Last month we marked the 3 year memorial of the BP oil drilling disaster. Three year later, there are still big questions about how the use of toxic dispersants impacted the Gulf, and the EPA has failed to live up to their responsibility to comprehensively test dispersants.Tell the EPA that they need to test these dispersants now:http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50843/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=11095BP applied 1.84 million gallons of Corexit during the cleanup, stating that “it’s as safe as Dawn dishwashing liquid.” However, we know that’s not true.New reporting about dispersant use raises some serious questions about the safety of these chemicals, and whether they should be approved as a primary tool for responding to oil spills.NALCO, the company that makes Corexit, even acknowledged in their manual that the dispersant istoxic and could cause health problemsfor those who came into contact with it. Yet, EPA has ignored the law by approving dispersants for use before conducting thorough tests.Tell the EPA to conduct comprehensive testing now.We cannot continue to allow the oil companies to use this dangerous chemical as a first response to oil spills unless they can prove that it’s not going to harm the people and wildlife of this region.Please take action to tell EPA to move forward swiftly to ensure that necessary toxicity testing on dispersants occursbefore the next major disaster.Cynthia Sarthou is GRN’s Executive Director.
