Let me extrapolate~American Zombie

Commentary from our Poet Ladderate Horatio Algeranon
~Editilla notellas~ liked this one yesterday so much we hung it out today.
~Some of the information in the article Dispersants' effects on wildlife vary little among brands, EPA finds
is inacurate/misleading.
Namely, the statement:
[EPA's assistant administrator for research and development Paul] "Anastas said that while the use of dispersants was a tough call, it was the right one, and that the dispersants are clearly less toxic than the oil. It's important to remember that oil is enemy number one in this crisis," he said.
The blanket statement that "the dispersants are clearly less toxic than the oil"
is simply not true.

Dr. John Nyman (LSU), who has done studies of the effects of dispersants on wetlands over time (see OVERVIEW OF FOUR EXPERIMENTS INVOLVING SOUTH LOUISIANA CRUDE OR COREXIT 9500)
A few of his findings:
~~"In a six-month study using common Louisiana fresh marsh soils... we observed that the dispersant alone initially was more toxic than un-dispersed oil alone, and that dispersed South Louisiana Crude was more toxic than un-dispersed South Louisiana Crude throughout the 6 month study except when when survival was 0% in both dispersed and un-dispersed South Louisiana Crude" (Bhattacharyya et al. 2003).
~and~
~"In a six-month laboratory experiment using common salt marsh soils, disappearance (biodegradation and evaporation) was accelerated by fertilizer (to the point of being non-detectable), but slowed by COREXIT 9500 (56% of initial concentrations) relative to no additives (13% of initial concentrations) (Nyman and McGinnis 1999). "

Editilla, If I might make a suggestion:
{But of course, Dear Gentle'rillas!:}
~Underneath that article "Dispersants' effects on wildlife vary little among brands, EPA finds" (and every time EPA releases new data -- certainly every time they claim "the dispersants are clearly less toxic than the oil" ) you might want to post a link to the great interviews that Dirty Cajuns did with John Nyman: Effects of COREXIT, Real People & the President
...just to keep EPA honest. ~@:>
One has to keep the context at the forefront:
~Their studies were VERY limited -- in both scope and duration: EPA Releases First Round of Toxicity Testing Data for Eight Oil Dispersants
"EPA tested these eight products for endocrine disrupting activity and potential impacts on small fish and mysid shrimp. The testing found:
~None of the eight dispersants tested displayed biologically significant endocrine disrupting activity. ~While all eight dispersants alone – not mixed with oil – showed roughly the same effects, JD-2000 and Corexit 9500 proved to be the least toxic to small fish, and JD-2000 and SAF-RON GOLD were the least toxic to the mysid shrimp."
EPA made their decision to let BP continue using Corexit when they almost certainly KNEW of the studies of Nyman et al (or at least should have known because he has been telling everyone and his brother about them from day one!)
And they made that decision BEFORE they had done any of their own recent studies -- which have NOT yet gone through the NORMAL scientific publication process (EPA claims the studies were "peer reviewed", but publication allows all scientists to assess the results) .

Finally, last but certainly not least, where is the evidence that EPA is considering the possible effects of corexit 9500 use on HUMANS (eg, on cleanup workers and others who work and live along the coast) in this decision-making process?

~EDF_Louisiana Not so fast: Why dispersants EPA ranks as “practically non-toxic” are still a concern http://bit.ly/cj1VBi #oilspill #dispersants #EPA

Twilight for Gulf Coast
~Mark Moseley, The Lens

Silence of the Eco-lambs~LaCoastPost

Partial closure of additional Terrebonne Parish oyster harvesting areas due to BP Oil Gusher
~The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals announced today the partial closures of oyster harvesting areas 17, 19 and 21 in response to the BP oil spill in the Gulf. Click to enlarge.

Slicked and Slabbed news miscallany: Oil in the food chain, whale sharks and great minds thinking alike.

Separate congressional oil spill commission 'unnecessary', says White House, yet Senator Mary Landrieu says WH is "unbalanced"

MS Gov. Haley Babar:
BP Oil Disaster Proves Free Market System Works
~FireDogLake

Volunteers ready, left out of cleanup

BP, U.S. to test skimmer A Whale

Alex is gone; the tropics are relatively quiet ~Wunderblog

Congress asked for a list of projects to protect South Louisiana, not for an 8,000-page menu~T-P Editorial

Iowa Flooding:
Crack in Birdland levee no big deal, Corps official says
~USGS WaterWatch Interactive Map

58 Days to Year 5: A Photographic Journey ~NOLAFemmes


~Hat Tweet~charoletteAshe