Hurricane Toxic Stu…

Welcome to Hurricane Season 2010!

Here to throw out the ceremonial first pitch is international energy conglomerate, British Petroleum!! Or – as its marketing campaign once told us – “Beyond Petroleum.”

That’s right: Beyond Petroleum all the way into destroying one of the world’s great oceans. But all this is really stressing out BP CEO Tony Hayward. He wants his life back. Maybe he should give back some of his $8 million salary & bonus.

Hurricane Season 2010 could be a very active season; or it could be an also-ran in the history of great hurricane seasons. We always hope for the later but prepare for the former.

As an expert hurricane watcher and emergency management director once said, “it only takes one storm to make it a really bad year.”

Maybe the National Hurricane Center should suspend the normal alphabetical listing of storm names and call the first Gulf storm, “Hurricane Toxic Stu.”

‘Cause that’s what it’s gonna be.

Estimates suggest the Gulf of Mexico now contains between 44 million and 100 million gallons of oil, just sloshing about on the surface and in large undersea plumes. Add to that nearly 1 million gallons of potentially deadly chemicals have been added to the noxious mash by BP in an effort to break up the oil. (Can you spell, Corexit?)

In short, the Gulf of Mexico has become a poisonous gumbo just waiting to be served up hot and with gusto by a hurricane churning its way up the suffering sea.  Crude oil and potentially cancer-causing chemicals are not something we want to see added to the already deadly potential of hurricanes.

Devastating wind, 8 to 10 foot storm surge, oil-soaked battering rain and toxic chemicals could make any landfalling storm in the Gulf even more deadly than usual – and potentially for many years to come. Way beyond petroleum.

Oh sure, the chemicals are safe enough – says BP, the EPA & the Coast Guard.

Corexit, one of the main chemicals being poured into the oil to break it up into smaller, less obvious chunks, is absolutely safe according to its manufacturer, Nalco or Napierville, IL.

“Prompt deployment of Nalco COREXIT® oil spill dispersants is one very effective and proven method of minimizing the impact of a spill on the environment,” says the Nalco website. “ When the COREXIT dispersants are deployed on the spilled oil, the oil is broken up into tiny bio-degradable droplets that immediately sink below the surface where they continue to disperse and bio-degrade.”

Wait…what? Biodegrade? Molecules that once made up dinosaurs and have laid deep in the earth’s crust for millions of years only to be sucked out again and used for fuel? Biodegrade? Really? Hydrocarbons?

Whachu talkin’ ‘bout, Willis?

Ah, yes, but the EPA  says the shelf life of the chemical is unlimited. The EPA also suggests taking great precautions when handling the stuff.

“Avoid prolonged breathing of vapors. Use with ventilation equal to unobstructed outdoors in moderate breeze. Avoid eye contact. Avoid contact with skin and clothing. Remove contaminated clothing, including shoes, after flushing has begun. If irritation persists, seek medical attention. For open systems where contact is likely, wear long sleeve shirt, chemical resistant gloves, and chemical protective goggles.”

Okay…no problem. Oh, and one last comment from the Nalco website:

“By keeping the oil from adhering to wildlife COREXIT dispersants effectively protect the environment.”

Hurricane Toxic Stu.

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Tags: BP, chemicals, Coast Guard, Corexit, dispersants, EPA, Gulf, Gulf of Mexico, Gulf oil spill, Hurricane Season 2010, Hurricanes, Nalco, National Hurricane Center, Tony Hayward