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April 20, 2012

On BP Oil Spill’s 2nd Anniversary, Toxic Legacy Remains in Mutated Sea Life 
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Today marks the two-year anniversary of BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig
explosion that killed 11 workers and sent nearly five million barrels of
oil gushing into the water in the worst maritime oil spill in U.S.
history. The impact of the disaster still remains as scientists say
shrimp, fish and crabs in the Gulf of Mexico have been deformed by
chemicals released during the spill. One commercial fisherperson told Al
Jazeera that half of shrimp caught during the last white shrimp season
were eyeless. Others reported finding clawless and mutated crabs. A new
report released this month found that a toxic blend of crude oil and a
dispersant called Corexit is not degrading as some had hoped. The report
also found the toxins penetrate wet human skin faster than dry skin and
can be observed in skin under UV light. Nearly two million gallons of
Corexit were used to disperse the oil, although it was later revealed
the chemical made it more difficult for microbes to naturally digest
oil. Oil giant BP recently settled with victims of the spill for an
estimated $7.8 billion over medical claims and economic losses in one of
the largest class-action settlements in history.

 

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