We are not sure how else to make the point that Corexit is not safe except to keep sharing the horrible after-effects. as they unfold. Almost a dozen clean up workers have been hospitalized after exposure to the toxic chemical. And by the way, these guys aren’t swimming in the water polluted with Corexit. The dead dolphins and other wildlife being found on shore however, are.

Let’s take a minute to review what we know about the current use of Corexit, and then what Corexit does to the living things under the water.

BP Plc’s oil spill, the biggest in U.S. history, has been sprayed with 950,000 gallons of chemicals on the surface and near the seabed to dissolve the oil into water. The amount of dispersants used is unprecedented and the behavior of the dissolved oil unknown, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson has said.

Unprecedented use of this toxic chemical, and yet the EPA has YET to do anything meaningful about it. CNN’s Rick Sanchez gives us this graphic understanding:

Then there’s the issue of the environmental effect that is already taking place. Not just from the oil, but from something called Corexit 9500. This is a dispersant that’s being used right now by B.P. It’s so toxic that experts say it’s killing off the fish in the Gulf by rupturing their red blood cells and causing internal bleeding.

Many of the dolphins washing up dead are not covered in oil, which says they either absorbed or ingested the Corexit that BP has dumped beneath the surface. BP benefits from burying the oil beneath the surface. Reducing the amount of visible oil reduces the amount that appears to have spilled, thereby reducing BP’s potential fines later. Thus far three undersea oil plumes have been discovered, each of them filled with the highly toxic dispersant Corexit:

Hollander said the oil they detected has dissolved into the water, and is no longer visible, leading to fears from researchers that the toxicity from the oil and dispersants could pose a big danger to fish larvae and creatures that filter the waters for food.

“There are two elements to it,” Hollander said. “The plume reaching waters on the continental shelf could have a toxic effect on fish larvae, and we also may see a long term response as it cascades up the food web.”

Dispersants contain surfactants, which are similar to dishwashing soap.

A Louisiana State University researcher who has studied their effects on marine life said that by breaking oil into small particles, surfactants make it easier for fish and other animals to soak up the oil’s toxic chemicals. That can impair the animals’ immune systems and cause reproductive problems.

“The oil’s not at the surface, so it doesn’t look so bad, but you have a situation where it’s more available to fish,” said Kevin Kleinow, a professor in LSU’s school of veterinary medicine.

Corexit must be banned (and not some mealy-mouthed “suggestion” like EPA gave to BP weeks ago). We have provided you a quick, easy way to send this message to President Obama here. We must employ the much safer Bioremediation products, as well as super tankers and other oil separation devices to skim the oil from the surface, rather than bury it neatly out of direct sight.

We can and will clean up the oil, but only if it is left at the surface where we can get to it. We cannot vacuum the ocean, and we cannot give life back to the legions of life forms that Corexit has and continues to destroy. We cannot even count what will happen to cancer incidence rates along the southern states, as hurricanes and other storms suck Corexit from the water and deposit it in yards, drinking supplies, gardens and farmland.

For all these reasons we cannot watch from afar. TAKE ACTION NOW and demand change! The President must stop talking about blame and start asserting control. SEND HIM THE MESSAGE NOW.