Gulf Cleanup Workers say not given protective gear. MORE REPORTS of Illness (ProPublica 5/26)

[chill_wind]

The ProPublica Blog
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More Reports of Illness Emerge Among Gulf Cleanup Workers
by Marian Wang, ProPublica - May 26, 2010 12:09 pm EDT


Fishermen hired by BP to help with the oil spill cleanup in the Gulf of Mexico are coming down sick with “severe headaches, dizziness, nausea and difficulty breathing” after working long hours in oil- and dispersant-contaminated waters, according to the Los Angeles Times.

This follows a report we flagged on Tuesday about fishermen coming down sick. This one, done by a New Orleans TV station, told a similar story <3>—fishermen reported feeling “drugged and disoriented,” “coughing up stuff,” and feeling “weak.”

Cleanup workers told the Times that they were not given protective equipment—no gloves, no respirators. Here’s BP’s response on the issue, from the Times piece:

BP spokesman Graham McEwen said Tuesday he was unaware of any health complaints among cleanup workers, noting that the company had taken hundreds of samples of so-called volatile organic carbons, such as benzene, and all the levels were well within federal safety standards.

McEwen said the fishermen the company is training are not being deployed into areas that require respirators or breathing apparatus. Those who are working for BP laying booms or skimming oil are issued protective coveralls and gloves, he said.

Note that in that excerpt, BP said it took samples of the possible health risks to cleanup workers.

It has. But as we’ve pointed out, BP’s not releasing that data to the public <4>, and has shared it only with “legitimate interested parties,” including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. And when OSHA, a federal agency, was asked by McClatchy about releasing the data, it said the data was BP’s, and “not ours to publish.”

More: http://www.propublica.org/ion/blog/item/more-reports-of-illness-emerge-among-gulf-cleanup-workers

[EFerrari]

1. Kick

[chill_wind]

8. Thanks EF. This comports with what workers told Mother Jones'

reporter who went to Louisiana.

When I tell Chief Aubrey Chaisson that I would like to get a comment on Barbara's intimations—and my experience so far—that BP is running the show, he says he'll meet me in a parking lot. He pulls in, rolls down the window of his maroon Crown Victoria, and tells me that I can't trust the government or big corporations. When everyone saw the oil coming in as clear as day several days before that, BP insisted it was red tide—algae. Chaisson says he's half-Indian and grew up here and just wants to protect the land. When I tell him BP says the inland side of the island is still clean, he spits, "They're fucking liars. There's oil over there. It's already all up through the pass." The spill workers staying at my motel later tell me they've been specifically instructed by BP not to talk to any media, but they're pissed because BP tried to tell them that the crude they were swimming around in to move an oil containment boom was red tide, dishwashing-liquid runoff, or mud.

http://motherjones.com/environment/2010/05/oil-spill-bp-grand-isle-beach

[EFerrari]

10. I won't be commenting much about this

because I'm so angry, my brain just stops. But very happy to kick and rec if I can.

[lob1]

2. BP = Too big to jail.

That has to change. Lots of people should be thrown in jail for their crimes against man and nature.

[chill_wind]

3. Today's LA Times: Riki Ott-- "It's deja vu."

"To Riki Ott, a marine toxicologist who studied the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill off Alaska, it's "deja vu."

Like other cleanup workers, Jackson had attended a training class where he was told not to pick up oil-related waste. But he said he wasn't provided with protective equipment and wore leather boots and regular clothes on his boat.

"They told us if we ran into oil, it wasn't supposed to bother us," Jackson said. "As far as gloves, no, we haven't been wearing any gloves."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-oil-workers-sick-20100526,0,4604887.story

[Blue_In_AK]

7. Riki Ott knows all about this.

She was a Cordova fisherman at the time of the EXXON VALDEZ spill and has been exposing oil company villainy ever since.

[chill_wind]

4. About the worker exposure data-- It's "BP's data."

Much of the worker exposure data is being collected by contractors hired by BP.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/05/18/94415/bps-secrecy-keep-facts-on-gulf.html#ixzz0oOgEMK7i

Air quality data-- OSHA: it's not ours to publish.

an OSHA official again deferred to BP:

“It is not ours to publish,” said Dean Wingo, OSHA’s assistant regional administrator who oversees Louisiana. “We are working with (BP) and encouraging them to post the data so that it is publicly available.”

************************************************************

"It's BP's data." "It's BP's Oil." "BP's Rules."

[bleever]

5. Kick.

Crimes upon crimes.

[Blue_In_AK]

6. That's exactly what happened up here.

People are still suffering from the toxic effects of the oil and clean-up chemicals. I can't believe nothing has changed.

[chill_wind]

9. And if we don't take some prisoners this time

nothing will change still.

"Rules & regulations don't mean anything unless you perp walk some people."
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8424978

[chill_wind]

11. Updated stories today. (link)

US Oil Spill Clean-up Boats Recalled After Crews Fall ill

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4400292

http://www.physorg.com/news194170114.html