US Lawmakers Question BP On Dispersants Used In Gulf Oil Leak
May 19 2010 - 3:28PM
Dow Jones News
The type of chemical dispersants BP Plc (BP, BP.LN) is using to
break up the oil from a broken pipe deep in the Gulf of Mexico
before it reaches the surface came under fire by federal lawmakers
on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
Democrats on the U.S. House Transportation Committee suggested
that BP's choice of Corexit was related to corporate ties with
Nalco, the chemical's maker. BP America Chief Executive Lamar McKay
told the House Transportation Committee he didn't know if BP picked
the chemical but said it was "efficient. In that sense it's
important, and I think it's working."
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D. N.Y) accused McKay of misleading the
committee. "If I told you it was BP who decided, why would you use
something that's much more toxic and much less effective other than
you had a corporate relationship with the manufacturer?"
On Friday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S.
Coast Guard authorized BP to use the dispersant under water. The
chemicals that break up oil traditionally have been used on the
surface. The environmental effects of sub-sea deployment are
largely unknown. Corexit has been banned in the U.K.
"There are [other chemicals] that EPA measures as more effective
on this grade of oil and less toxic," Rep. Peter DeFazio (D, Ore.)
told McKay at the hearing. "Why aren't you using those? I'm
concerned about what's in the water column here and what we're not
seeing."
McKay said he didn't know whether other products were more
effective. The chemical is one of 13 on a list of pre-approved
chemicals. "If there are better ones to use we will definitely use"
them, McKay said.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson told reporters late Tuesday she
had asked BP to look at other types of dispersants. She said the
company had been considering a chemical called Sea Brat No. 4 but
hadn't made a decision to switch.
Asked whether the EPA would require BP to switch dispersants,
she said, "I don't think we should take that off the table." She
also said the agency needed to study how products get on a
pre-approved list.
-By Siobhan Hughes, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6654;
siobhan.hughes@dowjones.com
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