Protecting The Public's Right To Know About Oil Dispersants

During the BP oil spill, approximately 1.84 million gallons of oil dispersants were released, despite little knowledge about their health or environmental effects. Earthjustice sued the federal EPA for its failure to reveal the secret ingredients in dispersants deemed eligible for use in oil spills.

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Case Overview

The Macondo well blowout in April 2010 released more than 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over the course of three months. Dispersants, used to move large slicks from coastland into the water column, were applied in unprecedented amounts, totaling approximately 1.84 million gallons. They were also applied in an unprecedented manner. In addition to approximately 1.07 million gallons of dispersant applied in standard practice to the ocean’s surface, for the first time ever, response teams released dispersants at the site of the gushing oil well one mile below the ocean’s surface. In total, 771,000 gallons of dispersant were applied subsea.

Representing the Gulf Restoration Network and the Florida Wildlife Federation, Earthjustice filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking the identities of all the ingredients of chemical dispersants eligible for use in oil spills, as well as studies about their safety. This lawsuit tested the notion that chemical ingredients and safety information can be kept secret under industry claims of “confidential business information.”

Earthjustice, along with Toxipedia Consulting Services, created a report based on material released by the EPA in response to the Freedom of Information Act request. The report states that five of the 57 ingredients in dispersants eligible for use in response to oil spills are linked to cancer; 33 chemicals are associated with skin irritation, from rashes to burns; 33 chemicals are linked to eye irritation; 11 chemicals are suspected or potential respiratory toxins or irritants; and 10 chemicals are suspected kidney toxins. As for potential effects on the marine environment, 8 chemicals are suspected or known to be toxic to aquatic organisms and 5 chemicals are suspected to have a moderate acute toxicity to fish.

Earthjustice also filed a petition with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to require comprehensive toxicity testing, toxicity standards, and disclosure for dispersant ingredients. We are also pursuing legal action to spur more careful use of dispersants—identifying, for example, water bodies where they should and should not be used, and finding limits on the amount of dispersants used. These decisions should be made deliberatively by EPA—rather than by emergency responders in the midst of an oil spill.

A U.S. Air Force aircraft drops an oil dispersing chemical into the Gulf of Mexico as part of the Deepwater Horizon Response effort on May 5, 2010.
A U.S. Air Force aircraft drops an oil dispersing chemical into the Gulf of Mexico as part of the Deepwater Horizon Response effort on May 5, 2010. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Tech. Sgt. Adrian Cadiz)

Case Updates

August 25, 2011 document

The Chaos of Clean-up

Prepared in response to widespread public concern among Gulf Coast communities about the safety of chemicals, known as dispersants, that were poured into the Gulf of Mexico to disperse oil during the Deepwater Horizon disaster, this report presents findings from a literature review of scientific research on each of 57 chemical ingredients that are found in dispersants that were eligible for use at the time of the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

June 8, 2011 Press Release: Victory

Government Releases Partial List Of Chemicals Found In Oil Spill Dispersants

Toxic chemicals in clean-up plans signal need for stronger oversight

April 20, 2011 Article

Threats of High-Risk Drilling Remain Year After Gulf Oil Spill

One year ago, the BP oil spill had just started turning the Gulf of Mexico’s blue waters to the color of rust. Triggered on April 20, 2010 by a well-rig explosion that killed 11 people, the spill would gush more than 200 million gallons of crude oil—the largest oil spill in U.S. history. Before the well was finally capped three months later, untold numbers of birds, dolphins, sea turtles and other wildlife had perished in the muck, or possibly from…