4 years after Deep Water Horizon, questions on long-term health effects
When a BP oil well began gushing crude into the Gulf of Mexico four years ago, fisherman George Barisich used his boat to help clean up the millions of gallons that spewed in what would become the worst offshore spill in U.S. history.
Like so many Gulf Coast residents who pitched in after the April 20, 2010, explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig, Barisich was motivated by a desire to help and a need to make money the oil had destroyed his livelihood.
Today he regrets that decision, and worries his life has been permanently altered. Barisich, 58, says respiratory problems he developed during the cleanup turned into pneumonia and that his health has never been the same.
"After that, I found out that I couldn't run. I couldn't exert past a walk," he said. His doctor declined comment.
Barisich is among thousands considering claims under a medical settlement BP reached with cleanup workers and coastal residents. The settlement, which could benefit an estimated 200,000 people, received final approval in February from a federal court. It establishes set amounts of money up to $60,700 in some cases to cover costs of various ailments for those who can document that they worked the spill and developed related illnesses, such as respiratory problems and skin conditions.
It also provides for regular physical examinations every three years for up to 21 years, and it reserves a worker's right to sue BP over conditions that develop down the road, if the worker believes he or she can prove a connection to the spill.
Some 33,000 people, including Barisich, are participating in a massive federal study that aims to determine any short or possible long-term health effects related to the spill.
"We know from ... research that's been done on other oil spills, that people one to two years after ... had respiratory symptoms and changes in their lung function, and then after a couple of years people start to return to normal," said Dr. Dale Sandler, who heads the study overseen by the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences, an arm of the National Institutes of Health.
"What nobody's ever done is ask the question: Well, after five years or 10 years are people more likely to develop heart disease, or are they more likely to get cancer?" Sandler said in an interview with The Associated Press. "And I'm sure that's what people who experienced this oil spill are worried about."
At a Friday news conference, Sandler discussed some of the study's early findings. She said depression and anxiety are common in and around disaster sites, but there are indications that cleanup workers were more likely to suffer mild to moderate depression than others living in Gulf Coast counties and parishes where economies and livelihoods were affected by the spill.
"After we took into account where people lived and other factors, it does appear that the prevalence of depression was about 30 percent higher among those who had cleanup jobs than among those who did not," Sandler said. "The preliminary trends were similar for anxiety."
She cautioned that the findings were preliminary and added that it is too early to tell whether exposure to oil or chemical dispersants might account for the difference.
The study is funded by NIH, which received a $10 million award from London-based BP, part of $500 million the oil giant has committed to spend over 10 years for environmental and health research.
Researchers compiled a list of 100,000 candidates, drawn from sources including rosters of mandatory safety classes that cleanup crews attended and from records of people who were issued badges permitting access to oiled areas.
They reached nearly 33,000 for interviews, mostly cleanup workers but also some who applied for cleanup work but were not hired. Of those interviewed, about 11,000 went through physical examinations that included blood and blood pressure tests and measurements of lung function. Water and air samples taken during the spill also will be used to attempt to pinpoint how much exposure workers may have had to toxic substances.
They have a source of information over 20 years test and treat those who helped with the Exxon Valdez.
Full Article: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2014-04-11-Gulf%20Oil%20Spill-Health/id-e506dd380a1240548103fed1866d8791
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I read this article, and an article on another news site, and all I can say is, HUH? You are just realizing this? Read the EPA toxic materials sheets, folks, and then tell me that you are surprised.
BP, and the others, will never learn, and are only concerned about profits.
If people are feeling long term effects, what does one think is happening to the sea life? It makes me ill...
The people at BP and the government are hoping that the public will forget and this will all go away by virtue of osmosis. They are banking on the effects not showing up until like with the Exxon Valdez 20+ years then they can claim that it isn't related.
But, it IS related.
It will never fade from my memory...
Well, this really is kinda interesting. Did a paper for my Environmental Law class, dealing with the TMDL's and none of the Gulf states have had an issue with the Oil spill and it's by-products of tar balls, oil sheen, etc. The largest concern they have is with the Hypoxic bloom just outside state's waters that is caused by agriculture run-off up the Mississippi.
The physical injuries shown are a result of folks with too sensitive skin being exposed to the large amount of petroleum materials in such a short time that have dissolved/degraded over the longer period of time, i.e. - four years.
Here are some additional articles that you may want to read as well:
Oil Spills and Human Health: Lessons from History
The Oil Disaster Is a Health Disaster, Too