Tag Archives: Corexit 9500
Federal Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc says Canada has a right to scientific analysis of Corexit
Canada’s fisheries minister is pushing back against a U.S. company that is refusing to let Canadian researchers test its oil spill dispersant. “We obviously have a huge concern about a potential corporate interest that appears to not want to have robust, thoughtful, independent scientific analysis of their product,” said Dominic LeBlanc. LeBlanc, speaking in Halifax, was talking about the months-long impasse over his department’s attempt to test Corexit 9580, a surface-washing agent used to clean beaches in oil spills. The product, along with Corexit 9500 — an open-water oil dispersant — were approved for use in Canada last year on a case-by-case basis if authorities determine there is a net environmental benefit. Read the rest here 09:57
Canadian researchers denied samples of oil spill dispersant Corexit 9500, Corexit 9580 by Nalco Environmental Solutions
Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans says it will try again to secure samples of an oil spill dispersant for testing by government-funded researchers after the American manufacturer refused two requests in 2016. The impasse surrounds research by fish biologist Craig Purchase of Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s. Purchase was working on a $75,000 project funded by DFO comparing two types of oil dispersant products called Corexit on beach-spawning capelin. But he never got the chance to compare Corexit 9500 — an open ocean oil spill dispersant — with Corexit 9580, a surface agent used to clean beaches. He was able to get a sample of the oil spill dispersant from DFO but the manufacturer, Nalco Environmental Solutions, refused to provide Purchase with a sample of the beach cleaning agent Corexit 9580 last April. Nalco refused again when DFO asked for a sample on his behalf. Read the story here 09:24 Read this Corexit’s Deadly Legacy
N.S. activist: Shell cleanup plan includes toxic product
Shell Canada’s cleanup plan in case of a major oil spill off the coast of Nova Scotia could end up making the problem worse, a Shelburne County environmentalist says. John Davis, co-founder of the No Rig coalition, has concerns about the potential use of chemical dispersants by the Calgary company, a subsidiary of the British-Dutch energy giant. Shell plans to drill its first exploratory well in the Shelburne Basin, about 350 kilometres south of Halifax, later this year. Read the rest here 12:28
