Tuesday, November 12, 2013

“Covering Up The [Gulf] Oil Spill With Corexit Was a Deadly Action … What Happened In the Gulf Was a Political Act, an Act of Cowardice and Greed”

“Covering Up The [Gulf] Oil Spill With Corexit Was a Deadly Action … What Happened In the Gulf Was a Political Act, an Act of Cowardice and Greed”
Tuesday, September 24, 2013 15:21
A Tragedy Our Society Should Never Repeat

Preface: Washington’s Blog has interviewed numerous other leading government-affiliated experts concerning the BP oil spill, including Bob Bea and Ian McDonald.

As we reported at the time, the EPA allowed BP to dump mass quantities of a highly-toxic chemical into the Gulf of Mexico in order to help BP hide the amount of oil in the Gulf … and to help to cover up what was really going on.

Last month, 60 Minutes made a fantastic exposé on the whole shenanigan.

We contacted Gulf toxicologist Dr. Susan Shaw – Founder and Director of the Marine Environmental Research Institute – for comment.   Here’s background on Dr. Shaw’s involvement with the BP oil spill.

Dr. Shaw told Washington’s Blog:

It was refreshing to see such a strong public statement about what really happened in the Gulf of Mexico.

I was the first scientist to dive in the oil slick after the Deepwater Horizon explosion in 2010. As a member of DOI’s [the U.S. Department of the Interior's] Strategic Sciences Working Group (SSWG) and a TEDx speaker, I alerted federal agency heads and the public about the combined toxicity of Corexit and oil, and predicted much of the terrible human suffering and environmental damage we are seeing in the Gulf today. The Australian 60 Minutes report takes the viewer up close to the victims, Gulf residents and cleanup workers whose health problems are overwhelming and who will not recover, ever. As a public health professional, I interviewed residents of Grand Isle LA (“ground zero”) and experienced first hand what we now call the “Gulf syndrome” –  they had blinding headaches, memory loss, heart palpitations, internal bleeding, swollen livers, and skin lesions. Some had been sprayed directly with Corexit, often by planes flying at night. One was a 14 year old school girl who had periodic bleeding from her ears. As a scientist, I was stunned at the depth of suffering, the bewilderment, the loss.

Covering up the oil spill with Corexit was a deadly action that resulted in a tragedy our society should never repeat. For the federal government to make Corexit’s application the standard operating procedure for offshore oil spills is unacceptable. It is outrageous.

Below are links to my previous public statements about the danger and the duplicity of using Corexit to contain oil spills. Scientists know very well how toxic the mixture is. What happened in the Gulf was a political act, an act of cowardice and greed. It is time for Americans to know the truth.

Corexit
Corexit[1] (often styled COREXIT)[2] is a product line of oil dispersants used to dissolve oil spills. It is produced by Nalco Holding Company, which merged with Ecolab in 2011 and is associated with BP and Exxon.[3] Oil that would normally rise to the surface of the water is emulsified into tiny droplets by the dispersant and remains suspended in the water and on the sea floor.[4][5][6] Corexit was used in unprecedented quantities during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.[7] In 2012, a study found that Corexit increases the toxicity of oil by 52 times.

2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill
National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill investigated the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Note: Frances G. Beinecke was a member of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, a director at the Apollo Alliance, and is the president of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Robert Redford was a director at the Apollo Alliance, and is a trustee at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Aspen Institute (think tank), the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), the Urban Institute (think tank), and the Brookings Institution (think tank).
George Soros is the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Susan Crown was a trustee at the Natural Resources Defense Council, is Lester Crown’s daughter, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Douglas A. Pertz is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, a director at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and was a director at the Nalco Holding Co.
Lester Crown is Susan Crown’s father, a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, the chairman for the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Henry A. Kissinger was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), a member of the Bohemian Club, a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Belizean_Grove is the equivalent to the male-only social group, the Bohemian Club.
Henrietta Holsman Fore is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), a member of the Belizean Grove, and a director at the Exxon Mobil Corp.
Daniel S. Sanders was a VP at the Exxon Mobil Corp., the president of the ExxonMobil Chemical Company, a director at the Nalco Holding Co., and is a director at Ecolab, Inc.
William W. George is a director the Exxon Mobil Corp., and a trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank).
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) was a funder for the Exxon Mobil Corp, and TNK-BP.
James F. Collins is a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), was a U.S. ambassador for Russia, and a senior advisor for Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP.
Rosneft is a state-owned oil company for Russia, and acquired TNK-BP.
Lamar McKay is a director at TNK-BP, the division CEO for BP p.l.c., and was the chairman & president for BP America Inc.
BP p.l.c. is a subsidiary of BP America Inc.
Jamie S. Gorelick was an attorney for BP p.l.c., a trustee at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), a commissioner for the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, and is a trustee at the Urban Institute (think tank).
Lee H. Hamilton was the vice chair for the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, a co-chair for the Iraq Study Group, is a director at BAE Systems Inc., and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
BAE Systems plc is a subsidiary of BAE Systems Inc.
Paul M. Anderson is a director at BAE Systems Inc., and a director at BP p.l.c.
Vernon E. Jordan Jr. was a member of the Iraq Study Group, is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle, a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Cyrus F. Freidheim Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), an honorary life director for the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
R. Eden Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and a counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.
Sidley Austin LLP is the lobby firm for Bayer HealthCare.
Arthur J. Higgins was the chairman for Bayer HealthCare, and is a director at Ecolab, Inc.
Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.
Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP, and is a director at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
Thomas A. Cole is a partner at Sidley Austin LLP, a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and was a director at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.  
Walter E. Massey is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and was a director at BP p.l.c.
Douglas A. Pertz is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, a director at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and was a director at the Nalco Holding Co.
John H. Bryan is an honorary life director at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and was a director at BP p.l.c.
Rodney F. Chase was the deputy CEO for BP p.l.c., and a director at the Nalco Holding Co.
BP p.l.c. was the operator of oil rig for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Deepwater Horizon was the oil rig that exploded, killing 11 & triggering oil spill in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill investigated the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Kenneth R. Feinberg is the victim compensation administrator for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a director at Human Rights First, was the administrator of victim payments for the 2012 Aurora (CO) theater shootings, and a special master for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001.
Kenneth Feinberg
Feinberg was appointed Special Master of the U.S. government's September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and served as the Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation, popularly called the "pay czar."
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Human Rights First, and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
George Soros is the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and an advisory board member for the Earth Institute.
Carl-Henric Svanberg is an advisory board member for the Earth Institute, and the chairman for the BP p.l.c.
BP p.l.c. was the operator of oil rig in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill investigated the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Frances G. Beinecke was a member of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, a director at the Apollo Alliance, and is the president of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Robert Redford was a director at the Apollo Alliance, and is a trustee at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Susan Crown was a trustee at the Natural Resources Defense Council, is Lester Crown’s daughter, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Douglas A. Pertz is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, a director at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and was a director at the Nalco Holding Co.

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