Workers struggling to stem the oil flow on the Gulf Coast are
falling ill as concern grows about the short- and long-term effects of
exposure to crude oil and the chemicals being used to clean it up. Some
who have gotten sick are filing class actions suits against BP while
others are demanding temporary restraining orders against the giant oil
company.
Workers have been hospitalized with rashes, nausea, chest pains,
headaches and shortness of breath. The company has blocked workers
involved in the cleanup from talking to the press. And BP has forbidden
cleanup crews to wear breathing masks and other protective equipment.
BP CEO Tony Haywood claimed
the sickness was due to food poisoning. "You know, there's a ... food
poisoning is a really big issue when you've got a concentration of this
many people in ten pre-cabs, ten pre-accommodations. It's something we
have to be very, very mindful of" he said.
Anne Womack-Kolton, Dick Cheney's former press secretary, has been
hired by BP to handle publicity during the crisis. She also formerly
worked for the Department of Energy under the Bush administration.
A chemical called Corexit 9500 is being used to break up the oil
spill. The Environmental Protection Agency has asked BP to use another
less toxic substance. So far a mutually agreed-to dispersant has not
been found.
Last week the Obama administration voiced its concerns about the
environmental and health impacts of the spill. "We're very concerned
about the impact of disaster on the public health of people in the Gulf
region," said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
As the crisis intensifies, toxic substances are not only poisoning the water but also the air. Propublica.org notes
that "dispersants' toxins may be making its way into the air that
workers are breathing. Air sampling data gathered to ensure the safety
of cleanup workers has identified a chemical compound in the air that
is also in the dispersants BP is applying to the Gulf."
The article continues, "Little-noticed data posted on BP's website
and the Deepwater Horizon site show that 32 air samples taken near
workers have indicated the presence of butoxyethanol, a component
listed as present in an oil spill dispersant used by BP, known as
Corexit. The Environmental Protection Agency considers it toxic."
Propublica.org cautions about attributing a causal relationship
between dispersant use and illness in workers, but notes workers are
becoming sick.
The Louisiana Shrimpers Association charges that workers have been threatened by BP. CNN reports
that "BP told workers they were not allowed to wear masks." Clint
Guidry, the president of the shrimpers association, told CNN, "Some of
our men asked, and they were told they'd be fired if they wore masks."
BP has denied making threats.
Meanwhile the Center for Biological Diversity
is suing the EPA for not stopping the use of untested chemicals that
may prove a dire threat to the ecosystem on the Gulf Coast. "The Gulf
of Mexico has become Frankenstein's laboratory for BP's enormous,
uncontrolled experiment in flooding the ocean with toxic chemicals,"
said Andrea Treece, an attorney with the center.
In both the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the 9/11 terrorist attack,
workers experienced long-term health problems despite government
assurances of safe working conditions.
People's World