# Whistleblower: BP hiding size of spill by using toxic chemical to make the oil sink **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 30, 2010, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whistleblower-bp-hiding-size-of-spill-by-using-toxic-chemical-to-make-the-oil-sink/545117 "2010-06-30T21:38:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whistleblower-bp-hiding-size-of-spill-by-using-toxic-chemical-to-make-the-oil-sink/545117/1 "2010-06-30T21:38:54Z")
[Story here:](http://www.examiner.com/x-33986-Political-Spin-Examiner~y2010m6d30-Whistle-blower-to-testify-on-oil-spill-worst-fearBP-deliberately-sinks-oil-with-Corexit-as-cover-up) > [@](#): > > In a shocking interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper on June 29th, Allegiance Capitol Corporation V.P. Fred McCallister said that BP is deliberately sinking oil with the toxic chemical disbursant Corexit, to hide the size of the oil spill. By sinking the oil before it can be collected, BP won’t have to pay fines on it. > > McCallister said, “Everybody in Europe, where the standard practice is to raise the oil and collect it, is scratching their heads, and quite honestly laughing at what’s happening in the Gulf.” He added, “Everyone is looking at us and wondering why we’re allowing this to happen.” > > McCallister is set to appear before a Senate investigative panel on Thursday and testify that BP’s only interests regarding the Deepwater Horizon spill is protectimg their own financial interests. His statements explained why BP has been refusing offers of help from additional foreign skimmers. > > BP’s fear is that independent skimmers would be able to count the number of gallons collected, and thus provide the US government with data to assess spill rate financial penalties against BP, according to McCallister. Now, the story doesn’t say what this “Allegiance Capitol Corporation” is. or what is its connection to BP, or how McCallister would have inside information on BP’s decisionmaking or practice. None of which matters. I believe every word of it, you believe every word of it, and Congress will believe every word of it, and should. **ISN’T THERE SOME WAY WE CAN PUT THESE GUYS BEHIND BARS?!** :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whistleblower-bp-hiding-size-of-spill-by-using-toxic-chemical-to-make-the-oil-sink/545117/2 "2010-06-30T21:49:33Z")
Yeah, McCallister’s a friggin alarmist of the first water. What the heck did all you dummies _think_ a dispersant was doing to the oil, _not_ dispersing it???😕😕😕 Christ, some folks are born dense, and just keep getting thicker and thicker! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whistleblower-bp-hiding-size-of-spill-by-using-toxic-chemical-to-make-the-oil-sink/545117/3 "2010-06-30T22:23:31Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Christ, some folks are born dense, and just keep getting thicker and thicker! They make dispersants for that . . . ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whistleblower-bp-hiding-size-of-spill-by-using-toxic-chemical-to-make-the-oil-sink/545117/4 "2010-06-30T22:34:07Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Now, the story doesn’t say what this “Allegiance Capitol Corporation” is. or what is its connection to BP, or how McCallister would have inside information on BP’s decisionmaking or practice. > > None of which matters. I believe every word of it, you believe every word of it, and Congress will believe every word of it, and should. You’re a moron. I’m not defending BP by any means, but would it have killed you to do just a tad bit of research? [Here](http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/dispersants.html) is the EPA’s own page on the use of dispersants in the current spill. Hell, the EPA and the coast guard O.K.'d it [a month and a half ago](http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doc/2931/551271/). You can’t read about or watch a story about this disaster without coming across underwater dispersant. “Inside information” my ass. And Fred McCallister? He’s not an insider or an engineer. He’s a fucking [investment banker](http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/allegiance-capital-calls-upon-gulf-state-leaders-in-oil-skimmer-controversy-96696689.html) that wants to lease European skimmers to BP. He’ll make money if BP leases the ships. Next time do some basic, and I mean _basic_ research before you post some dumbass pit thread. ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whistleblower-bp-hiding-size-of-spill-by-using-toxic-chemical-to-make-the-oil-sink/545117/5 "2010-06-30T22:48:06Z")
Nice fucking google ad at the bottom of this page, btw. BP SPILL. BLAME OBAMA? VOTE NOW! What the fuck ever. There is such a ridiculous amount of misinformation and blame shifting about this disaster that it’s ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whistleblower-bp-hiding-size-of-spill-by-using-toxic-chemical-to-make-the-oil-sink/545117/6 "2010-06-30T22:53:11Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > You’re a moron. I’m not defending BP by any means, but would it have killed you to do just a tad bit of research? [Here](http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/dispersants.html) is the EPA’s own page on the use of dispersants in the current spill. Hell, the EPA and the coast guard O.K.'d it [a month and a half ago](http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doc/2931/551271/). You can’t read about or watch a story about this disaster without coming across underwater dispersant. > > “Inside information” my ass. > > And Fred McCallister? He’s not an insider or an engineer. He’s a fucking [investment banker](http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/allegiance-capital-calls-upon-gulf-state-leaders-in-oil-skimmer-controversy-96696689.html) that wants to lease European skimmers to BP. He’ll make money if BP leases the ships. > > Next time do some basic, and I mean _basic_ research before you post some dumbass pit thread. Nevertheless you **do** believe every word of it. If you deny it, you’re a liar. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whistleblower-bp-hiding-size-of-spill-by-using-toxic-chemical-to-make-the-oil-sink/545117/7 "2010-06-30T23:20:24Z")
I’m with the Brain on this one. Fucking BP, dispersing that oil and shit. We need it all to come ashore, so as we can sue and get more of that sweet cash. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whistleblower-bp-hiding-size-of-spill-by-using-toxic-chemical-to-make-the-oil-sink/545117/8 "2010-06-30T23:24:15Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Nevertheless you **do** believe every word of it. If you deny it, you’re a liar. Believe what? That they are using dispersants? Of course I do, it’s been a controversial decision by the EPA for a while now. That’s like asking me if I believe the health care bill passed. The difference between you and me is that I know what a dispersant is, and apparently you don’t. I’ve been keeping up with the news, and you haven’t. The dispersant is not being used to “hide the size of the spill”, because the government isn’t measuring it in square miles anyway - they are measuring it in how many barrels come out of the pipe\*. The hope is that by sinking the oil, it will stay away from the shoreline\*\*. \*BP has certainly been underestimating _that_. That’s what you should be bitching about - not the dispersants. Do some research, because you sound like an uninformed idiot. \*\*I don’t particularly like the decision to use dispersants to protect the shoreline. It makes the oil harder to retrieve, may damage the benthic ecosystem, and the methanogen bloom it will cause is going to suck up all the dissolved O2 in the water - suffocating higher marine life. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whistleblower-bp-hiding-size-of-spill-by-using-toxic-chemical-to-make-the-oil-sink/545117/9 "2010-06-30T23:36:58Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > I’m with the Brain on this one. Fucking BP, dispersing that oil and shit. We need it all to come ashore, so as we can sue and get more of that sweet cash. If I may be permitted to puncture your sarcasm here, while there is no technology that can clean it up altogether, ecological damage is one of the major concerns in this spill, and dispersants make the ecological damage worse. Much worse. ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whistleblower-bp-hiding-size-of-spill-by-using-toxic-chemical-to-make-the-oil-sink/545117/10 "2010-07-01T04:06:55Z")
Another [recent take on it](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/ybenjamin/detail?blogid=150&entry_id=65552) Some good points: > [@](#): > > Just when you thought the damages BP could cause was limited to beaches, marshes, oceans, people’s livelihoods, birds and marine life, there’s more. > > BP’s favorite dispersant Corexit 9500 is being sprayed at the oil gusher on the ocean floor. Corexit is also being air sprayed across hundreds of miles of oil slicks all across the gulf. There have been widespread reports of oil cleanup crews reporting various injuries including respiratory distress, dizziness and headaches. > > Corexit 9500 is a solvent originally developed by Exxon and now manufactured by the Nalco of Naperville, Illinois (who by the way just hired some expensive lobbyists). Corexit is is four times more toxic than oil (oil is toxic at 11 ppm (parts per million), Corexit 9500 at only 2.61ppm). > > In a report written by Anita George-Ares and James R. Clark for Exxon Biomedical Sciences, Inc. titled “Acute Aquatic Toxicity of Three Corexit Products: An Overview” Corexit 9500 was found to be one of the most toxic dispersal agents ever developed. And, we don’t even know at all what might evaporate into the air and disperse further, really. If someone can give me good data that it won’t happem, much obliged. Factor in the normal hurricane cycle of the Gulf. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whistleblower-bp-hiding-size-of-spill-by-using-toxic-chemical-to-make-the-oil-sink/545117/11 "2010-07-01T04:14:25Z")
> [@elelle](#): > > Factor in the normal hurricane cycle of the Gulf. Don’t factor. Pray. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whistleblower-bp-hiding-size-of-spill-by-using-toxic-chemical-to-make-the-oil-sink/545117/12 "2010-07-01T04:26:08Z")
Honey, I can’t even pray about this…it’s the most singular anger making thing environmentally ever encountered. The most arrogant man-made disaster ever, slamming a vital ecosystem right where it should be flourishing. If I could offer prayers, it would be to abolish ignorance and greed. Yep, will try, there, ---
**Author:** ![adhay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@adhay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhay)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whistleblower-bp-hiding-size-of-spill-by-using-toxic-chemical-to-make-the-oil-sink/545117/13 "2010-07-01T12:27:57Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Don’t factor. Pray. ☹ That is truly all that’s left us, especially when you factor in that the spill and BP are just one more instance of the govt sponsored corporate ruination of the planet ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whistleblower-bp-hiding-size-of-spill-by-using-toxic-chemical-to-make-the-oil-sink/545117/14 "2010-07-01T16:46:58Z")
[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/25/science/earth/25disperse.html](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/25/science/earth/25disperse.html) Here is a NYT article on Corexit, the dispersant BP is using. It has been removed from use in England for over a decade because it is bad for animals. While we allow oil companies to get away with whatever they want, apparently the EPA did not think BP would use the chemical in such huge quantities. It is supposed to make the oil coalesce into droplets that sink to the gulf floor. The idea is that the ocean will disperse it better. That sounds counter to logic. It should make it harder to move, but less likely to show up visually. Bp does not care about the gulf. They care about money. ---
**Author:** ![Baracus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@Baracus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baracus)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whistleblower-bp-hiding-size-of-spill-by-using-toxic-chemical-to-make-the-oil-sink/545117/15 "2010-07-01T17:21:31Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > It is supposed to make the oil coalesce into droplets that sink to the gulf floor. The idea is that the ocean will disperse it better. That sounds counter to logic. It should make it harder to move, but less likely to show up visually. Bp does not care about the gulf. They care about money. No, it doesn’t cause the oil to sink to the ocean floor. It causes it to sink below the water’s surface and get entrained in the water column. The oil is still buoyant and wants to rise, but the smaller droplets have a higher surface to volume ratio and are thus more easily kept below the water’s surface by wave action, etc. Also, in theory, the smaller droplets can be consumed by natural oil-eating bacteria more quickly than oil in a thick slick. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whistleblower-bp-hiding-size-of-spill-by-using-toxic-chemical-to-make-the-oil-sink/545117/16 "2010-07-02T01:04:52Z")
Corexit has been banned in England only for use on rocky beaches. > [@](#): > > Corexit, he said, has been banned for use only on rocky shorelines, where it was found to affect the ability of snails and similar organisms to cling to the rocks. > > “Corexit has not been banned for offshore use in the U.K.,” he said. [From here.](http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/05/28/28greenwire-we-have-nothing-to-hide-oil-dispersant-maker-s-42602.html) ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whistleblower-bp-hiding-size-of-spill-by-using-toxic-chemical-to-make-the-oil-sink/545117/17 "2010-07-02T01:08:53Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Now, the story doesn’t say what this “Allegiance Capitol Corporation” is. or what is its connection to BP, or how McCallister would have inside information on BP’s decisionmaking or practice. > > None of which matters. I believe every word of it, you believe every word of it, and Congress will believe every word of it, and should. > > **ISN’T THERE SOME WAY WE CAN PUT THESE GUYS BEHIND BARS?!** :mad: Wow. Don’t you think there’s a disconnect between your first and second paragraph, which turns into a big chasm of crazy by your third paragraph? Of course you don’t. But it’s true. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whistleblower-bp-hiding-size-of-spill-by-using-toxic-chemical-to-make-the-oil-sink/545117/18 "2010-07-02T01:18:29Z")
[Dispersants appear to break up in Gulf, EPA says](http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/06/30/gulf.oil.dispersants/?hpt=Sbin) > [@](#): > > June 30, 2010 9:11 p.m > > The dispersant used on the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill appears to be breaking up within weeks and is less toxic than similar products, according to preliminary testing by the Environmental Protection Agency. > > Paul Anastas, the agency’s assistant administrator for research and development, told reporters Wednesday the agency is making no new recommendations until further tests are conducted. But he said there is no sign that dispersants are remaining in the water or settling to the bottom, and that the Corexit 9500 being used by oil company BP is among the least toxic to small fish and mysid shrimp of the eight products tested, Anastas said. [Oil dispersant does not pose environmental threat, early EPA findings suggest](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/30/AR2010063004358.html) > [@](#): > > June 30, 2010; 9:01 PM > > The Environmental Protection Agency released its first round of testing results on the toxicity of oil dispersants Wednesday, saying initial findings suggest that the dispersant BP is using in the Gulf of Mexico is less harmful than oil and does not pose as significant an environmental threat as the spill does. > > In a telephone news conference, EPA’s assistant administrator for research and development, Paul Anastas, emphasized that it was “too early to draw conclusions” about the long-term impact of Corexit 9500, the dispersant BP has applied to break up oil spewing from the downed Deepwater Horizon rig. The agency has yet to analyze the impact of dispersants mixed with oil and instead just tested the application of eight types of dispersants to marine animals in a lab setting. Straight Dope from the EPA: [EPA’s Toxicity Testing of Dispersants](http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/dispersants-testing.html) > [@](#): > > EPA began its own scientific testing of eight dispersant products on the National Contingency Plan Product Schedule (NCP-PS). Those dispersant products are: Dispersit SPC 1000, Nokomis 3-F4, Nokomis 3-AA, ZI-400, SAF-RON GOLD, Sea Brat #4, Corexit 9500 A and JD-2000. On June 30, EPA released peer reviewed results from the first round of its own independent toxicity testing on eight oil dispersants. > > EPA’s results indicated that none of the eight dispersants tested, including the product in use in the Gulf, displayed biologically significant endocrine disrupting activity. While the dispersant products alone – not mixed with oil - have roughly the same impact on aquatic life, JD-2000 and Corexit 9500 were generally less toxic to small fish and JD-2000 and SAF-RON GOLD were least toxic to mysid shrimp. > > While this is important information to have, additional testing is needed… > > EPA will continue to update this page as additional data become available. > Full reports on these tests can be found here: > > etc, etc… ---
**Author:** ![adhay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@adhay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhay)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whistleblower-bp-hiding-size-of-spill-by-using-toxic-chemical-to-make-the-oil-sink/545117/19 "2010-07-02T04:04:37Z")
For an incredibly post-modern look at Peak Oil, this is a must see. Listen closely. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/JlE-i4QzT04/hqdefault.jpg "Empire - Running on empty?") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlE-i4QzT04) Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![sleeping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@sleeping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeping)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whistleblower-bp-hiding-size-of-spill-by-using-toxic-chemical-to-make-the-oil-sink/545117/20 "2010-07-03T15:39:30Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > **ISN’T THERE SOME WAY WE CAN PUT THESE GUYS BEHIND BARS?!** :mad: Well, Leahy recently introduced the [Environmental Crimes Enforcement Act](http://leahy.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/ECEA.pdf), but that only mandates restitution to the victims. Given the way corporations are currently structured–with strong centralized command by the chief officers–it would be a great deterrent to future disasters if they were in danger of doing jail time in federal prison. Measly fines just won’t do it.