The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill occurred in 2010 when 4.9 million barrels of crude oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico. However, it is less known that 1.7 million gallons of Corexit, a toxic dispersant, was also released into the Gulf to prevent the spread of the oil to the beaches, shorelines, and wetlands. The Horizon Oil Spill was not the worse element of the spill-the cure was.
Supposedly used to cure the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill was a dispersant called Corexit and to understand why it was used you need to understand the background. Dispersant is one of the three primary response mechanisms to an oil spill such as the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Disposed on the water surface and near sea level the dispersant is intended to break down an oil slick into small oil droplets that drift into a water column, resulting in “rise velocity.” Even though dispersant seem safe there conditions vary in water temperature and
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The dispersant is fatal to a wide array of marine species and if they are not fatal to the effect of the dispersant than at the less they are vulnerable to the effects. The effects or not, only limited to sea but also the sky. The dispersant affect the birds that make their resting place in the sea it destroys their protective waterproofing and insulating features common to the birds who take residence in the sea. Corexit contains a solvent that can cause cancer in some animals which is very deadly. The overall effects of dispersants on the marine environment are unknown and if that does not scary, there is no scientific data on the effects. Corexit was used without even knowing the precise scope and severity of impact. Although, the accidental release of oil was bad, but what is even worse is using a dispersant that causes a lot more problems than it solves. In addition to causing a lot of problems it has never been used in such large