From MSNBC, a little BS spin, to start this post.
WASHINGTON — A study using two sensitive Gulf species shows that the chemical dispersant used by BP in the Gulf, when mixed with oil, was less toxic than the oil itself, the Environmental Protection Agency said Monday.
The test results were released as the Obama administration defended itself against assertions that officials allowed BP to use excessive amounts of dispersants.
The EPA said it tested eight available dispersants — including the one used by BP, known as Corexit 9500.
When mixed with oil, Corexit is also less toxic or no more toxic on the two Gulf species tested — a shrimp and a small fish — than other available chemicals that could be used as an alternative, the EPA stated. Juvenile shrimp and fish were used since they are more sensitive to chemicals than adults.
"Dispersants were less toxic than oil or oil-dispersants mixture," Paul Anastas, EPA's assistant administrator for research and development, told reporters.
Anastas said he was surprised to learn that the mixture of dispersant and oil was about the same toxicity as the oil alone.
That result shows that use of the dispersant "seems to be a wise decision, and that the oil itself is the hazard that we're concerned about," Anastas said. He called the oil that spewed into the Gulf for nearly three months "Enemy No. 1."
....sniff sniff...you smell that.....?
When it really comes down to it, COREXIT’s molecular encapsulations of the oil could very easily contain common microbes found in seawater, which are also responsible for infections. This one in particular eats jet fuel and people.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudomonas_aeruginosa
This could be a new vector for the transmission of microbes and viruses, prions, etc,.into living organisms.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osteomyelitis
Again, for me at least, I am very interested to know how long these micro-encapsulations last. The one formulation, of the one ingredient in the COREXIT products used in the Gulf, is the one they won’t reveal, for fear of revealing a horrendous secret.
It’s even possible, due to the nature of the “micelle” encapsulations, that were they to enter into a living organism, but remain intact for some unknown amount of time, embedded in tissues, before being destroyed and removed by immune systems, any microbes which have been inside them, effectively “dormant” will once again be released into the bloodstream of the organism, initiating infection again, likely systemic. There are a great number of different microbes and resulting infections that can occur, all you have to do is look up terms like "sea water infections and microbes " , you'll find plenty of information.
Take into consideration of the size of a molecular encapsulation .
20-40 microns(µm)
The microbes,.. their size ranges in microns also The smallest microbe known is mycoplasma(PPLO). It is 0.1micron in size.The bacteria are 1micron to few microns in size. The number of microbes may be infinite, because they multiply at a speedy rate. Usually, a single bacterium reproduces into two daughter bacteria in 20 minutes. So the process goes on . In a couple of days millions of bacteria are produced from a single bacterium.
Some recent pics from Gulf of Mexico swimmers, just a few, I don't want to gross you out....or me out.
So let's just say, hypothetically , that one , or more, of these "micelles", encapsulations full of oil and bacteria, can invade the body through the skin.
They are formed out of what is called a sulfonic salt.
There are several varieties of salts. Salts that hydrolyze to produce hydroxide ions when dissolved in water are
basic salts and salts that hydrolyze to produce hydronium ions in water are
acid salts.
Neutral salts are those that are neither acid nor basic salts.
Zwitterions contain an anionic center and a cationic center in the same molecule but are not considered to be salts. Examples include amino acids, many metabolites, peptides and proteins.
I won't give a long winded post, here's the links if you want to know about COREXIT
Non Ionic: essentially non toxic (> 100g/kg)
– Sorbitan mono oleates -- preferred for most dispersants
– Alkyl/Phenoxy polyethoxy ethanols
– Ethoxylated alkyl phenols
• Anionic: slightly toxic to moderately toxic (1-10g/kg)
– Alkyl sodium sulfates
– Sulfonates
– Sulfonated petroleum oils ---------------------------
" Assessment Plan for the Linear Alkylbenzene (LAB) Sulfonic Acids Category in Accordance with the USEPA High Production Volume Chemical Challenge Program "
"
27-37 days to break down "
----------------------------
" Sulfonic acids are a class of organic acids with the
general formula RSO2-OH, where
R is usually a hydrocarbon side chain.
Sulfonic acids are typically much stronger acids than their carboxylic equivalents, and have the unique tendency to bind to proteins and carbohydrates tightly; most "washable" dyes are sulfonic acids (or have the functional sulfonyl group in them) for this reason. They are also used as catalysts and intermediates for a number of different products. Sulfonic acid salts (sulfanates) are important as detergents, and the antibacterial sulfa drugs are also sulfonic acid derivatives.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfonic_acid
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwitterion
http://www.3rd1000.com/chem301/chem301x.htm
U.S. Department of Labor :
SECTION II: CHAPTER 2
OCCUPATIONAL SKIN EXPOSURE
http://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/otm/otm_ii/otm_ii_2.html
......what the hell is happening in the Gulf....?
