Concerns About Dispersants

The director of an area environmental group said she hasn't been allowed a seat at the table to talk about her concerns on cleaning up the oil spill.
One concern Casi Callaway with Mobile Baykeeper has is with the dispersants being used to clean up the oil.
Callaway said, "We have not been able to talk to them to explain to them our concerns."
She said she's worried about the type of chemicals being used.
Callaway said, "Its toxic in itself. So, we don't know how long it lasts, we don't know what it does to fish populations, we don't know what it does to people, we don't know what it does when it changes the property of oil."
And Callaway described what happened when she tried to meet with executives from Unified Command at the convention center Thursday.
She said, "I got downstairs. I got a badge. I got everything I needed and came back upstairs to go get my laptop and come right back and was met at the door. Everybody's badge has 'BP' on it, so, I don't know who (it was), and three or four police officers saying, 'We want your badge back. You're not allowed down there.' "
Callway said she'd be happy to sign a confidentiality agreement, but, "we want to be able to provide information, and we have 4000 members. We have 10,000 volunteers collected by three different organizations, and the Waterkeeper Alliance represents the entire Gulf of Mexico."
Justin Bloom is an attorney with Waterkeeper Alliance.
Speaking of the dispersants, Bloom said, "These are toxic substances, and we have some serious questions whether they're more dangerous than the oil itself."
Callaway said rather than use dispersants, Unified Command officials should send boats out in the Gulf to siphon off the oil.