BP, Nalco sued over dispersant used in Gulf spill

BP Plc and a Nalco Holding Co. unit, the maker of a chemical dispersant used to deal with the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, were sued by Louisiana residents claiming the product is four times more toxic than the oil itself.

BP has been using the dispersant to break up oil and reduce harm to the coast following the April explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. The plaintiffs claim BP used the dispersant to save money "and lessen the public reaction to the oil spill" by forcing it to the bottom of the Gulf.

The lawsuit, filed today in federal court in New Orleans, is a proposed class action that would include all workers and Gulf Coast residents claiming harm from the chemical. The plaintiffs are seeking at least $5 million in actual damages and unspecified punitive damages.

"The dispersant has been sprayed over the Gulf of Mexico and has caused a toxic chemical to be a permanent part of the sea bed and food chain in the bio structure," according to the complaint. The chemical causes "an even more dangerous condition to exist in the Gulf of Mexico than if the oil was allowed to float to the shoreline," the residents said in the complaint.

More than 1.3 million gallons of dispersants have been sprayed into the Gulf since April 20, according to the Deepwater Horizon Unified Command linking companies and government agencies responding to the spill.

BP has applied Nalco's Corexit from planes and from the sea floor to help keep the worst oil spill in U.S. history from damaging wetland habitats.

230 LawsuitsThe lawsuit is one of more than 230 filed against BP over the spill in federal and state courts.Charlie Pajor, a spokesman for Naperville-based Nalco, declined to comment on the lawsuit. "We feel our product is safe and effective," he said in a phone interview.Toby Odone, a spokesman for London-based BP, declined to comment.The case is Parker v. Nalco Co., 2:10-cv-01749, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana (New Orleans).