Friday, July 23, 2010

Bookmarks... 07/23/2010

    • Nalco's Corexit has made the oil less visible, thereby disguising the full environmental impact of the spill, and helping BP limit its legal and financial liability
    • BP has now applied an unprecedented almost one-million-and-counting gallons of chemical dispersants, some sprayed by the US Air Force from two C-130 Hercules cargo planes that can fly three missions a day, and cover up to 250 acres per flight.
    • Corexit 9500 and Corexit 9527
    • But the older formula, Corexit 9527A -- which contains 2-butoxy ethanol, a compound associated with headaches, vomiting, and reproductive problems at high doses -- is more toxic.
    • Asked to define "limited quantities," Nalco senior manager for external communications, Charlie Pajor, said he didn't know
    • In 2009, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office criticized the EPA for failing to adequately assess risks from thousands of toxic chemicals.
    • The EPA also acknowledged that no studies had been carried out on how long Corexit 9500 persists in the environment-perhaps even after the oil it was meant to control has biodegraded
    • In the first month of the spill, Nalco stock spiked, and estimated sales of Corexit garnered $40 million
      • This remembers me of the Shcok Doctrine described by Naomi Klein in her great book. Corporations are making profit of human disasters and they would pray for more profitable disasters like this!
    • Nalco board member Rodney F. Chase, is a nearly four-decade veteran of BP, most recently as a managing director and deputy group chief executive. (A former Exxon Mobil Corp. president is also on Nalco's board of directors.)
      • Aha, Now we can get it!

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

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