Corn and Dead Zones in the Gulf

While you get a lot or reporting on the BP spill, how about lack of coverage on the impact of the corn based ethanol dead zone in the gulf?

And has anyone bothered to ask how all the GMO corn and soy beans will effect the biochemistry of the Gulf waters as well as marine life or land life?

This isn't too different than the cover-up you never hear about in Idaho's Silver Valley at the nation's largest Superfund site.

Excerpt from Dead Zone in Gulf Linked to Ethanol Production
by Carolyn Lochhead, Chronicle Washington Bureau

Corn is biggest culprit

The gulf dead zone is the second-largest in the world, after one in the Baltic Sea. Scientists say the biggest culprit is industrial-scale corn production. Corn growers are heavy users of both nitrogen and pesticides. Vast monocultures of corn and soybeans, both subsidized by the federal government, have displaced diversified farms and grasslands throughout the Mississippi Basin.

"The subsidies are driving farmers toward more corn," said Gene Turner, a zoologist at Louisiana State University. "More nitrate comes off corn fields than it does off of any other crop by far. And nitrogen is driving the formation of the dead zone."

The dead zone, he said, is "a symptom of the homogenization of the landscape. We just have a few crops on what used to have all kinds of different vegetation."

In 2007, Congress passed a renewable fuels standard that requires ethanol production to triple in the next 12 years. The Department of Agriculture has just rolled out a plan to meet that goal, including building ethanol refineries in every state. The Environmental Protection Agency will decide soon whether to increase the amount of ethanol in gasoline blends from 10 percent to 15 percent.

A 2008 National Research Council report warned of a "considerable" increase in damage to the gulf if ethanol production is increased.

Pet cause of Congress

Read complete article http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/06/MNF91E84SL.DTL

Oil Spill Dispersant (COREXIT ®EC9500A and EC9527A)

Corexit: Dr. Susan Shaw warns people of the serious effects of Corexit saying it, “Ruptures red blood cells, causes internal bleeding, liver and kidney damage and allows crude oil to penetrate into cells and all  organ systems.” The combination of oil and Corexit is extremely toxic and absorbs through skin. Solvents in the dispersants penetrate the skin carrying the oil into the cells, and then circulates into the organs creating extreme toxicity.

EPA testing for mortality is inadequate states marine biologist and toxicologist Dr. Chris Pincetich.  His background is in testing the impact of chemicals on marine life. He further states that Corexit disrupts the cell wall membrane. EPA mortality uses a 96-hour time frame: Pincetich found that fish exposed to pesticides remained alive at 96 hours, but were dead at two weeks.  In this way EPA claims that the chemicals are non-lethal for the purposes of their testing.

EPA has problems too at the BP of the Northwest (www.silvervalleyaction.com).

What You May Not Know About the Oil Spill

Some information about Corexit, the dispersant used in the Exxon Valdez catastrophe and what seems to be making people sick in the Gulf as a result of it being used in the BP explosion. 

'Corexit is lethal in as little as 2.6 parts per million where oil is lethal in 11 parts per million meaning that Corexit is over 4 times more toxic than oil. Furthermore scientific studies show that oil dispersed with Corexit is 11 times more lethal than oil alone. In fact the study referenced showed that crude oil was lethal at 4250 parts per million to kill fish but combination of oil mixed with Corexit was lethal in as little as 317.7 ppm.' read more

• More to read here

• Government hides spill data

• Governments and the spill

• More on the toxicity of Corexit

• http://www.grist.org/article/2010-05-06-use-of-toxic-chemical-dispersants-to-fight-the-oil-spill-a-murky/

• http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/oil_spill/dispersants_hcp_info.htm

Also from CDC information: Type of Dispersants used on the Mississippi Canyon Oil Spill -Based on the information provided to NIOSH, two dispersants are currently being used for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill response. These dispersants are COREXIT® EC9527A and COREXIT 9500 made by the Nalco Company in Naperville, Illinois. Both products contain 10-30% sulfonic acid salt (detergent) and 1-5% propylene glycol, which are regarded as non-hazardous substances. In addition, COREXIT EC9527A contains between 30-60% of 2-butoxyethanol (solvent) and COREXIT 9500 contains between 10-30% of petroleum distillates (solvent).

2-butoxyethanol, also called butyl cellusolve, is a widely used cleaning agent. The potential human health effects of 2-butoxyethanol have been studied. Dispersants containing 2-butoxyethanol may irritate the skin. 2-butoxyethanol vapors or mists can cause respiratory irritation such as coughing.
Several occupational exposure limits (OELs) have been established for 2-butoxyethanol. The legally enforceable OEL in the United States is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL). For airborne 2-butoxyethanol the OSHA PEL is 50 parts per million (ppm) for up to a full work shift.
The NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limit (REL) for 2-butoxyethanol is 5 ppm, also for up to a full work shift. The NIOSH REL is intended to minimize potential long-term health effects to workers, primarily hemolysis of red blood cells (RBCs). Hemolysis of RBCs has been found in animals exposed to 2-butoxyethanol, but recent data suggests that human RBCs are less susceptible to these effects. Both the OSHA PEL and NIOSH REL contain guidance to minimize skin contact with 2-butoxyethanol.

NB: butylcellusolve is a very toxic substance and is often used in home cleaning products.

Other articles regarding the oil spill can be found here, including photos of the Santa Barbara oil clean up utilizing straw (1969) and other options that seem to be desperately needed.  As noted on 27 May, during a radio interview, it was noted that at Santa Barbara CA, oil still remains after 40+ years.

Oil dispersant qualities are found in colloidal solutions made from seed-bearing plant materials; similar products have been used in the Exxon Valdez oil spill. You can purchase a Made-in-the-USA colloidal product here.

See Also OilGator

Gulf of Mexico oil spill: clean-up boats recalled after crews suffer health problems (Courtesy: Rense.com)
Also refer to this post

LOOKUP MSDS SHEETS

This article is ranked 1 of 2,270,000, 27 May.

Posted 6/9/10: http://motherjones.com/mojo/2010/06/bp-oil-spill-dispersants-ingredients

Oil Spill and Your Health

Oil spill may endanger human health

Listen to today's episode of herbalYODA Says! LIVE on environmental effects and your health

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