Two words that sound pretty innocent, but have a very serious meaning to them. I had never heard of them before, maybe because I did not pay much attention during chemistry classes. These two ‘dispersants’ were used by Bitrish Petroleum to ‘clean up’ the oil in the Gulf of Mexico, without any consent of the US Congres or basicaly anyone (but themselves). But what exactly are the effects of Benzene and Toluene on natural systems (since they are both chemicals)?
“Benzene targets liver, kidney, lung, heart and the brain and can cause DNA strand breaks, chromosomal damage etc. Benzene causes cancer in both animals and humans.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzene
“Toluene may enter the human system not only through vapour inhalation from the liquid evaporation, but also following soil contamination events, where human contact with soil, ingestion of contaminated groundwater or soil vapour off-gassing can occur. The toxicity of toluene can be explained mostly by its metabolism. As toluene has very low water solubility, it cannot exit the body via the normal routes (urine, feces, or sweat). It must be metabolized in order to be excreted.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toluene
Without doubt, introducing these substances into the worlds oceans creates a risk to all marine life and a world wide risk to the food chain. I do not want to judge anyone, but I honestly think we can do so much better than this.
