Because of the Obama administration’s unbridled support of the petrochemical industry and Big Oil, we are poised to repeat this disaster and have it dealt with the same way, whether it be in the Gulf of Mexico or the Arctic or somewhere in Alaska. We have to continue to pay attention and hold BP to account for the massive amount of human and suffering of wildlife along the coast. Interview on DN here.
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more on the actual health issues arising from the spill in this investigative report by sue sturgis here.
An investigation by Facing South finds that people across the region from Louisiana to Florida — cleanup workers as well as coastal residents who weren’t directly involved in the cleanup — are reporting unusual health problems that they blame on the oil spill and the chemical dispersants that were deployed in unprecedented amounts.
Marylee Orr, executive director of the Louisiana Environmental Action Network, says she fields a couple of calls a day from people who say they were exposed to BP oil and/or chemical dispersants and who now report an array of health problems, including respiratory and gastrointestinal disorders, blurred vision, rashes and other skin conditions, bleeding from the rectum and ears, and bloody urine.
The lack of medical options for the BP spill victims is a reality familiar to Matherne, who — like others in the wake of the disaster — has had a hard time finding a doctor willing to treat him. He says several hung up the phone as soon as he said he got sick doing cleanup work for BP. He figures they didn’t want to get involved because of the possible legal ramifications.