Figure 1. In this 3-D representation of the chemical analysis of COREXIT 9500, each peak represents one or more chemical structure. The line across the bottom shows retention time, the left axis intensity, and the diagonal axis molecular weight (labeled m/z). The large peak at ~15 minutes is DOSS, or dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate, the active ingredient in most dispersants.

Deconstructing Dispersants

In the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DHOS), the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling estimates that responders sprayed over 1.8 million gallons of the dispersant Corexit 9500 into the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM).

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