BP oil leak has not killed dolphins or turtles yet

Thursday, May 13th, 2010 By

Bottlenose dolphin

The BP oil leak is not a culprit in recently discovered dolphin carcasses. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

The BP oil leak is already being named one of the greatest environmental disasters of all time.  Currently, BP and others are racing to come up with a way to contain the oil leaking from the damaged well, but nothing seems to be working yet.  Recently, carcasses of some sea creatures, namely dolphins and turtles, were found in the Gulf of Mexico, and oil poisoning is suspected as the cause of their deaths.  It will be some time before the effects are contained, and it will take quite the cash advance to pay for the damage.

BP oil leak didn’t cause dolphin and turtle deaths

Recently discovered dolphin and turtle carcasses from the Gulf of Mexico were tested to see if they had expired to due effects of the BP oil leak. The necropsies (autopsy for anything that isn’t human), according to Reuters, concluded that they did not die from oil contamination or ingestion.  The bodies of more than 100 sea turtles and 7 dolphins were discovered around the Louisiana coast, and because the BP oil spill is expected to wreak havoc in the region, it was naturally looked into. Dolphins have created a major push for ocean conservation over past decades.

Costs mount on BP Oil Leak

The initial explosion of the Deepwater oil rig claimed 11 lives. The loss of the offshore drilling platform and the expected fallout have led BP, or British Petroleum, to project a loss of more than of $450 million over the incident. The other shareholders, TransOcean and Halliburton, are engaging in a blame war over the incident.

Congress to raise liability limits

A bill was recently introduced into Congress to raise the liability limit imposed on such an event to more than $10 billion, from the current cap on liabilities in such a matter of $75 million, according to the New York Times.  The bill was introduced opposed by Senate Republicans, in that it would discourage oil exploration by corporations. Democrats are for it because they want corporations taking responsibility for their actions. The White House sided with the Democrats in a manner that is up to interpretation.

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  • unreal

    What about the turtles now washing up on shore covered in oil. The report was premature. Sea life is horribly affected.

  • Susan

    even if the animals were not killed by the oil, they were still harmed. We humans are killing our planet and the deaths of those poor animals are our fault…there is no other possible answer. We can't just blame the companies. This oil spill has to be taken cared of its priority and it SHOULD come first!!!

  • matt

    Maybe the oil didn't kill them. Or maybe BP goons found the corpses first and cleaned them up. Did the agency performing necropsies (thanks for keeping that a secret, reuters, stay classy!) also test to see if all that toxic Corexit dispersant might have killed them? I'm thinking that's gonna be a big ol "Nope".

    What about refinery waste, PAH's, and other toxins which crooked companies from all over the world are now dumping into the gulf in a massive free-for-all, hoping that the BP oil spill will disguise their much smaller dumps? Could that be killing wildlife? Are they testing corpses for mercury, lead, arsenic? Because it's all in there with the oil. The entire gulf and eastern seaboard is going to be a giant, permanent superfund site by 2011.

  • matt

    Did the sea turtle and dolphin carcasses have any oil on them when they were found? It may not be proof-positive like a necropsy, but presence of oil is still a very strong indication of an oil spill related death. Or is that just too simple & cheap to use as an indicator?

    What really makes this relevant is the known fact that contact with oil can kill wildlife over a dozen different ways; ingestion or poisoning aren't always the lethal factor. Some drown because of oil, some suffocate because of it, some choke, some starve, some get too hot, some get too cold, etc, etc, etc

  • Bob

    Dolphins die all the time. The media is telling everything BP isnt doing versus the major efforts they are doing to contain the spill. I should know I have been here for 30 days in a row.

  • sandyl.

    LIES! BP knows damn well this spill is the cause of these Dolphin and turtle deaths. It’s funny how so many people can be deceived into believing the lies of the media. The media is nothing more than Satan’s puppet.

  • Kim

    A big coincidence!

  • Kim

    Yeah Right! So if the turtles didn't die from the oil what caused their deaths. I guess it is normal for turtle carcuses to wash on shore hundreds at a time. What a coincidence.

  • Shanen Givone

    Did anyone check for the chemicals being INGESTED or through OSMOSIS before casually saying BP had NOTHING to do with this? ANALYZE THAT! Would MR. Hayward like to swim there and prove it was safe for them? THOUGHT NOT.