PROTECTING ACCESS TO ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION

RTKnet: Spills

BP Lies About Drilling Mud (Mother Jones)

Although outgoing BP CEO Tony Hayward alleged that the mud BP is using to seal the well in the Gulf is not toxic, a congressional investigation has revealed that the mud is a highly toxic chemical mixture containing ethylene glycol and lye. Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) asserts, "Time and time again, BP has failed to disclose critical data and information that is essential to our ability to track the long term effects of this spill."

(29 Jul 2010)

Polluters Pay for Testing, Leaving The Public in The Dark (Delaware Online)

Federal government regulators have allowed polluters to hire private contractors to test the environmental impacts of 35 landfills, spill areas, and problem zones in the Delaware City Refinery to s

(26 Jul 2010)

Hearings on BP Disaster Canceled As Witnesses Say They Won't Show (LA Times)

None of the five Transocean employees called to testify at today's hearing of the U.S. Coast Guard-Interior Department about the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion agreed to come, calling in sick or pleading the Fifth Amendment. Testimony from the officials, who include two top BP officials who were on the rig on the day of the explosion, "would shed light on what happened in the crucial hours before the explosion."

(21 Jul 2010)

EPA Chief Calls for More Authority Over Dispersants (The New York Times)

EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson urged Congress to pass legislation strenghtening the EPA's authority over oil dispersants, asking for increased testing and disclosure of the chemical ingredients in Corexit. Jackson asserted that new dispersant legislation "would give us critical transparency and openness protections that right now EPA cannot provide by law."

(19 Jul 2010)

TAKE ACTION - Tell Your Representatives To Support the FRAC Act (Food & Water Watch)

Companies that are threatening our drinking water with hydraulic fracturing can't be held accountable under the Safe Drinking Water Act, and they don't have to disclose the 596 chemicals that they are injecting into the ground. Ask your representative to close the loophole and require companies to disclose the chemicals they are using by passing the FRAC Act.

(15 Jul 2010)

Gulf Seafood Tested for Oil, But Not Dispersants (TC Palm)

The FDA is not testing fish to determine whether compounds found in dispersants used in the Gulf are present in seafood. EWG asserts that the use of dispersants is "irresponsible" because they contain heavy metals, arsenic, chromium, and copper, with little information on their long-term effects.

(14 Jul 2010)

BP's Ex-Media Enforcer Speak Out (Mother Jones)

Former BP contractor Adam Dillon asserts that BP's main strength is "blocking the media from seeing the worst of the disaster in Grand Isle, Louisiana...'They kept it very strict what they wanted the media not to see, and what they wanted them to see.'" According to Dillon,  BP has been telling workers that "if they talk to the media, they'll be fired."

(14 Jul 2010)

Scientists Expected Obama Administration To be Friendlier (Los Angeles Times)

Government scientists are complaining that Obama is not reversing the culture that Bush enforced, where non-scientist managers interfere with the work of scientists and restrict their ability to speak publicly. The most recent example of compromised scientific integrity in the current administration is the decision to fight the Deepwater Horizon spill with potentially toxic dispersants despite scientific advice to examine the risks more thoroughly.

(13 Jul 2010)

BP Getting Daily Exemptions to Directive Limiting Surface Dispersant (ProPublica)

BP's requests to the Coast Guard asking for permission to spray surface dispersants have been "routinely approved, nearly always without modification" although exemptions were intended to be granted only "in rare cases" after EPA ordered BP to "eliminate the surface application of dispersants." 

(13 Jul 2010)

Coast Guard Lifts Ban on News Coverage Near Spill Site (The Associated Press)

Retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen announced that new procedures will allow free travel access for news media within boom safety zones. Allen asserted that this policy will give the press "clear, unfettered access to this event with two exceptions: if there is a safety or security concern."

(13 Jul 2010)