Name: The oil spill's toxic trade-off
Uploaded: 2016-04-22T22:03:41Z
Duration: 16 min 26 s
Description: Break down the oil slick, keep it off the shores: that's grounds for pumping toxic dispersant into the Gulf, say clean-up overseers. Susan Shaw shows evidence it's sparing some beaches only at devastating cost to the health of the deep sea.

Break down the oil slick, keep it off the shores: that's grounds for pumping toxic dispersant into the Gulf, say clean-up overseers. Susan Shaw shows evidence it's sparing some beaches only at devastating cost to the health of the deep sea.

The oil spill's toxic trade-off

Massive use of chemical dispersants during oil spills may keep shorelines visibly clean but leaves a devastating toxic legacy beneath the surface. Marine mammals and fish absorb hundreds of hazardous compounds, many of which are kept secret by industry. In one case, 113 different chemicals were found in a single human blood sample, echoing the contamination seen in marine life. The long-term effects ripple through entire food webs, threatening extinction and invisible harm that regulations fail to address.