Gulf of Mexico Oil Catastrophe Worst in History
& What to Do Instead
Dr. Ilya Sandra Perlingieri interviews Ohio scientist Mike Castle on what can be done instead
An estimated 3.4 million gallons are spewing out daily with no end in sight while toxic oil and dispersants are killing all ocean life Gulf disaster far worse than official account
It seems unbelievable that after almost six weeks of concentrated effort from the most technologically sophisticated staff and scientists of BP (ex British Petroleum, relaunched Beyond Petroleum!) that the catastrophe unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico from Deepwater Horizon’s off-shore oil rig explosion is still spreading out of control. It has devastated the entire Gulf of Mexico, Florida, and entered the Atlantic Ocean, traveling along the coast, up to New Jersey and New York. This is no “spill”; it is already far worse than the 1989 Exxon Valdez tanker accident. Some scientists estimated that 3.4 million gallons are coming out of 3 plumes daily [1]. To-date this means 156.4 million gallons of crude oil, and counting; no wonder it is being called an underwater oil volcano.
That’s not all. There are new reports that another crude oil plume, 22 miles long by 6 miles wide, has been found going in another direction (West) [2], “3,300 feet [below the surface], with the greatest concentration of hydrocarbons at about 1300 feet suggesting the highest level of environmental pollution from the BP disaster may be located out of sight in the Gulf’s deep waters.” It was discovered by David Hollander, associate professor of chemical oceanography, University of South Florida, the lead investigator of a research mission sent to the Gulf of Mexico [2, 3]. They “fear it is the result of BP’s unprecedented use of chemical dispersants applied underwater at the well site.” Professor Hollander said this raises 2] “more fears that oil combined with dispersant toxicity may lead to a dangerous situation for fish larvae and other creatures that filter ocean water for food.”
Despite 11 deaths from the initial rig explosion and the gravity of the ecological disaster, the worst of its kind in US history, not one person has been fired or held accountable. The cozy, on-going revolving door policy between corporations and government officials means that safety, precaution, and accountability are not part of the picture [4, 5].
Toxic dispersants wreck worse ecological havoc
BP also continues to spray highly toxic “dispersants” that are wrecking additional ecological havoc, exacerbating an already critical situation [6]. One dispersant is the chemical solvent known as Corexit 9500, banned in Europe. It is spreading the crude oil and chemical toxicity over a far wider area, and traveling on the Gulf and ocean currents. The impact and extent of the devastation underwater is far worse, but unseen by satellite tracking. The ecological catastrophe is highly likely to become transAtlantic. A short ABC-TV news item showing the underwater spread of the crude oil and dispersants on their regular national program “Good Morning America” 25May 2010 should be seen by everyone and shared widely [7].
The photographs posted by the Boston Globe on 24 May are also heart wrenching [8]. There is no doubt that our entire ocean food chain has been poisoned. It will take time to document the full extent of the environmental and health impacts perpetrated by gross negligence and a total disregard of the Precautionary Principle [9]. And, all those who are involved in any kind of miniscule and, so far, inept and extremely dangerous “clean up” are already becoming ill. This includes hired paid workers and volunteers from environmental organizations, who have not been informed by BP or anyone else of the environmental health hazards they face. And nothing is getting even remotely fixed while the epic environmental tragedy keeps unfolding. Birds, fishes, turtles, dolphins, whales and other sea creatures, the entire ecosystem is facing a far worsening crisis with every passing day. Toxic crude oil has hit land in Louisiana. In one area, Plaquemines Parish, there are video reports that all life in the ocean is dead [10]. Dead turtles and dolphins are already washing up onto the Gulf shore; but the real extent is not being reported by mainstream news. Apparently BP is forbidding news crews access to the off-shore site; it is making the rules, not the US Coast Guard. BP has also refused to use less toxic dispersants [11]. With hundreds of millions of dollars at stake, The New York Times has reported numerous conflicts of interest [12].
An urgent report “It’s raining oil in Florida” [13], on 25 May, noted raindrops of black crude oil carried on bands of storm clouds from the Gulf of Mexico. Until late on Tuesday 25 May, there was a live feed of the underwater crude oil spew. This live, streaming video was cut off, after a new eruption/explosion began. The last report was posted on Youtube [14].
“Nightmare of incompetence and greed” and what not to do
Dr. R. Michael Castle, one of the top independent polymer chemists in the US, has been following “this nightmare of incompetence and greed” as he told me, since the oil rig explosion last month on April 20. Castle is also the author of “The Methodic Demise of Natural Earth,” an essay on what is happening to our planet’s environment with the out-of-control and illegal spraying of highly toxic aerosol Chemtrails over the past twelve years [15]. He is further the author of the 2003 Unified Atmospheric Protection Act (now tied up in Congressional committee) [16].
With his extensive polymer chemistry background, Dr. Castle clearly understands the enormous ecological chemical devastation that is continuing unabated. The following are my conversations with him on 25 and 29 May 2010.
“What can be done?” he said. “Firstly, don’t set off any nuke! [This is still under consideration [17]. ] Do not do that. This is sheer madness. In no way will this fix anything. It will do irreparable and long-term massive harm.” Radiation damage would devastate the immediate area and the rest of our planet. [Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors are still monitored 65 years after the US military dropped atomic bombs on civilians.]
“Secondly, for emergency clean-up crews exposed to the crude oil’s benzene vapors, they must be informed about the consequences of working there. Many of them are neither trained properly, nor know what serious health damage can result. [This is another unfolding scenario like what the 9/11 First Responders experienced, when they were told by public officials that it was safe to breathe the toxic air at Ground Zero in New York City.]
Thirdly, according to Dr. Castle, the dispersant “contains ethylene oxide surfactants [that allows for increased spreadability]; and, one of them, 2-butoxy ethanol is a water soluble glycol ether. These are known to coat fish gills [that help absorb oxygen from the water]. Due to this toxic action, the fish then die, because they cannot get available oxygen. This is in addition to all sea life suffering from benzene poisoning.”
For anyone involved in the clean-up, Dr. Castle urges the following:
1. “Stay out of the water. Protect yourself from the hazardous vapors and carcinogenic effects of benzene. Benzene cuts off oxygen to the body (it’s water soluble) and is a known cause of leukemia –blood cancer.
2. “Use organic coconut oil or organic coconut butter. These are safe and natural plant ingredients that are bioactive and will coat the skin and protect it. Rub it on your hands, and face, and neck. It creates a protective film against benzene. Do not rub or wash it off, as it helps reverse the toxins’ many effects on the body.
3. “Also, use a capful of Willard’s XXX Dark and rub it on arms and hands. This will also naturally protect the body. This is made of lignite coal in water and is another natural way to shield the body from toxins. [Dr. Castle has no financial ties with this company/product.]
4. “I repeat: Do not send any emergency hazard clean-up teams to the Gulf who are uninformed and do not realize the extreme damage these poisons can do –short and long term.
5. “AmeriHaz can be safely used to gather up the crude oil that is already causing such ecological damage.”
What to use instead of toxic dispersants
Castle developed “AmeriHaz” in 1996, an inert polymer, to deal in a truly safe manner with cleaning up serious crude oil leaks and out-of-control dispersals of highly dangerous chemicals. “I wanted to create a product that could absorb any devastating ‘spill’ (it’s really the very wrong word for what is happening in the Gulf. A ‘spill’ is something very minor). This is catastrophic in its scope,” he told me. “This is an inert polymer product that will encapsulate this crude oil, so it won’t be picked up systemically in anything else. It literally locks up PAHs [polyaromatic hydrocarbons] that are precursors of benzene.” He has given a demonstration for Ohio’s TV news channel on how it works [18].
Castle also recommends “using crushed, pebble-size lignite coal all along beaches, marshes, and estuaries. This will help detoxify the benzene (that is naturally soluble in water) because it is extremely toxic in crude oil.
These are realistic solutions that can actually begin to remedy the effects of this catastrophe, if those people in charge really do care about saving the Gulf, an area still in trauma from the post-Hurricane Katrina debacle where there was really no help for those in most need.
Finally, an international boycott of all BP products should be instituted immediately. The untapped power of the consumer pocketbook should be used. When their CEO says this is a “modest” event, the company should not get any more money from already very strapped consumers.
Dr. Ilya Sandra Perlingieri is an environmental writer and the author of the highly acclaimed book, “The Uterine Crisis.” The Ecologist notes: “this book is an inspiration.”
References
1. Gulf of Mexico oil volcano gushes 3.4 million gallons of oil a day. The Real Agenda, accessed 31 May 2010,
http://realagenda.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/gulf-of-mexico-oil-volcano-gushes-3-4-million-gallons-of-oil-a-day
2. “New giant oil plume discovered in Gulf”, Video. Lynne Hermann, GlobalResearch.ca, 28 May 2010, www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&id=19409; This plume has also been found by another investigative team led by Professor James H. Cowan Jr., Louisiana State University: “Third oil leak in Gulf”, Fellowship of Minds, 29 May, 2010, http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/2010/05/29/third-oil-leak-in-gulf
3. “Gulf oil spill: real disaster might be lurking beneath the surface”, Mark Sappenfeld, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 May 2010: www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0516/Gulf-oil-spill-real-disaster-might-be-lurking-beneath-the-surface
4. Lendman S. Falsified oil rig inspection & other improprieties. US Inspector General Report, rense.com, 27 May 2010, www.rense.com/general91/fasl.htm
5. Leopold J. Why Isn’t BP Under Criminal Investigation? GlobalResearch.ca, 29 May 2010, www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&id=19415
6. Allen E. Why BP refuses to stop using chemical dispersants. Rense.com, 28 May 2010: www.rense.com/general91/save.htm
7. What BP does not want you to see. 24 May 2010, http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/bp-oil-spill-continues-gulf-mexico-frustration-mounts/story?id=10726217; and
http://acp.repoweramerica.org/page/invite/oilspillvideo?source=sprd-fwd&utm_source=crm_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=oilspillvideo20100527&utm_content=link1
8. “Oil reaches Louisiana shore”, The Big Picture, 24 May 2010,
www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/05/oil_reaches_louisiana_shores.html?camp=localsearch:on:twit:bigpic
9. Perlingieri IS. Worldwide environmental crisis. gone missing: The Precautionary Principle. GlobalResearch.ca, 11 Feb. 2009, www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&id=12268
10. “Twenty-four miles of Plaqeumines Parish is destroyed. everything is dead”, Billy Nungesser, 21 May 2010, www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxRWqpc77Ms&feature=player_embedded
11. “BP refuses EPA order to switch to less-toxic oil dispersant”, Margot Roosevelt and Carolyn Cole, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2010, www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-oil-spill-20100523%2C0%2C907236.story
12. Ian Urbina. “Conflict of interest worries raised in spill rests,” Ian Urbina, New York Times, 20 May 2010, www.nytimes.com/2010/05/21/science/earth/21conflict.html; See also Stephen Lendman. “BP and the Administration – Lies, Deceit, and Cover up in the Gulf.” 22 May 2010: www.rense.com/general90/bpp.htm
13. “It’s raining oil in Florida”, Eve. Fourwinds10.com,
http://fourwinds10.com/siterun_data/environment/pollution/news.php?q=1274767889
14. “Philippe Cousteau Jr. and Sam Champion take hazmat dive into Gulf’s oily waters.flv” You Tube, 25 May 2010, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6Wp4ZkEpO4
15. Dr. R. Michael Castle. “The methodic demise of natural earth”. 26 June 2009: www.newswithviews.com/guest_opinion/guest154.htm
16. The Unified Atmospheric Preservation Act, Revised March 4, 2010, http://anticorruptionsociety.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/the-unified-atmospheric-preservation-act.pdf
17. “energy expert: nuking oil leak ‘only thing we can do’”, Daniel Tancer, the raw story, 29 May 2010, http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0529/energy-expert-nuke-oil-leak/
18. “Central Ohio scientist wants to help Gulf oil spill”, ONNtv.com, 17 May 2010, www.10tv.com/live/content/onnnews/stories/2010/05/17/story-scientist-oil-spill-columbus.html
NEW: Documented Massive Kill of Louisianna Oysters:
Last night on Anderson Cooper 360, Dr. Sanjay Gupta substituted for Anderson. He interviewed an Oysterman who showed pictures of dead oysters. Apparently over 90%+ of the oysters now being retreived in Louisianna are dead due to a combination of fresh water contamination (from redirecting of the Mississippi River) and the toxic effect of the oil itself. The Oysterman indicated that it will take at a minimum of "3" years to grow an oyster crop equivalent to what has already been destroyed even if the oil well could be capped today.
--Dr. J. P. Hubert
