Patients by BP spill ask for help in the Gulf of Mexico
Dahr Jamail
| The people of the Gulf of Mexico claimed the U.S. government care and support to disease that is causing the oil spill of the multinational British Petroleum (BP). |
The hydrocarbon began spreading on April 20, when the rig Deepwater Horizon Navigation, BP leased to the Swiss company Transocean, suffered an explosion and two days later sank. In July alone could stop the spill.
At a meeting sponsored this week by the national commission investigating the spill, residents and community leaders expressed their serious concerns about the health crisis that caused the disaster. "Today I'm going to talk about my life," said Cherri Foytlin the two members of the committee present at the meeting of 12. "My levels of ethylbenzene are 2.5 times the 95 percentile, and chances are you can not meet my grandchildren ... What I ask you now to do, if possible, amend (his report). Because we need to receive health care, "he added.
Ethylbenzene is a form of benzene is present in the body when it starts to decompose. It is also present in the raw BP. "I have seen children with injuries all over their bodies" said Foytlin, co-founder of Gulf Change, a community organization based in Grand Isle, in the southeastern state of Louisiana . "We are very, very sick. And the dead are dead. So it does not really matter if the media become, or if the president (Barack Obama) listens to us, or if the oil workers and fishermen and those engaged in the capture of crabs are able to feed their babies and may have a good Christmas next year ... "he said. Frances Beinecke, a member of the committee and president of the Council of National Resources Defense said that he would convey their concerns to the White House.
The commission, appointed by Obama, released its final report this week, after a six-month investigation of the worst oil disaster in the history of the nation. The report recommended a huge start about the failed security practices of the oil industry in the Gulf, and the creation of a new independent agency to monitor drilling activities.
However, most of the 250 people who attended the meeting focused on the health crisis that erupted after the disaster in April 2010, leaving BP workers dedicated to cleaning and also residents suffering from the Gulf diseases that they attribute to fuel and toxic dispersants used to drive them into the depths.
The doctor Rodney Soto Santa Rosa Beach, in the southeastern state of Florida, is analyzing and treating patients with high blood levels of chemicals associated with oil. Typically, these substances are called "volatile organic compounds." Those man-made disaster of BP derivatives are toxic and have negative chronic effects on health. Soto was taken aback to find such high levels of toxic products in each of the patients who are analyzing. "We regularly encounter between five and seven volatile organic compounds in my patients," Soto told IPS. "These patients are people who are not directly involved in the cleanup of oil and residents who live directly on the coast. This is clearly related to the oil disaster, "he added.
However, government agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, along with Obama himself, have stated that the Gulf waters and beaches are open to the public , deeming it safe, like marine products are caught there.
Local residents who were present at the meeting ensured that the two members of the committee were aware of the health crisis they face. Tom Costanza, of Catholic Charities in New Orleans area, said the region is in the midst of a crisis in social services and face a claims process that is fraught with problems. "People call me crying and dying. They need care and support to get through this, "he said.
Ada McMahon works for the Gulf Bridge Project , a citizen journalism website that publishes articles on the communities of the Gulf Coast and address issues of justice and sustainability. "The unresolved health issues are a major problem, along with the fact residents to become activists who go to committee meetings or go to (the fund manager to manage the BP spill, Kenneth) Feinberg to tell their health problems, "he told IPS. " Customers can pay $ 300 blood tests have found an alarming proportion of chemicals in their bodies , and are doing what they can to express their concerns," he added. "But they feel they can not wait for the Congress (legislative) or Obama address this, because doctors need education and support," he said.
Latosha Brown, director of the Fund for Gulf Coast Community Renewal and Ecological Health, working with 250 local organizations, also stated that "the key concern expressed by the community in response to the report is the overwhelming need for access to health services."
Stephen Bradberry, executive director of the Institute Alliance government, concerned that the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, which is dedicated to serving claims in the affected area, not accepting that deal with health issues, which leaves patients without work and without income to pay their medical bills. "There are bruises and skin lesions (...). Yesterday I heard about five people who died in Grand Isle and had no health problems before this. However, there was talk of controlling these communities. " "We need a separate working group to focus solely on analysis, monitoring and studying the health problems caused by long term exposure to crude oil and dispersants. And this has to happen now, "he said. --------------------
At a meeting sponsored this week by the national commission investigating the spill, residents and community leaders expressed their serious concerns about the health crisis that caused the disaster. "Today I'm going to talk about my life," said Cherri Foytlin the two members of the committee present at the meeting of 12. "My levels of ethylbenzene are 2.5 times the 95 percentile, and chances are you can not meet my grandchildren ... What I ask you now to do, if possible, amend (his report). Because we need to receive health care, "he added.
Ethylbenzene is a form of benzene is present in the body when it starts to decompose. It is also present in the raw BP. "I have seen children with injuries all over their bodies" said Foytlin, co-founder of Gulf Change, a community organization based in Grand Isle, in the southeastern state of Louisiana . "We are very, very sick. And the dead are dead. So it does not really matter if the media become, or if the president (Barack Obama) listens to us, or if the oil workers and fishermen and those engaged in the capture of crabs are able to feed their babies and may have a good Christmas next year ... "he said. Frances Beinecke, a member of the committee and president of the Council of National Resources Defense said that he would convey their concerns to the White House.
The commission, appointed by Obama, released its final report this week, after a six-month investigation of the worst oil disaster in the history of the nation. The report recommended a huge start about the failed security practices of the oil industry in the Gulf, and the creation of a new independent agency to monitor drilling activities.
However, most of the 250 people who attended the meeting focused on the health crisis that erupted after the disaster in April 2010, leaving BP workers dedicated to cleaning and also residents suffering from the Gulf diseases that they attribute to fuel and toxic dispersants used to drive them into the depths.
The doctor Rodney Soto Santa Rosa Beach, in the southeastern state of Florida, is analyzing and treating patients with high blood levels of chemicals associated with oil. Typically, these substances are called "volatile organic compounds." Those man-made disaster of BP derivatives are toxic and have negative chronic effects on health. Soto was taken aback to find such high levels of toxic products in each of the patients who are analyzing. "We regularly encounter between five and seven volatile organic compounds in my patients," Soto told IPS. "These patients are people who are not directly involved in the cleanup of oil and residents who live directly on the coast. This is clearly related to the oil disaster, "he added.
However, government agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, along with Obama himself, have stated that the Gulf waters and beaches are open to the public , deeming it safe, like marine products are caught there.
Local residents who were present at the meeting ensured that the two members of the committee were aware of the health crisis they face. Tom Costanza, of Catholic Charities in New Orleans area, said the region is in the midst of a crisis in social services and face a claims process that is fraught with problems. "People call me crying and dying. They need care and support to get through this, "he said.
Ada McMahon works for the Gulf Bridge Project , a citizen journalism website that publishes articles on the communities of the Gulf Coast and address issues of justice and sustainability. "The unresolved health issues are a major problem, along with the fact residents to become activists who go to committee meetings or go to (the fund manager to manage the BP spill, Kenneth) Feinberg to tell their health problems, "he told IPS. " Customers can pay $ 300 blood tests have found an alarming proportion of chemicals in their bodies , and are doing what they can to express their concerns," he added. "But they feel they can not wait for the Congress (legislative) or Obama address this, because doctors need education and support," he said.
Latosha Brown, director of the Fund for Gulf Coast Community Renewal and Ecological Health, working with 250 local organizations, also stated that "the key concern expressed by the community in response to the report is the overwhelming need for access to health services."
Stephen Bradberry, executive director of the Institute Alliance government, concerned that the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, which is dedicated to serving claims in the affected area, not accepting that deal with health issues, which leaves patients without work and without income to pay their medical bills. "There are bruises and skin lesions (...). Yesterday I heard about five people who died in Grand Isle and had no health problems before this. However, there was talk of controlling these communities. " "We need a separate working group to focus solely on analysis, monitoring and studying the health problems caused by long term exposure to crude oil and dispersants. And this has to happen now, "he said. --------------------
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