Scientists Sound Alarm As Arsenic Levels Rise In Seawater Around The BP Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

  Posted by - July 8, 2010 at 1:40 am - Permalink - Source via Alexander Higgins Blog
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The toxic effects of oil are pretty well known and I have warned about the effects of the neurotoxin pesticide, Corexit, that BP has been using to hide the Gulf oil spill from the public and have further reinforced those warnings here.

Scientists are now raising the alarm about yet another threat to the sea life and in fact the entire food chain in the Gulf of Mexico from the BP Gulf Oil Spill, the threat of arsenic.

On arsenic news.com.au reports:

  • Scientists warn of rising arsenic levels
  • News further adds to BP’s clean up woes
  • Energy firm hit by rising clean up costs

BELEAGUERED energy giant BP was hit with further bad news this morning as it emerged dangerous arsenic levels have been found in seawater around the Gulf of Mexico.

British scientists warned that the oil spill is increasing the level of arsenic in the ocean, and could further add to the devastating impact on the already sensitive environment.

BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig has been spilling between 3,681,500 litres and 911,454,000 litres of oil into the sea per day since it exploded on April 22.

The spill is already being labeled as America’s worst environmental disaster and has turned into a economic and PR nightmare for the British company.

…

In a further blow, an operation to permanently cap the ruptured well on the seafloor far below the surface cannot begin until engineers finish drilling relief wells, in mid-August at the earliest.

Imperial College London researchers warned the effect on the environment could worsen unless clean up efforts were hastened.

Researchers published a study which found oil stops the ocean’s natural filtering process of arsenic.

They said the arsenic then gets “magnified” up the food chain, as fish eat small amounts of the deadly poison and may eventually impact humans, researchers said.

Professor Mark Sephton said arsenic, which is found in seawater, was normally filtered out of the ocean when it combined with sediment on the sea floor.

“But oil spills stop the normal process because the oil combines with sediment and it leads to an accumulation of arsenic in the water over time,” he said.

“Arsenic only needs to be a 10th of a part per billion to cause problems.”

He added: “Our study is a timely reminder that oil spills could create a toxic ticking time bomb, which could threaten the fabric of the marine ecosystem in the future.”

Prof Sephton called for a comprehensive mapping of arsenic levels around the world which would allow authorities to consider banning oil drilling in areas with dangerous levels of arsenic.

The findings were published this month in the journal Water Research.

The warnings come after Hurricane Alex sparked a five-day shutdown, raising new questions over how BP would pay for the mounting costs.

Meanwhile cleanup workers arrived back on Grand Isle, Louisiana by the hundreds, spilling off school buses that shuttled them in from around the state with one worker claiming it’s the most oil he had seen so far.

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The Star Ledger Reports:

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Our oceans are generally resilient in the wake of contamination such as industrial waste, in part due to the highly effective filtration by deep sediments that can “bury” the toxins. Of course, there are limits. The BP Oil Spill is an alarming example. What happens when the ocean’s filtration system, a delicate balance of sediments working together, are shut down?Not surprisingly, wastewater generated from oil production can be quite toxic. An unappealing cocktail of toxins including heavy metals, this water contains high levels of mercury, lead, cadmium and arsenic. Of particular concern is arsenic: such waste can contain up to one hundred thousand times the safe limit in drinking water set by the Environmental Protection Agency. About two liquid ounces of contaminated wastewater consumed by a 150 pound person in one day corresponds to a lethal dose.

Fortunately, oil rig wastewater is not a beverage of choice and sediment filtration in our oceans can effectively “eliminate” the waste or least minimize any leaching.

British scientists recently conducted a study of the effect of crude oil on how ocean sediments can filter out toxic chemicals such as arsenic. They found that arsenic absorption within sediments is significantly reduced when exposed to oil. With the filtration system essentially shut down, arsenic can then be dispersed freely affecting the entire food chain, including us.

Potential dangers of arsenic-contaminated water are reminiscent of Bangladesh, with widespread reports of skin lesions and a higher incidence of cancer. Drinking water in Bangladesh is widely recognized as an environmental and public health nightmare, having poisoned up to 77 million residents, resulting from the widespread use of groundwater. Hand-pumped wells can access water containing extremely high levels of arsenic leached from rocks, not to mention contamination from mining and industrial production plants. Indeed, the World Health Organization has referred to this as “the largest mass poisoning of a population in history”.

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The New York Post Reports

Gulf ‘toxic bomb’

Arsenic threatens food supply

…

And now — arsenic.

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is increasing the level of arsenic in the water, and the poison could reach humans as fish consume it and pass it up the food chain, British scientists reported yesterday.

Arsenic is often found in seawater, but is usually filtered out when it bonds with the seabed, they said.

“But oil spills stop the normal process because the oil combines with sediment and it leads to an accumulation of arsenic in the water over time,” said Professor Mark Sephton of Imperial College.

He said there was no way to accurately measure the amount of arsenic in the Gulf now because the underwater leak from the April 20 oil-rig explosion is still going on.

But, he said, “Our study is a timely reminder that oil spills could create a toxic ticking time bomb, which could threaten the fabric of the marine ecosystem in the future.”

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