Links
BP and NOAA dispatch PR teams to schools
even as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency calls for more research into the long-term effects of the chemical dispersants BP used in the Gulf, representatives of BP and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have been dispatching public relations officials to local schools to do what they refer to as dispelling myths about dispersants and subsurface oil. This is according to recent reports in Louisiana papers, the Houma Courrier and the Tri-Parish Times.
BP and NOAA appear to be doing demonstrations for local schools using a 10-gallon fish tank full of water, some cooking oil, and some dishwashing detergent to simulate the properties of oil and the effects of dispersants.
The Houma Courier quoted NOAA science support coordinator Gary Ott as telling the children, "Oil floats. See, we've tested it." (The oil-floats argument is also what recently retired BP CEO Tony Hayward said when first confronted with evidence of underwater oil plumes this summer.)
According to the two reports, Ott had the children try to use eyedroppers to suck up the oil, simulating the inefficiency of skimmers. He had them use paper towels to simulate absorbent booms.
And then he applied dishwashing detergent to the floating oil to break it down–simulating dispersants. Though he acknowledged the dispersed oil doesn't disappear and could hurt some fish species, the Courier reported that Ott told the children that the chemicals were broken down within weeks by microbes. He also assured the children that Gulf seafood was safe to eat.
Meanwhile, scientists have found thick layers of oily sediment on the Gulf sea floor. And more recently, researchers at Oregon State University found abnormally high levels of carcinogenic chemicals in water off the coast of Louisiana.