Whistle blower Hugh Kaufman is a senior policy analyst at the EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. Though the EPA will not officially tell us exactly what’s going on with dispersant chemicals being used in the Gulf of Mexico, Mr. Kaufman seems to have a legitimate concern for the health and safety of those working to clean up the mess, as well as residents of the Gulf states. He was recently interviewed by Amy Goodman of Democracy Now and blasted not only BP, but his employer as well:
Well, Corexit is one of a number of dispersants, that are toxic, that are used to atomize the oil and force it down the water column so that it’s invisible to the eye. In this case, these dispersants were used in massive quantities, almost two million gallons so far, to hide the magnitude of the spill and save BP money. And the government—both EPA, NOAA, etc.—have been sock puppets for BP in this cover-up. Now, by hiding the amount of spill, BP is saving hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars in fines, and so, from day one, there was tremendous economic incentive to use these dispersants to hide the magnitude of the gusher that’s been going on for almost three months.
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Consequently, we have people, wildlife—we have dolphins that are hemorrhaging. People who work near it are hemorrhaging internally. And that’s what dispersants are supposed to do. EPA now is taking the position that they really don’t know how dangerous it is, even though if you read the label, it tells you how dangerous it is. And, for example, in the Exxon Valdez case, people who worked with dispersants, most of them are dead now. The average death age is around fifty. It’s very dangerous, and it’s an economic—it’s an economic protector of BP, not an environmental protector of the public.
It’s hard to believe that the EPA would allow BP to dump Corexit into the Gulf waters knowing that it would be unsafe for human populations. The EPA has not officially declared the Corexit to be as deadly as most scientists know it is. From the EPA’s standpoint, the Corexit has been deemed safe – more or less. (If it was dangerous, wouldn’t they have stopped its use?).
Remember, however, that the EPA also declared the air at Ground Zero after September 11th as safe. Nearly 10 years later, we know this was completely false and hundreds, if not thousands, of people who worked to clean up the World Trade Center sites have experienced health problems, including a various cancers.
It seems to us that BP’s use of Corexit benefits them in various ways.
First, the Corexit will disperse the oil (not get rid of it) so that the surface of the Gulf of Mexico doesn’t look as polluted as it actually is. According to studies, Corexit doesn’t work so well under water, thus, we likely still have globs and tarballs of oil underwater killing off sea life and making their way towards the shores. Essentially, this is a PR move on the part of BP – a clean Gulf means a clean image for BP.
Second, and you may very well disagree, BP’s use of Corexit will likely cause significant health damages to those working in its direct vicinity, as well as to those who may ingest contaminated water or food containing this dangerous chemical. How does this benefit BP? Like the Exxon Valdez spill, the court battles for reparations and damages will likely takes years, if not decades to play out. By then, many of those affected may already be dead – some from natural causes, some from man-made Corexit poisoning. Isn’t it easier to just kill off those who will later sue you now, than to have to deal with long and drawn out law suits they may end up costing you billions of dollars?It may sound ridiculous, but remember that BP is a corporation beholden not to our safety or the cleanliness of the Gulf, but to its shareholders. Money is the bottom line.
Whatever the case may be, we know eleven people have already died as a result of BP’s negligence. It is our view that hundreds, perhaps thousands, more will die as a result of their need to preserve their image and revenue.
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Animal House
Comments…..I think you present a very real, present danger, Mac.  I have friends in that region, some of who are leaving, some dealing with loved ones fighting cancer, which they do not wish to aggravate by being in the vicinity.  From BP and our government I expect nothing but duplicity, lies and evasions. And even more sadly..it ain’t over yet…….apparently all I can do is watch, read as much as I can, and learn from follow commenters.
…and what will happen when hurricane Bonnie (who is not a threat anymore) or the next COREXITcane comes through, sucks this stuff up and it rains down on the gulf coast and carries it inland, maybe to the east coast, maybe to the midwest (me!) and drops it on us?
…yet, why aren’t you hearing all the screaming and crying from the environmentalists? Why? WHY? Because all the screaming and crying was FAKE. FAKE I tell you! Whipped up by the progressives to help with their big government agenda. Whipped up by the lamestream meadia as they bowed to their masters, you know, the ones with the checkbooks.
I’m telling you! We’ve been sold a bill of goods so long that the tail of it will still be at the store once we get home!
Subway:Â Can I take your order sir.
Shmucko:Â Yes I’d like the gulf crab and lobster on white bread twelve inches please.
Subway:Â What toppings would you like sir?
Shmucko:Â Give me some lettuce, tomatoe, and onion please.
Subway:Â Anything else on it sir?
Shmucko:Â Squeeze a little oil and vinager and give me some of that new stuff….CoreExit.
Subway:Â Sir, the Gulf shrimp and lobster comes with CoreExit already in it.
Shmucko:Â Never mind.
China used oil eating bacteria to clean up their petroleum spill not disperse it.
Congressional hearings need to determine who ordered the CoreExit at BP and take appropriate actions, including long incarceration, since we can’t kill the bastard.
The US attorney in the area needs to investigate. And if he doesn’t then we need supenas and depositions from a private law firm pursuing these guys. That must be in process, there is just too much money on the table for it not to be in the works.
Where are the ambulance chasers when you need them?
So, if TPTB won’t let people photograph the cleanup efforts or the extent of damage, would they try to stop a private investigator gathering attorney-client work product for a lawsuit?
Bp is in bed with the Govrnment so this will be like agent orange in vietnam.wiont deal wih until most peiople are dead and pay out several hundred millions and that will be the end of it .
That is the new american way -screw the people and when they cry plug there mouths and razzle and dazzle with media blockage and disinfornmation .
first impression = acute thrombocytopenia.
In my view, the Health and Safety of American workers, in both private and public sector jobs, has never been a priority for the U.S. Government.  Over the years, people have been intentionally exposed to any number of toxic agents. Think about the service members who were intentionally exposed to the fallout from nuclear testing. How about the service members who were subjected to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War? It well documented that first responders and clean up crews at Ground Zero suffered tremendously from injestion of toxic substances. There is a definite pattern here and in each case the government deemed these exposures to be safe to humans. Well, they were not safe and many paid the ultimate price after suffering years of failing health. Now we have Corexit, which the government has deem to be safe to humans. Watch out…!!        Â
Also, don’t forget that most Leftists and elites look at humans and see vermin. Corexit will reduce the vermin’s population by the hundreds of thousands while the role of the stuff is debated for decades. Why bother with Nazi or Soviet camps when you can do it on the sly and make billion$?
Absolutely irresponsible! This nutcase, Hugh Kaufman, is a liar and the nuts reporting his lies are complicit.  Â
Hugh Kaufman is an American Hero and should be given the Medal of Freedom for telling folks how nasty and dangerous these chemicals are. Â He should be put in charge of the entire clean up effort as he seems to be the only one not singing the happy little government song down there.
“We already know that 11 people have died as a result of BP’s negligence”…
I wonder if they’re including suicides?,if so,that wouldn’t have much to do with corexit,would it?
I wonder if Mac could name the 11 people killed.
As if this news wasn’t disturbing enough, when one looks back and paints a picture of our society a deeply, insidiously disturbing image can be seen in the rear view mirror.
Whether it’s the financial system, agriculture, the environment, or any other number of systems that the human race depends on, you can’t keep sweeping the problems under the rug and moving on simply because you can’t “see” the problems anymore.
How many countless times are we going to engage in quantitative easing, financial bailouts, subsidies for those who don’t need it, or mass dumping of hazardous chemicals into a bio-diverse area of the planet, all just to keep an unfair and sick system alive? How many times are we going to apply a band-aid to severed arm simply because it saves us money?
I think we are nearing end times of civilization as we know it, because we cannot move ahead any longer.
“…yet, why aren’t you hearing all the screaming and crying from the environmentalists? Why? WHY? Because all the screaming and crying was FAKE. FAKE I tell you! Whipped up by the progressives to help with their big government agenda.” – NetRanger——————————————————-
If Big Government hadn’t been drowned in the proverbial bathtub by radical right wing traitors with support from white trash coporate brown-nosers like you, NetRanger, there never would have been an oil spill (or offshore, deep well drilling and lax regulation) in the first place, not mention that right wing-owned banking, oil, auto, media and postwar reconstruction companies are all part of the conspiracy to keep Americans hooked on cars, oil and sprawl, the better to line the pockets of these companies.
Don’t you dare blame progressives!
anyone who has read more than two of my posts knows that I am no friend of organized religion. Â However, there is one religious principle that applies here (coincidentally this principal is dodged by all christian churches), the TRUTH WILL COME OUT.
What these people are doing with their chemicals is appalling. Â They are killing Americans by the (in the case of the Gulf spill) tens of thousands. Â However, this isn’t even the real problem, it’s only a snapshot of it.
The fact is that corporations have been doing this to us for years. Â Just look up “GMO in my food” on Google and see what you find. Â Both parties are to blame. Â There is a bill right now before congress and it would abolish organic farming in the US, and it’s written by a democrat. Â The oil-meisters (bush and cheney) certainly weren’t “friends” of the environment.
Voting counts only in your mind. Â Your vote does not count in the real world. Â This has been going on for decades now, and the sooner you get used to it, and MAKE ADJUSTMENTS, the safer and happier you’ll be. Â 🙂
Comments…..The undeclared risk to the workers is the small part of the problem. This atomized oil that is mixed with corexit and invisible to the human eye is 1000x more toxic than the oil alone. And has been noted to be in the rivers and marshes and lake Ponchatrain. That means that it is in the watershed. The source of bathing and drinking for the entire region. If a shrimp worker got very sick from having some drops of polluted water splash on his skin, what happens when people bathe in it or drink it??? What happens when it becomes embedded in the watershed system or filters down into the watertable? It will be toxic for how many centuries? And the corexit is odorless and colorless. Who is testing the watershed, the water sources and how are they filtering the tapwater. Have they proved they can test for and filter out corexit and oil? This goes so far beyond what is in the ocean.
Comments….. Thank God for honest whistle blowers who by the way are true patriots.
Comments….. The song “They Don’t Care About Us’ comes to mind and it’s the gospel truth. Keep your eyes open folks, we appreciate the whistle blowers!
They Don’t Care About Us!!!!