Many of the fishermen who signed up to work for BP cleaning up the oil signed contracts that forbid them from talking to the press. Perhaps for that reason, reports of illnesses have been somewhat slow to emerge. Last week, the wives of some of the fishermen spoke out publicly about the symptoms their husbands were experiencing. This week, some fishermen are starting to come forward. In this WDSU TV interview, one of the fishermen reports feeling drugged, disoriented, tingling, fatigued, and also reporting shortness of breath and cough. These are symptoms that are consistent with what one might expect from exposure to hydrocarbons in oil.
There are also disturbing photos that have been posted on the internet and in the LA Times, showing clean-up workers on beaches in regular street clothes without even the benefit of gloves. These people are in contact with the weathered oil (as opposed to fresh oil bubbling up from the continuing leak). Weathered oil is considered less dangerous than fresh oil because the toxic vapors have dissipated, but it is not benign. Skin contact with even the weathered oil is very damaging, so gloves should be required. In addition, the oil can contaminate shoes and clothing, and could then be worn home where it could pose a risk to young children. The oil needs to be cleaned up, but it should be done right.
This coming week, fishermen from Alaska who were involved in the clean-up after the Exxon Valdez oil spill are coming down to the Gulf Coast to meet with local fishermen. The goal is to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. I blogged previously about scientific studies of health effects in clean-up workers from prior oil spills. So it's encouraging to see that the workers are sharing stories. The only way to keep people safe is to learn from history, and to force BP to act responsibly (or is that an oxymoron at this point?) One of my NRDC colleagues will be at the meeting this week, and she will be gathering information on what's happening out there. Stay tuned for updates in the effort to protect the clean-up workers.
This post originally appeared on NRDC's Switchboard blog.
They really don't want to work.
They want to put in a few hours and get paid the same day so they can go out and get their Beer, Wine, Crank, or Whatever.
All they are doing is whining about feeling sick in the hopes that they can get out of working, and still get paid.
I know because one time when I was temporarily in a bad spot I took some of these days jobs myself. Believe me, 95% of the people I encountered were like this.
my sea, my creatures, mother earth cries
strong profits over beauty and safety
I don't even know why I bother to write comments to blogs. The people who have the power don't read them or are driven by their own agenda of greed and self-interest. All the complaining about Obama's response is not taking responsibility for our own power. He cannot declare war on BP or the local responders without massive support from the interested/affected parties. Whenever he does anything, he is slammed by Republicans/Blue Dogs and corporate interests, so I admire his restraint in allowing the process to move ahead until such time as enough people take the cause up for themselves. The larger message is that we are all one and what affects the gulf, or any other area, affects us all, whether we believe it or not.
I know how you feel, but keep doing it. People do read, retain wisdom/good ideas whereever they read it. We may be shouting in the wind, w. very few "listeners" but truth eventually gets repeated despite the noise. Obama got elected this way.
While I'm not so sure about government's ability to do much to stop the leak (oil companies have equipment, suppliers, etc), I feel adamant about ANY government's responsibility for the health of its citizens.
fanned.
If BP has actually hired individuals to clean up this mess, it is only logical and MANDATORY that their employees are protected with proper safety equipment.
Of course, OSHA regulations don't mean much to these corporate criminals.
Hey, I can dream can't I?