bechtelEPA

United States Environmental Protection Agency. "Dispersants | EPA Response to BP Spill in the Gulf of Mexico." //US Environmental Protection Agency//. EPA 10 Jan. 2011. Web. 20 Feb. 2011. .
 * Full citation. **

**Where does the author work, what else has s/he written about, and what are her/his credentials? ** This document is composed by the United States Environmental Protections Agency. This is a collaboration of many scientists working for the government to avoid any environmental hazards. Any action performed by this division should be documented on this site.

**What is the main topic or argument of the text? ** The main topic of this webpage is to provide information about the dispersants used in the BP oil spill and what the EPA’s responses have been. Any and all chemical releases, including both the dispersant and the spill itself are subject to the EPA directive. As a result, the EPA has been monitoring the effects of the dispersant and recording them on this site. Furthermore, before use of the dispersant could be authorized, it had to be approved by the EPA. Any and all tests performed and conclusions that were drawn from them have been outlined on this site.

**Describe at least three ways that the main topic or argument is fleshed out. ** The best way the main topic or argument can be fleshed out is by reading the header at the top of the page and viewing the most recent summary that has been put out below. More information about a given topic, such as dispersant testing can be accessed by following the links.

**What three quotes capture the critical import of the text? ** “ BP shall identify to the FOSC and the EPA RRT Co‐chair for EPA’s and the FOSC’s approval, one or more approved dispersant products from the National Contingency Plan Product Schedule that are available in sufficient quantities, are as effective at dispersing the oil plume, and have a toxicity value less than or equal to … the NCP Product Schedule … Should BP not be able to identify alternative dispersant products, BP shall provide the FOSC and EPA RRT CO‐Chair a detailed description of the products investigated, the reason the products did not meet the standards described above. Availability shall be based on existing stockpiles of dispersants, the estimated time to begin and aerial and subsurface application, time for manufacturing, shipping, and warehousing.”

“ EPA has completed the second phase of dispersant testing … The results indicate that the eight dispersants tested are similar to one another based on standard toxicity tests on sensitive aquatic organisms found in the Gulf. These results confirm that the dispersant used in response to the oil spill in the Gulf, Corexit 9500A, is generally no more or less toxic than the other available alternatives.

“ Should data indicate that the dispersants are causing significant environmental damage that outweighs the benefits of their use, EPA and the Coast Guard reserve the right to discontinue use.”

**“ ** Although the crude oil is more toxic than the authorized dispersants, much is unknown about the long term environmental impacts of dispersants when used in these unprecedented volumes on the surface and in the subsea.”

**Explain how the argument and evidence in the text supports your research focus. ** This text will likely be my primary source for this research project. The information provided is exactly what my paper is about. Some information I can use is the list of dispersants that were actually tested by the EPA and what species they were tested on. The actual results of the testing are here: []. Many conclusions can be drawn from this site alone about what the EPA has, hasn’t, and should do.

**List at least two details or references from the text that will be useful to other members of your research group. ** The EPA is a huge player in this disaster and is the governments leading source of scientific information on the spill, so it is important to all research on the subject. There is information on this site about what possible __wildlife and environmental hazards__ may be caused by the dispersant. As well as what the __risks to human health__ are.