Still struggling to plug the leak from the oil-drilling rig that exploded on April 20, in the Gulf of Mexico, BP and federal officials are taking part in one of the largest and aggressive experiments with chemical dispersants.

Concerns are growing about the 160,000 gallons of chemical dispersant, Corexit; they have sprayed on the water’s surface and the additional 6,000 gallons directly into the leak a mile beneath the surface.

Corexit the chemical that is being used to break up the oil is said to have no toxic metals or carcinogens, but environmental problems once the oil is dispersed will still be caused. Once oil becomes isolated, broken up, or sunk it becomes harder to clean up.

Killing fish eggs and disrupting embryonic development in other sea life are just two of the many things that can happen while using chemical dispersants.

Even though, the use of chemical dispersants has been extremely controversial for decades because of their toxicity to human and marine life, they are still using it today.

Tags: bp oil spill, environmental cleanup chemicals, oil cleanup chemicals

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