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16282
From: Eve, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Dispersants used in BP disaster hampered growth of oil-eating bacteria
URL: https://www.nola.com/news/environment/article_dff2296b-e5f7-566a-a2e3-e712f3f659e3.html
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The chemicals used to clean up oil spills may actually weaken nature's ability to do the cleaning itself. New research reveals that the oil dispersants sprayed across the Gulf of Mexico during the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon disaster can kill or inhibit the growth of oil-eating microbes, including naturally-occurring bacteria that rapidly consume oil that dispersants only break apart. "When you use dispersants, you knock out the best and the brightest of the oil degraders," said Samantha Joye, a marine scientist with the University of Georgia. Joye and other scientists presented research detailing dispersants' effects on marine microbes at the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science Conference in New Orleans last week. The Deepwater Horizon drilling platform off the Louisiana coast spewed oil into the Gulf of Mexico for nearly three months. Releasing 200 million gallons, it's considered the world's largest oil disaster. To combat the oil's spread, BP used two types of dispersant, Corexit 9500 and Corexit 9527, both manufactured by Nalco Environmental Solutions. Nearly 1 million gallons was dropped by air, and another 770,000 gallons was injected into the damaged wellhead about a mile under the water's surface. It was the first time dispersants had been used on a large scale and in proximity to people. BP's assertions that dispersants posed no health or safety risks are contradicted by a spate of new research. In September, the National Institutes of Health published a study that validated long-held concerns that dispersants caused a host of illnesses. The study said disaster-response workers exposed to dispersants suffered shortness of breath, coughing and lung, eye and skin irritation. Other studies indicate that dispersants harmed fish, crab and other marine life. Deep-sea coral, which provide important habitat for many Gulf species, suffer more from dispersants than oil alone, new research found. Also becoming clear is how fast and effective naturally-occurring bacteria was in eating up the oil. In 2013, scientists learned that the disaster spurred a 10-fold increase in several types of bacteria that devour oil molecules. The bacteria boom may explain why so much of the oil disappeared within weeks of capping the Deepwater Horizon well. "The bacteria degraded oil in a very fast way," said Steffen Hackbusch, a biochemist at the Hamburg University of Technology in Germany. But add dispersants, and the feasting stops. "The research clearly shows that whenever dispersants are involved, (the bacteria) die," said Hackbusch, who also presented research at the oil spill conference. "It is toxic to the organism." Joye and Hackbusch conducted lab experiments that exposed microorganisms to various combinations of crude oil and dispersants. "I call them my torture experiments," Joye said. "We see where they start to suffer." The microscopic oil-eaters don't just suffer when exposed to Corexit dispersants, they disappear. In some bases, dispersants foster the growth of certain bacteria, but not the kind that consume oil. "There's a population shift, but for the very good oil degraders - their abundance just tanks," Joye said. |
16283
From: Eve, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Flesh-Eating Bacteria In Gulf Linked To BP Oil Spill
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Flesh-Eating Bacteria In Gulf Linked To BP Oil Spill Kurt Niland August 1, 2014 flesh eating bacteria Raycom image1 Flesh eating bacteria in Gulf linked to BP oil spillCases of beach-goers contracting the flesh-eating bacteria Vibrio vulnificus continue to occur in the warm water of the Gulf Coast this year, and one Auburn University professor has uncovered a link between the potentially deadly bacteria and tar balls still present in the water after BP’s 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Dr. Cova Arias, professor of aquatic microbiology at Auburn University, who has studied the impact of Vibrio on the Gulf’s oyster industry, set out to find if the bacteria could live in the tar still found in the water and along the beaches of the Gulf Coast. According to Mobile’s WKRG, “She was highly surprised by what she found” – concentrations of Vibrio vulnificus bacteria 10 times higher in tar balls than in the surrounding land and 100 times more than in the surrounding water. The tar balls, Dr. Arias said, act like magnets for bacteria, and she suspects the flesh-eating bacteria feed on the microbes that break down the residual oil and tar. Dr. Aria and other researchers also compared Vibrio levels in tar balls from the BP oil spill to samples taken from the same areas before the spill occurred. “What we also found was in water, the numbers were about 10 times higher than the numbers that have reported before from that area,” Dr. Arias told WKRG. “So the water alone had 10 times as much Vibrio as before the oil spill, and the tar balls themselves had 100 times more Vibrio than the water.” This alarming finding may be responsible for the dozens of cases of vibrio infection reported along the Gulf Coast. In Florida alone, 32 people have been hospitalized with vibrio infections and 10 have died so far this year. Last year, 41 people were infected and 11 died in the state. Additional cases have been recorded in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Vibrio vulnificus is a cousin of the bacteria that causes Cholera, and in many cases it can be successfully treated with antibiotics. It usually enters the body through scrapes, cuts, or blisters on the skin or by consuming raw seafood, such as Gulf oysters. Once it invades the body, the bacteria rapidly consume the flesh around it, so detecting and treating a vibrio infection at the earliest stages are the keys to survival. Left untreated or treated too late, the bacteria can kill a person in a matter of hours. Public health officials are now warning beachgoers to avoid picking up, stepping on, or coming into contact with any tar balls they find on the beach. They are usually small black masses, often with bits of shell and coral. All it takes is one abrasion on the skin for the bacteria to enter and grow. Anyone who swims in the Gulf should wash off before heading home and keep a close eye out for any skin abnormalities that may appear. If any are found, seek medical attention immediately. |
16287
From: Judy in NoIdaho, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Flesh-Eating Bacteria In Gulf Linked To BP Oil Spill
| Thanks BP!! Grrrrr.... Between the sharks and now this, I don't think I'll ever go into the Gulf waters anymore! |
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[16288]
16288
From: Eve, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Flesh-Eating Bacteria In Gulf Linked To BP Oil Spill
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I live about 45 miles from the GOM and only once since the dispersants were spread did I go to the Gulf shore...had relatives visit who wanted to go and take a tour boat on the waters around Tarpon Springs. I tried to not go as I did not feel well around the time the dispersants were being sprayed and even had a real time experiences of oily water dropping on my car from the sky during the ordeal (=corexit and who knows what other toxin). I tried to talk them out of it and my stepmom said something like "we're here to have fun and we don't want to hear about that!" and so being I had to help get them there I was bound to go. I was going to stay in the vehicle while they took the tour boat but it was so hot I sat in the parking lot and thought I can't see myself in this car for over an hour so I got on the tour boat before it went out. It was not pleasant boat ride... I laid on the bench the entire time being as I said I did not feel well while those dispersant vapors were in the air... but at least the kin enjoyed it. The boat stopped at a sand bar so tourists could get out and collect sea shells all were oblivious to the nasty looking orange color foam on the sand....took their shoes off and wandered around in it looking for a shell. I did get to see the dolphins and a beautiful full moon on a starry night on the waters so that part of the boat ride was was lovely for me and my stepmom was happy and so was pops and I wanted that for them. I have a lot of testimonies about the toxic BP oil spill event. I even got a weird skin rash where I was most exposed like my face and a bit on my chest and forearms...it did go away but it took some time and I never had a skin issue before except for the rare blemish. I always take care of my skin and was used to getting compliments ...which have since returned. I say to folks gotta take care of your skin it's your largest organ and protection for ones earthly vessel for the soul. I have stopped sunbathing years ago but many still bake themselves in the sunburn state year round. I get plenty of Vitamin D for all the windows I have and there's a lot of light. I thought about black out curtains for the bedroom but have never done anything more than look here at them online. |
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