

Ask HN: Should we be concerned about benzene exposure from the BP Oil Spill? - notcrazyyet

I recently met someone claiming to have expertise in Organic Chemistry and Meteorology tell me that benzene levels in the region surrounding the BP oil spill are astoundingly high and will cause life threatening illnesses in the coming months ahead. In particular, if a hurricane were to disperse the toxic gases arising from the oil spill to more remote regions, we would see unprecedented exposure-related deaths. I immediately dismissed him when he started ranting about FEMA prison camps, methane deposit "c4", Haliburton, NWO, and other crackpot theories, but the basics of what he said makes sense to me.<p>Although I run the risk of contaminating the content here, I respect the HN community for its critical thinking skills and general depth of knowledge in the sciences. I also believe this topic is important enough to warrant a discussion.<p>Are benzene levels as dangerous as this guy says it is both right now and in the event of a hurricane ("kill millions" so to speak)? What about dangers related to methane, which is combustible and also a very potent greenhouse gas?
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cperciva
My understanding (as a chemist's son, but not a chemist) is that yes, there is
benzene being released; and yes, in the _immediate_ area above the spill,
there might be high enough concentrations to cause toxicity... but that a
hurricane spreading the gas over millions of cubic miles of atmosphere would
dilute it to harmless levels.

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Clepensky
New Scientist had an article on this. They seemed to think the release of the
oil at the depth it is at would make the concern over chemical like benzene a
non issue.

