The Global Debate Over a Controversial Chemical Used in Oil Spills

Oil Spill is a very common incident happen in this modern world due to unforeseen situation. During an oil spill, many type of tools, equipment and manpower was used to contain and clean up. One of the tools was chemical dispersant (Corexit). Corexit may offer a quick and immediate solution but there are debated regarding long term effect on marine life

What is Corexit?

Corexit is a type of dispersant to break oil into a smaller particle so it can submerge into the water thus it will look clean on the surface. In theory, this smaller particle will be consumed by natural microorganism. However with such a good tools, Corexit has been surrounded by controversy as some of the component of the mixture have been flagged as toxic.

Environment & Health Concern

The biggest usage of Corexit has been used in 2010 during the Deepwater Horizon event. A total of 5 million barrels (780 million litres) of crude oil have been spilt into the Gulf of Mexico. Estimated a total of 7 million Litre dispersant was used.
There are many bad effects on humans that in contact with Corexit. Exposure to Corexit may cause injury to red blood cells (hemolysis), kidneys and liver. Excessive exposure may cause central nervous system effects, nausea, vomiting, and anaesthetic or narcotic effects. These have caused nearly 2000 Coast Guard members to have fallen sick while using Corexit to clean up the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill. Usage of Corexit will also cause unintended impacts on marine life. This can also alter marine organic matter dynamics. However, the impact on microgels and marine oil snow is still debated and remains to be fully understood.

Bans of using Corexit.

With such effect and concern, nearly 2 dozen countries including United Kingdom and Sweden have banned the usage of dispersants. United Kingdom banned the usage of dispersant as it can affect the health of the people using it.

Conclusion

Using Corexit might be useful during oil spill clean-ups. However, there are imminent health risks to the people involved and the long-term negative effect to the environment. While using Corexit have their Pros but their Cons out weight their Pros. In Malaysia, it’s not banned to use Dispersant but strict regulations are imposed before usage and without approval from Department of Environment (DOE), it is strictly PROHIBITED to be dispersed into Malaysian waters and land.