Went down to Grand Isle yesterday with a film crew I am working with and some new friends...Wallace J. Nichols (Turtles.org) and Dr. Chris Pintecich, this is a video from an island east of Grand Isle on the gulf, one of the that the BP Oil spill has destroyed...........
As reported in the New Orleans Times Picayune, Reddy commented on the amount of dispersants used to date in the BP oil disaster:
Reddy said he is also concerned about the total amount of dispersants used, which is unprecedented. He noted that 1 million barrels [42 million gallons] of dispersants have been applied to the Gulf of Mexico to fight this spill, more than the amount of oil spilled in any single accident prior to the BP disaster. (More information on the 42 million gallons of dispersant used in the Gulf)
Using the 1 million barrels of dispersant means that, at a ratio of 1:10, there has been 10 million barrels of oil released in to the Gulf of Mexico since late April.
At the 1:20 ratio, there would be 20 million barrels of oil released.
According to the only two expert witnesses called by the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, the amount of oil entering the Gulf of Mexico during this disaster is now between 420 million and 840 million gallons (10-20 million barrels).
Use of Dispersants in Response to Gulf Oil Spill, Senate Committee Appropriations | Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, July 15, 2010:
Rush Transcript Excerpts (Apologies for all caps)
Senator Lisa Murkowsi (R-AK):
HAVE YOU DETECTED ANYTHING THAT IS NOTICEABLE OR REPORTABLE IN THE SEAFOOD THAT YOU'VE BEEN TESTING?
Larry Robinson, assistant secretary of Commerce for oceans and atmosphere/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA):
OUR SEAFOOD TESTS ARE MORE ALL -- IT'S WHAT IS DISPERSED ON OUR PROTOCOLS ARE NOT SPECIFICALLY LOOKING AT DISPERSANTS OR THE BYPRODUCTS OF DISPERSANTS.
Senator Murkowski:
ARE YOU INTENDING TO DO THAT?
NOAA Assistant Secretary:
I THINK THAT WOULD BE AN EXCELLENT THING TO CONSIDER BECAUSE WE'RE LEARNED FROM THIS SITUATION THAT THERE ARE OTHER POTENTIALS HERE, PERHAPS EVEN FROM BIOACCUMULATION OF DISPERSANTS AND THEIR BYPRODUCTS INTO SEAFOOD. SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE HAVE ON OUR LIST OF THINGS THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT.
Senator Murkowski:
IS FDA TESTING THIS... ARE THEY TESTING FOR DISPERSANTS?
NOAA Assistant Secretary:
I DON'T THINK THE PROTOCOLS, PRESENTLY CALL FOR THE TESTING OF SEAFOOD, WITH REGARD TO SEAFOOD SAFETY WITH REGARD TO DISPERSANTS OR BYPRODUCTS.
IT'S REALLY THE OIL THAT WE'RE -- AND THE OIL BIPRODUCTS THAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR IN SEAFOOD AT THE MOMENT.