EPA complains that the oil-dispersant chemical BP is using is too toxic

[Chris_]

Citing worries about a fragile coastal environment, the federal Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday that it had directed gave the oil giant BP to select a less toxic chemical than the one that it is now using to break up crude oil gushing from a ruined well in the Gulf of Mexico.

The agency told B.P. Wednesday night that it had 24 hours to submit one or more alternatives for approval, officials said. Once the E.P.A. signs off on a new dispersant, the company will have 72 hours to start using it, the agency said.

On Monday, Representative Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, sent a letter to Lisa P. Jackson, the E.P.A.’s administrator, demanding details of the formula for Corexit products and information about any testing that had been carried out on the chemicals.

It was not clear what chemical alternatives BP would select in response to the agency’s order, or whether the company would choose instead to rely less heavily on chemical treatment of the oil spill. But U.S. Polychemical of Spring Valley, N.Y., which makes a dispersant called Dispersit SPC 1000, said Thursday morning that it had received a large order from BP and would increase its production to 20,000 gallons a day in the next few days, and eventually as much as 60,000 gallons a day.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/21/science/earth/21disperse.html