The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finally disclosed the chemical identities of the ingredients of the dispersants being used on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Until now, the public was only provided the limited information available in the dispersants' material safety data sheets (MSDS). The MSDSs for the dispersant, known as Corexit, were produced by the dispersant's manufacturer, Nalco Company. The MSDSs provide very little information, hiding chemical identities by labeling them "proprietary" or omitting them entirely.
Opponents of climate change regulation are attempting to dismantle the regulatory framework the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has crafted thus far under the Obama administration. The Senate unsuccessfully attempted to overturn a scientific determination in which the agency found that greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare. However, EPA still faces court challenges by industry groups on regulations limiting emissions from both vehicles and industrial sources.