Bio-Remediation or Bio-Hazard? Dispersants, Bacteria and Illness in the Gulf

[kristopher]

Bio-Remediation or Bio-Hazard? Dispersants, Bacteria and Illness in the Gulf
Riki Ott
Marine toxicologist and Exxon Valdez survivor RikiOtt.com

Posted: September 17, 2010 12:28 AM

Bio-Remediation or Bio-Hazard? Dispersants, Bacteria and Illness in the Gulf

Ocean Springs, MS -- A grandmother made me rethink all the bio-remediation hype. The "naturally-occurring oil-eating bacteria" have been newsworthy of late as they are supposedly going to come to the rescue of President Obama and BP and make good on their very premature statement that "the oil is gone."

We were talking about subsurface oil in the Gulf when she said matter-of-factly, "The bacteria are running amok with the dispersants." What? "Those oil-eating bacteria -- I think they're running amok and causing skin rashes." My mind reeled. Could we all have missed something so simple?

The idea was crazy but, in the context of the Gulf situation -- an outbreak of mysterious persistent rashes from southern Louisiana across to just north of Tampa, Florida, coincident with BP's oil and chemical release, it seemed suddenly worthy of investigating.

I first heard about the rash from Sheri Allen in Mobile, Alabama. Allen wrote of red welts and blisters on her legs after "splashing and wading on the shoreline" of Mobile Bay with her two dogs on May 8. She reported that "hundreds of dead fish" washed up on the same beach over the following two days. This was much too early for the summer sun to have warmed the water to the point of oxygen depletion, but not too early for dispersants and dispersed oil to be mixed into the Gulf's water mass. By early July, Allen's rash had healed, leaving black bruises and scarring....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/riki-ott/bio-remediation-or-bio-ha_b_720461.html

[Dead_Parrot]

1. Hrmrmrm

I'd be more inclined to believe that Corexit has fucked everybody's immune systems and they're now picking up all sorts of shit. I guess the question would be if similar spills have had similar health effects...

Hopefully Kestrel will see this, it's her field. Either way it's an epic fuck up.

[kristopher]

2. before you reach a conclusion

Dinoflagellates are an interesting example of why the epidemiology is so difficult. Pfiesteria go through 24 life cycles. It could be that this or a similar organism's population is being pumped up at one stage or another by some factor related to the oil spill.

http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Pfiesteria

[Dead_Parrot]

3. No danger of that

I know as much about microbiology as I do about Samoan poetry. But, point taken.

[FedUpWithIt All]

4. People are testing for very high levels of toxic chemicals like hexane

Hexane causes what is called a dying back neuropathy, meaning the nerve cells in the arms and legs die back from the distal tips to the proximal end… It shows that you have Hexane and Hexane metabolites and also Octane in your blood, then…to go about treating you, which is usually… treating the end organ damage. End organ damage meaning we know if you inhale this stuff, if you have it in your system, it will damage your nerves… you look for end organ damage rather than the presence of a solvent because the solvent could have evaporated after it has already whacked the brain or whacked the liver.

http://www.floridaoilspilllaw.com/octane-in-your-blood-humans-on-gulf-coast-show-dangerous-levels-of-toxic-exposure-hexane-is-way-high-treatment-for-organ-damage-photo

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jerry-cope/no-safe-harbor-on-gulf-co_b_698338.html

http://www.floridaoilspilllaw.com/pensacola-gregg-blood-tested-hexane-charts-video-lab-results

Many are saying that people with no direct exposure to the water are also showing high levels. There are also some reports saying that there are high levels of school children out sick and that some who are speaking out are being intimidated.

[kristopher]

5. "Many are saying..."

The hard part of this is the uncertainty for those involved. There is a very natural enhanced situational awareness of possible adverse effects from the disaster, and it is going to be a long time before then get a sense of being safe in their own world again (if they ever do). There are so many ways potential ways that they could be harmed that it must be maddening.