Emergency Committee Challenges Top BP Representative On Dispersants – BP Deputy Area Commander Refuses to Answer Whether BP Is Still Using Dispersants or Commit to Ending Their Use

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – July 22, 2010

Emergency Committee to Stop Gulf Oil Disaster

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News Bulletin: Emergency Committee Challenges Top BP Representative On Dispersants – BP Deputy Area Commander Refuses to Answer Whether BP Is Still Using Dispersants or Commit to Ending Their Use.

Larry Everest reads demands to BP’s Tom Pennington

Today at noon in front of the headquarters of the Deepwater Horizon Joint Incident Command Center in New Orleans, a delegation from the Emergency Committee to Stop the Gulf Oil Disaster and a member of the Unified Peoples’ Response directly challenged Tom Pennington, BP’s Deputy Area Commander of the Unified Area Command, to end the use of chemical dispersants in the Gulf of Mexico.

When Mr. Pennington came to the press conference being held outside the Area Command headquarters, Emergency Committee members Larry Everest and Robert Desmarais Sullivan read the Committee’s Press Statement (below) directly to him, with CNN, NBC Nightly News, and independent videographers recording the challenge, and presented the Committee’s demands which include an immediate end to dispersant use, thorough testing of marine life and seafood, and remediation of all damage caused by dispersants.

When Everest asked him directly whether BP was continuing to use dispersants, including in Barataria Bay, and whether BP would commit to ending their use, Pennington replied, “W e’ll take all of your demands, we’ll give them to (sic) reading and take care of them.” Everest then pointedly told the BP representative that we’ve been hearing similar promises for months, and that BP and the government have consistently covered-up, stonewalled, and lied on the situation, even photo-shopped pictures of their response to the crisis. (See Telegraph UK: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/oil/7904221/BP- admits-it-Photoshopped-official-images-as-oil-spill-cut-and-paste-row-escalates.html )

Everest also stated, “we will not stop until the well is sealed and the Gulf is healed,” and announced the Committee’s plan for 100 actions globally on the 100 th day of the crisis (July 30).

The press statement and demands were presented to Pennington who left without further comment.

Earlier at the Press Conference, Tim Dodt of the Emergency Committee and Kimberly Wolf of the Peoples’ Unified Command also spoke to the press against the use of dispersants.

BP may been compelled to appear at the press conference because the use dispersant is being increasingly opposed by scientists, activists, and affected communities. Today a Scientists' Consensus Statement against the use of dispersants was released. ("Leading Ocean Scientists Issue Consensus Statement to End Dispersant Use in Gulf, Call for Independent Research" http://classic.cnbc.com/id/38364344 ). PBS Newshour will be covering the issue tonight and NBC national news is planning a segment on dispersants as well.

Dispersants were also the subject of a media call with NOAA head Janet Lubchenco. Emergency Committee member Elizabeth Cook asked her: “ Since your agency isn't chemically testing for dispersant in the waters you are reopening, and relying on odor and ‘flavor’ testing for dispersants, how can you be sure that the waters that are reopening don't contain dispersant?” Lubchenco’s responsed that sensory testing is very sensitive. In short, a smell test is all that’s needed!

Earlier in the crisis, Lubchenco had attacked scientists who discovered dispersant-created plumes of oil

underthesurface. WhenaskedtodayifNOAAhaddetectedoilinthewatercolumn,Lubchencoadmitted that oil had been detected in the water column, in "dispersed" form.

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