Senate bill would greatly improve testing and use of chemicals
<Editor's Note: Our newest blogger, Earthjustice attorney Marianne Engelman-Lados, compiled this report.>
The response to the oil spill in the Gulf has exposed fundamental flaws in the current system for regulating the use of chemical dispersants. Since April 20, when the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform exploded, BP has added nearly two million gallons of dispersants to the waters of the Gulf.
BP's use of dispersant is unprecedented—not only in volume but also because it is being applied under the surface of the water, at the source of the leak. Yet the potential health and environmental effects of the use of the dispersant are not well understood.
Last week, Earthjustice filed a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of Gulf Restoration Network and the Florida Wildlife Federation to force EPA to release health and safety information related to dispersants. This information is crucial for residents and workers who may be exposed to the dispersant and, also, for researchers.
At the same time, we need to take additional steps to make sure that decisions to use dispersant in the future are not shrouded in so much mystery and uncertainty.
The Chemical Dispersant Safety Act, introduced by Senator Lautenberg, would significantly improve the way dispersants are tested and approved, would require disclosure of dispersant ingredients when warranted to ensure protection of human health and the environment, and would give EPA much-needed authority to better control dispersant use.
Currently, the process for determining that a dispersant is eligible for use in a clean-up effort is inadequate. EPA requires only minimal testing to determine the toxicity of dispersants. EPA has candidly admitted that "the long-term effects [of dispersants] on aquatic life are unknown." Sen. Lautenberg's bill would require testing to determine long-term effects of dispersants on both the environment and human health.
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Well done! Thank you very much for professional templates and community edition
lineturk
It's just like the way New Yorkers were used as guinea pigs after 9/11:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mzuG2Hndec
It is time for the Enviro Voraxial Technology to get deployed to the Gulf. This machine can do the job clean up and its time they realize it.
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How in good conscience could this judge do this. Does he want to destroy the planet. It's all about money.
Doing this makes perfect sense. But I can't help thinking that it's such a huge waste of time and energy that we have to twist the arms of OUR representatives to take any meaningful action. And, usually they do what they want anyway despite what is good for the public. Why? Because like the agencies that monitor and regulate industry, OUR reps in Congress are also WAY too cozy with the corporations. Hell, that's why OUR reps appoint those cozy clowns in the first place. Campaign finance reform is the only way to get our reps un-cozied.
Reform Congress and the way politicians are funded. Period. Nothing will get done until such time. And, since they police themselves, We have to vote all incumbents out of office. Our vote is all we have.
These people that say it will kill jobs if we don't keep this kind of drilling. Is it really worth it to gamble with the fate of this planet just so a few people can have a job? It would make more sense to pay these people the wages they would get for the next five years than to keep up this madness.
Now we have everybody listening to this T boone Picket saying lets destroy our water supply by drilling for natural gas. We had better wake up one of these days.
Now that there has been an oil well pipe line explosion of the coast of China, only adds to the enviormental problems for all ocean life.
It is good news to hear they won't be drilling off the coast of AK.
Another BIG concern I have is what about all the "retired' drills under the sea that are not properly contained. Companies are bypassing the capping rule by put them into in a category the does not require proper closing.
Thank you for making me aware of this
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