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For Response Workers, Health Problems Could Persist Long After Spill is Contained

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By Donald Judd

Workers struggle to maintain oil barriers while risking heatstroke and toxic chemical exposure. With limited safety training and uneven protocol on protective gear, some workers have complained of health problems associated with the spill cleanup (Source: www.galileowasright.com)

In our coverage of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, we’ve emphasized the need for thoughtful planning and well-informed restoration of the Gulf Coast. From our perspective, this means a process grounded in sound science and transparent in its communication of health hazards to those closest to the spill zone. Ideally, a well-executed clean-up effort would work wonders for coastal Louisiana, jump-starting a troubled economy with green jobs and ensuring the viability of one of America’s most valuable and resilient natural ecosystems. However, with sub-par safety regulations and slipshod cleanup techniques characterizing the response to this tragedy, the BP oil spill could end up posing a threat to more than just the Gulf Coast’s livelihood—it could actually threaten the lives of its residents.

In an open letter to Coast Guard oil cleanup coordinator Adm. Thad Allen earlier this summer, Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) pushed for transparency in medical monitoring and safety regulation for spill recovery workers. She compared the sickened boat skippers of the Gulf Coast to the wheezing and coughing response crews plagued by respiratory illness in New York after the 9/11 attacks. Maloney urged authorities to trust the reports of pollutants instead of relying on “air quality measures and outdated standards” when accessing the risk pollutants pose to workers.

But Maloney’s not the only one concerned. Nearly a month later, Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) criticized EPA head Lisa Jackson for skirting questions about the safety of COREXIT, the dispersant being poured en masse into the Gulf of Mexico, stating, “I don’t want dispersants to be the Agent Orange of this oil spill.” Mikulski, Maloney, and others have been pressing BP and the EPA for more information on the use of dispersants and their potential side effects on spill workers. While recent studies released by the EPA have classified COREXIT as "non-toxic", EDF scientist Richard Denison has warned repeatedly that dispersants may still have adverse effects for humans and marine life. In addition, workers laboring in the summer heat run the risk of heat stroke, while mere exposure to the oil (regardless of dispersant presence) can cause eye, brain, and skin damage, not to mention problems for the lungs, kidneys, and liver.

But dangerous working conditions are indicative of a more systemic problem. The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) Act hasn’t been updated since the 1970s, begging the question, just how much do BP and federal officials care about the protection and health of spill response workers?

Well, with the hazy details surrounding COREXIT’s side effects, and the shocking revelation that people responsible for clean up were working without access to respirators, the takeaway is troubling. If disasters like the Exxon Valdez oil spill are any indication of the long-term effects of spill-related toxins on cleanup workers, Louisiana could be feeling the public health ramifications of Deepwater Horizon long after all the oil is cleared from the Gulf.


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