) (by ACS Publications)

April 16, 2018

The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Coast Guard Cohort study (BMJ Journals)

February 15, 2018

The deepwater horizon oil spill coast guard cohort study: A cross-sectional study of acute respiratory health symptoms (PubMed)

January 11, 2018

Survival, density, and abundance of common bottlenose dolphins in Barataria Bay (USA) following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (Endangered Species Research, IRSP)

November 24, 2017

Articles

Here’s Where BP is Dumping Its Oil Spill Waste (Colorlines)

April 20, 2021

“More than half of the landfills EPA has approved are in communities where a majority of residents are people of color.” By Daisy Hernandez   Read the full article here

BP’s waste management plan raises environmental justice concerns (DissidentVoice.org)

April 20, 2021

The Halliburton loophole allowed BP in 2010 to save millions by dumping at least 40,000 tons of toxic Corexit-laden oil spill waste in nine municipal landfills designed for household waste. The majority were in People of Color communities. Story by Robert D. Bullard for the DissdentVoice.org Read full story  here

The Development of Long-Term Adverse Health Effects in Oil Spill Cleanup Workers of the Deepwater Horizon Offshore Drilling Rig Disaster (Frontiers in Public Health)

April 26, 2018

“Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the long-term adverse health effects of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Gulf oil spill exposure in workers who participated in its cleanup work. Methods: Medical charts of both the oil spill exposed and unexposed subjects were reviewed. The changes in the white blood cells, platelets, hemoglobin, hematocrit, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine,…