Chemical Dispersants

BP and its contractors face as much as $30 billion in criminal fines and $21 billion in civil penalties for its disaster. But there is precedent for them to avoid much of this.

WASHINGTON — Dispersants injected deep in the Gulf of Mexico to counter an oil gusher last spring seemed to keep some oil from fouling the water...

In the areas where people live near or are surrounded by the Gulf waters, documented cases of sickness consistent with chemical poisoning related to crude and dispersants continue to increase.

When it comes to oil, the Coast Guard's priority is to "remove it," not assess impacts on human health.

A grandmother made me rethink all the bio-remediation hype. We were talking about oil in the Gulf when she said, "Those oil-eating bacteria -- I think they're causing skin rashes." My mind reeled. Could we have missed something so simple?

We believe that dispersant spraying across the Gulf of Mexico, from Louisiana to the western Florida panhandle, has continued unabated since July 19, when the seafood safety panel claimed the last dispersants were sprayed.

The community stories that string together across the Gulf coast paint a picture quite different from what BP, its contractors, and our government report.

The press, government officials and BP pitchmen are insulting our intelligence by suggesting that the oil has vanished and there's nothing to worry about. They can whistle away the crisis as much as they want, but we'd all do well to stay on top of this.

The Environmental Protection Agency informed BP officials late Wednesday that the company has 24 hours to choose a less toxic form of chemical dispers...

The two types of dispersants BP is spraying in the Gulf are banned for use [1] on oil spills in the U.K. As EPA-approved products [2], BP has been usi...

NEW ORLEANS — Federal regulators have approved the use of a technique to fight the ballooning oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico by shooting chemic...

Environmental engineer Joe Taylor has a dire warning for BP: they have to stop using their chemical dispersant, Corexit, immediately. Or else, accord...

As the BP leak has dumped thousands of barrels into the Gulf of Mexico each day--and the responses of the oil firm and the Obama administration have b...

HOUMA, La. — Environmental and consumer advocate Erin Brockovich will be in southern Louisiana to speak to people who say they've been sickened ...

There is one, and only one, way to ensure that deep water oil drilling never again leads to catastrophe, and that is to discontinue all deep water oil drilling. Period.

The Gulf is in the throes of a life-threatening emergency, but there have been serious questions about the "treatment" BP has chosen to use.

Pictures of oiled pelicans are in the news. Less photogenic and less obvious are potential adverse health impacts to responders or to Gulf Coast commu...

The important question, which has gone unanswered, is are we minimizing the damage to our planet by using these dispersants, or are we adding to the mess?