Why Did the U.S. Air Force Help BP Spray Corexit, a Dispersant Which the EPA Banned as Too Toxic?

On May 19, the EPA told BP that it had 24 hours to choose a less toxic form of chemical dispersant and must apply the new form of dispersant within 72 hours of submitting the list of alternatives. Spraying of the Corexit dispersant continued unabated. On May 26, the EPA and Coast Guard told BP to eliminate the use of surface dispersant except in rare cases where there may have to be an exemption and to reduce use of dispersant by 75 percent. Yet in a letter dated July 30, the congressional Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment reported the USCG on-scene commander (OSC) had approved 74 exemption requests to spray dispersant between May 28 and July 14... A Lockheed Martin July newsletter states that "Lockheed Martin aircraft, including C-130s and P-3s, have been deployed to the Gulf region by the Air Force, Coast Guard and other government customers to perform a variety of tasks, such as monitoring, mapping and dispersant spraying." - Confirmed: Corexit Still Being Sprayed in the Gulf, George Washington's Blog, August 28, 2010

A U.S. Air Force chemical-dispersing C-130 Hercules aircraft from the 910th Airlift Wing drops an oil-dispersing chemical into the Gulf of Mexico as part of the Deepwater Horizon Response effort May 5. Members of the 910th Airlift Wing are in Mississippi to assist with response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The 910th AW specializes in aerial spray and is the Department of Defense's only large-area fixed-wing aerial spray unit. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Adrian Cadiz).(Source)

So far, BP has told federal agencies that it has applied more than 400,000 gallons of a dispersant sold under the trade name Corexit and manufactured by Nalco Co., whose current leadership includes executives from BP and Exxon. And another 805,000 gallons of Corexit are on order, the company said, with the possibility that hundreds of thousands of more gallons may be needed if the well continues spewing oil for weeks or months. But according to EPA data, Corexit ranks far above dispersants made by competitors in toxicity and far below them in effectiveness in handling southern Louisiana crude. Of 18 dispersants whose use EPA has approved, 12 were found to be more effective on southern Louisiana crude than Corexit, EPA data show. Two of the 12 were found to be 100 percent effective on Gulf of Mexico crude, while the two Corexit products rated 56 percent and 63 percent effective, respectively. The toxicity of the 12 was shown to be either comparable to the Corexit line or, in some cases, 10 or 20 times less, according to EPA. EPA has not taken a stance on whether one dispersant should be used over another, leaving that up to BP. - The BP, Exxon and Nalco Co. (Corexit) Connection, E&E News, May 14, 2010

Flashback: Youngstown Airmen Take Part in Oil Spill Cleanup

May 7, 2010

910th Airlift Wing Public Affairs Office - Two C-130H aircraft and crews from here are spraying oil-dispersing agents as part of an effort to clean up the massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

More than 40 Citizen Airmen from Youngstown's 910th Airlift Wing are operating out of Stennis International Airport, Miss. They began operations at Stennis on May 1.

In their first 18 sorties over the water, they delivered more than 29,000 gallons of dispersant in an area of 6,000 acres.

This is the first time in the history of the Department of Defense's large area fixed-wing aerial spray program that the oil dispersing capability has been used in an actual emergency.

The objective of their efforts is to neutralize the spill with oil dispersing agents. The spill is threatening animal life and the ecosystem along the Gulf coast.

The Youngstown reservists are operating in a joint-service effort under the direction of President Obama and a tasking by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

High winds and turbulent waters initially hampered the operations, according to reservists from the 910th AW aerial spray operations team. They expect to remain involved in the effort as long as they are needed based on mission requirements.

Air Force Reserve Command's 910th aerial spray oil dispersing mission is part of a whole-of-government response to this incident that also includes the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard.

For more than a decade, the 910th has participated in oil spill cleanup exercises in the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. This training has sharpened the skills of the Air Force reservists to respond to these kinds of situations.

In addition to dispersing oil slicks, the aerial spray capability is designed for larvicide and insect eradication as well as providing vegetation control at bombing ranges. (Air Force Reserve Command News Service)

Flashback: AF Reserve Aerial Spray Aircraft Called in to Fight Gulf Oil Spill

May 3, 2010

Air Force Reserve Command - Aircraft and crews from the 910th Airlift Wing have arrived at a staging area in the Gulf coast region in anticipation of supporting emergency oil spill clean-up efforts.

"We are posturing to be ready to provide support to the ongoing emergency efforts if called upon," said Col Craig Peters, 910th Operations Group commander.

The 910th AW specializes in aerial spray and is the Department of Defense's only large area fixed wing aerial spray unit. The aerial spray capability is designed for larvicide and insect eradication, to provide vegetation control at bombing ranges and to disperse oil slicks.

Flashback: Air Force C-130s Spray Chemical to Help Break Up Oil Spill

May 10, 2010

The Tampa Tribune - U.S. Air Force Reserve C-130s were scheduled to make 10 flights Monday to spray a detergent-like agent to help break down the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, officials at the Tyndall Air Force Base reported.

Sorties, flown at 230 mph about 100 feet above the water, distributed 58,036 gallons of dispersant covering 11,573 acres between May 1 and Sunday, and the missions will continue daily, said Master Sgt. Jerry D. Harlan, public affairs manager for the 1st Air Force.

The aircraft, from the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Ohio now flying from Bay St. Louis, Miss., are equipped for aerial spray missions, which mostly have involved control of insects at military bases and vegetation growth on bombing ranges.

The U.S. Coast Guard requested the Gulf dispersant missions from the U.S. Northern Command at Colorado Springs, Colo., which oversees the Continental U.S. NORAD Region at Tyndall.

Air and space operations center personnel at Tyndall known primarily for coordinating U.S. air defense operations have increasingly picked up civil emergency support missions since Hurricane Katrina, which followed the 2002 creation of the U.S. Northern Command and its homeland security missions.

Tyndall planners last week recommended that U.S. Customs and Border Protection, with P-3 Airborne Early Warning aircraft from Jacksonville and Corpus Christi, Texas, monitor flights coming into the increasingly busy air space near the oil rig because those aircraft are equipped with communications equipment suitable for contact with civil aircraft.




Aircraft and crews from the Air Force Reserve Command’s 910th Airlift Wing, Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Ohio, were notified April 29, 2010, that they will support the oil spill recovery effort in the Gulf of Mexico. The 910th AW specializes in aerial spray and is the Department of Defense’s only large area fixed wing aerial spray unit. In this Nov. 8, 2006, file photo, a 910th AW C-130H flies low level above a simulated oil slick six miles off the shore of Galveston, Texas, during an oil dispersant exercise. (U.S. Air Force file photo)

Flashback: Oil Spill Cleanup in Gulf Will Be Paid by BP, White House Says

April 29, 2010

The Associated Press - President Barack Obama met Thursday with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and senior administration officials, including National Security Advisor Gen. James Jones, left, in the Oval Office, regarding the situation in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Obama administration says the cost of cleaning up a giant oil spill off the Gulf of Mexico will fall on BP PLC, the company that operated the rig.

White House spokesman Nick Shapiro says President Barack Obama has directed his administration to aggressively confront the oil spill. The military is working to determine how its array of aircraft, ships and equipment might be able to assist the cleanup operation.

The spill off the coast of Louisiana threatens to turn into an environmental disaster for the coastline.

Shapiro says Obama was updated on the spill early Thursday. Although the Coast Guard and other federal agencies are supporting the cleanup, Shapiro says BP will be required to pay for it.

Flashback: Gulf Oil Spill Cleanup Has Cost Federal Taxpayers $87 Million So Far

May 27, 2010

The Associated Press - Federal officials say cleaning up the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has already cost the government $87 million, making it the third-most expensive cleanup effort in the nation's history.

Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry has distributed that money to state and federal agencies directly involved in the cleanup. Those include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which projects the oil slick's trajectory, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which rescues oil-soaked birds.

A senior financial analyst at the National Pollution Funds Center says an additional $38 million in emergency money has been assigned to the Deepwater Horizon spill, but it has yet to be spent.

The most expensive cleanup was the Exxon Valdez spill, which cost $121 million. The second was $89 million for cleaning up a 1994 oil spill off the coast of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

BP, the Fifth Oil Giant, Will Still Earn $20.2 Billion in 2010 Despite the $40-Billion Clean Up Expense for the Gulf Oil Spill

January 5, 2011

McClatchy-Tribune News - ...With a relatively weak U.S. dollar, the relative price of crude oil is higher.

Gasoline expert Fred Rozell predicts that 15 states, including Alaska, Hawaii, Connecticut and Rhode Island, will see gasoline prices top $4 a gallon by Memorial Day.

"A dollar more per gallon isn't that much, probably about $750 more per year for each motorist, but there's a psychological aspect to gas prices," he said. "People are going to be up in arms about this."

Those higher oil prices have fattened oil company profits. Excluding BP PLC, the four other major investor-owned oil companies posted combined profits of $59.7 billion in the first nine months of 2010, a 49 percent increase from the year before.

The U.S. is the world's largest oil consumer, but prices since spring have been on a roll primarily because of rising demand in developing countries, especially China. China's oil consumption is expected to rise 5 percent next year; that compares with less than 1 percent growth forecast for the U.S.

Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron Corp. and Total SA are expected to earn $81 billion for the full year.

The fifth oil giant, BP, was held responsible for the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history and booked $39.9 billion in charges related to the disaster. Excluding special expenses like the Gulf of Mexico spill, analysts say the company will still earn $20.2 billion in 2010.