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Aljazeera reports that gulf spill sickness
wrecking lives.
(emphasis mine) [my comment]
Gulf spill sickness
wrecking lives
Nearly a year after the oil disaster began, Gulf Coast residents are sick,
and dying from BP's toxic chemicals.
By Dahr
Jamail
Last Modified: 09 Mar 2011 15:42 GMT
National and State
Parks along the Gulf Coast have posted health warnings along the coast [Erika
Blumenfeld/AJE]
"I have critically high levels of chemicals in my body," 33-year-old Steven Aguinaga
of Hazlehurst, Mississippi told Al Jazeera. "Yesterday I went to see
another doctor to get my blood test results and the nurse said she didn't know how I
even got there."
Aguinaga and his close friend Merrick Vallian went swimming at Fort Walton Beach, Florida, in
July 2010.
"I swam underwater, then found I had orange slick
stuff all over me," Aguinaga said. "At that time I had no knowledge
of what dispersants were, but within a few hours, we were drained of energy
and not feeling good. I've been extremely sick ever
since."
BP's oil disaster last summer gushed at least 4.9 million barrels of oil into the
Gulf of Mexico, causing
the largest accidental marine oil spill in history - and the largest
environmental disaster in US history. Compounding the problem, BP has admitted to using at least 1.9 million
gallons toxic dispersants, including one chemical that has been
banned in the UK. [someone from BP recently admitted to used 16 million gallons of
dispersants, SO FAR …]
According to chemist Bob Naman, these chemicals create an even more
toxic substance when mixed with crude oil. Naman, who
works at the Analytical Chemical Testing Lab in Mobile, Alabama, has been
carrying out studies to search for the chemical markers of the dispersants BP
used to both sink and break up its oil.
Poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from this toxic
mix are making people sick, Naman said. PAHs contain compounds that have
been identified as carcinogenic, mutagenic, and teratogenic.
"The dispersants are being added to the water and are causing
chemical compounds to become water soluble, which is then given off into the air, so it is coming down as rain, in
addition to being in the water and beaches of these areas of the Gulf," Naman told Al
Jazeera.
"I'm scared of what I'm finding. These cyclic compounds intermingle with
the Corexit [dispersants] and generate other cyclic
compounds that aren't good. Many have double bonds, and many are on the EPA's
danger list. This is an unprecedented environmental catastrophe."
Aguinaga's health has been in dramatic decline.
"I have terrible chest pain, at times I can't seem to get enough
oxygen, and I'm constantly tired with pains all over my body," Aguinaga
explained, "At times I'm pissing blood,
vomiting dark brown stuff, and every pore of my body is dispensing
water."
And AGUINAGA'S FRIEND VALLIAN IS NOW DEAD.
"After we got back from our vacation in Florida, Merrick went to work for a company
contracted by BP to clean up oil in Grand Isle, Louisiana," Aguinaga said
of his 33-year-old physically fit friend.
"Aside from some gloves, BP provided no personal protection for them. He worked for them for two weeks and THEN DIED ON AUGUST
23. He had just got his first paycheck,
and it was in his wallet, uncashed, when he
died."
National health crisis
Many of the chemicals present in the oil and dispersants are known to
cause headaches, nausea, vomiting, kidney damage, altered renal function, and
irritation of the digestive tract. They have also caused lung damage, burning pain in the
nose and throat, coughing, pulmonary edema, cancer, lack of muscle coordination, dizziness,
confusion, irritation of the skin, eyes, nose, and throat, difficulty
breathing,
delayed reaction time and memory difficulties.
Further health problems include stomach discomfort, liver and kidney
damage,
unconsciousness, tiredness/lethargy, irritation of the
upper respiratory tract, hematological disorders, and death. Pathways of exposure to the chemicals
are inhalation, ingestion, skin, and eye contact.
Al Jazeera has talked with scores of sick people
across the Gulf Coast who attribute
their illnesses to chemicals from BP's oil disaster.
Paul Doom,
22, from Navarre, Florida, was training in preparation to join the US
Marines, until he became extremely ill from swimming in
the Gulf of Mexico.
"I stopped swimming in July because I started having severe
headaches that wouldn't go away," Doom told Al Jazeera. "But each time I went to the
doctor they dismissed it."
In October, Doom began to have internal bleeding, but this too was dismissed
by doctors. In November, when it worsened, he was given pain medications in
the Emergency Room and was told it would pass. Less then
three weeks after that, Doom collapsed with
a seizure.
"Since then, I've had two blood tests for Volatile Organic Compounds [VOC's] which are in BP's oil and dispersants, and they both came
back with alarmingly high levels," he said.
Children playing in the surf at Orange Beach, Alabama, despite
independent scientists' warnings of toxins in the water, air, and seafood
[Erika Blumenfeld/AJE]
Since the onset of his symptoms, Doom has been dealing with ongoing internal
bleeding, nose bleeds, bleeding from his ears, blood in his stool, headaches,
severe diarrhea, two to five seizures per day, paralysis in his
left leg and arm, and failing vision.
"A toxicologist that interpreted my blood VOC results told me they didn't know how
I was alive,"
Doom explained. "My Hexane was off the charts, and I have 2 and 3 Methylpentane, Iso-octane, Ethylbenze, and mp-Xylene."
Wilma Subra, a MacArthur Fellow and chemist in
Louisiana, has been testing the blood of BP cleanup workers and residents in
Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Subra
tested Doom's blood and found high amounts of several VOC's.
"Ethylbenzene, mp-Xylene
and Hexane are volatile organic chemicals that are present in the BP crude
oil," Subra told Al Jazeera. "We're
finding these in excess of the 95th percentile, which is the average for the
entire nation. Sometimes we're finding amounts 5 to 10 times in excess of the
95th percentile."
Subra explained that there has been long enough exposure so
as to create chronic impacts, that include "Liver damage,
kidney damage, and damage to the nervous system. So the presence of these chemicals in
the blood indicates exposure."
Testing by Subra has also revealed the chemicals
are present "in coastal soil sediment, wetlands, and in crab, oyster and
mussel tissues."
Staggering toll
Since January, at least 67 dead dolphins have washed ashore along the Gulf Coast, an event the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration declared as "an unusual mortality
event". In the whole of 2010, 89 dolphin deaths were reported for the
same area.
In January, a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute chemist and colleagues
reported that the toxic chemical dispersants BP used to sink its crude oil remained
in the deep ocean in
an oil and gas-laden plume that had still not degraded.
Also in January, Louisiana Senator AG Crowe wrote a letter to President Barack Obama
expressing his deep concern about the toxic
dispersants BP used, and according to Senator Crowe, continues to use
along the Gulf Coast.
"Mr President, my concern is that THIS TOXIC AND
DAMAGING CHEMICAL IS STILL BEING USED and it will compound the long-term
damage to our state, our citizens, our eco-system, our economy, our seafood
industry, our wildlife and our culture," the letter read.
"We will not be fooled in to believing that the oil and the
toxins are gone.
Because the toxic dispersants have been, and are still being used today, the
oil is being forced downward in to the water columns and then carried
endlessly around and about by the Gulf currents adversely affecting our
environment."
Subra, the MacArthur Fellow, is alarmed by what she
is finding in the people whose blood she is testing.
"Severe symptoms, lots of respiratory and cardiovascular
problems, and skin lesions," she explained. "There is a lot of
internal bleeding, and the chemicals cause this by disrupting the integrity
of the red blood cells."
Subra said: "We're seeing the chemicals in
different classes of people. Cleanup workers employed by BP, clean-up workers no
longer employed, and we're seeing it in community members who come in contact
with the crude by fishing or recreating in the Gulf."
Al Jazeera asked Subra what she thought the local,
state and federal governments should be doing about the ongoing chemical
exposures.
Tar mats remain along large swaths of coastal Louisiana [Erika Blumenfeld/AJE]
"There is a lack of concern by the government
agencies and the [oil] industry." She said, "There is a leaning towards
wanting to say it's all fixed and let's move on, when it's not. The crude oil is
continuing to come on shore in tar mats, balls, and strings."
Subra continued: "So the
exposure continues. There is still a large amount of crude in the
marshes and buried on the beaches. As long as that pathway is there for
exposure, these problems will continue quite a long time into the
future."
A bunch of guinea pigs
Jo Billups is an environmental activist who has
taken it upon herself to assist in the funding, along with her friend
Michelle Nix, in the blood testing being carried out by Subra.
Working with the Louisiana Environmental Action Network and several doctors
along the Gulf Coast, Billups and Nix have been
holding workshops and helping sick people get their blood tested and find medical
assistance.
"We have sick people from Apalachicola,
Florida, to Grand Isle, Louisiana, AND IT'S NOT STOPPING and that's what's disturbing," Billups said.
"The levels we are seeing are not dropping, and we're seeing new
chemicals now. We
gave some of our blood test results to [EPA head] Lisa Jackson. They know what is
going on, and they are not doing anything about it."
"The saddest part is the children," Billups
added. "We're seeing young children with
extremely high levels of chemicals. We're altering our DNA and our bodies forever, We're a bunch of guinea pigs."
Jennifer Rexford, from Panama City, Florida, was an oil clean-up worker for
BP.
"We were taken to clean up oil and tar balls with inadequate
equipment,"
Rexford told Al Jazeera. "We regularly got oil all over us."
Rexford now has a staph infection that covers much of
her body
that she attributes to the chemicals in BP's oil she was cleaning up.
"Everyone I know of that I worked with are now
having kidney problems, along with lots of other illnesses," Rexford, who has been to the hospital
four times trying to find a solution to her infection, said. "My
neighbor has a rash all over her body, and another clean-up worker I know
found a lump in her breast a month ago. So when I started calling my
co-workers, I realized that WE'RE ALL SICK."
BP cleanup workers regularly are not provided with the proper
protective equipment for cleaning up hazardous material such as crude oil
[Erika Blumenfeld/AJE]
"I have documentation and images SHOWING LESIONS IN
MY BRAIN,"
Paul Doom said. "Lesions that are the same as lesions on the brains of marine
life from the Exxon Valdez spill from marine necropsies. This is a life and death situation and
a race against time."
Doom said the water and food along the Gulf
Coast are not safe, and he is angry at the Obama administration.
"I would ask them why have they allowed this to happen," he said, "How can you live with yourself
knowing you allowed this to happen and continue?"
Aguinaga feels betrayed as well.
"I feel stabbed in the back by my own country," he said, "I feel we are being
dictated to by a foreign power. Maybe our president is not strong enough to
stand up against them. I know money buys people, but they couldn't offer me
enough money for the loss of my friend, and the stuff we're going
through."
Aguinaga's prognosis for the future of Gulf Coast
residents?
"We're all lab rats and we didn't even know it. We're waiting to see how
it's going to turn out."
The
Examiner reports that Lisa Nelson dies.
Gulf oil spill: Lisa
Nelson dies…
March 8th, 2011 4:24 pm ET
There is sad news for Tampa Bay residents who have been following the story
of one woman believed to have been victimized by the BP Gulf oil spill: Lisa Nelson. On March 7, 2011,
Lisa Nelson passed away after battling a mysterious illness
first diagnosed after she watched the Hunters Moon on September 22, 2010. Approximately four months ago, Lisa
Nelson conducted an interview with Jerry Cope which is
available on YouTube where she describe
the mysterious condition that plagued her; she also revealed several large
areas of bruising across her chest and torso. Her face and neck swelled three
times their normal size…
Below
is the youtube video of Lisa Nelson's interview
with Jerry Cope.
BP Oil Spill Victims Sickened and Dying, Local Physicians Clueless
My reaction: Gulf spill sickness is wrecking lives and killing people.
1) BP's oil disaster last summer gushed at least 4.9 million barrels and at least 1.9 million gallons toxic dispersants into the Gulf of Mexico.
2) The Poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from the oil and dispersants are
making people sick, and these sick people are dying.
3) Since the dispersants being added to the water make the oil water soluble,
it is and coming down as rain, in addition to being in the water and beaches
of the Gulf.
4) Pathways of exposure to the chemicals are inhalation, ingestion (eating
gulf seafood), skin, and eye contact.
5) The oil/dispersants is causing sick people from Apalachicola, Florida, to
Grand Isle, Louisiana, to experience:
A) pissing blood
B) "vomiting dark brown stuff"
C) skin lesions
D) lung damage
E) burning pain in the nose and throat
F) coughing/difficulty breathing
G) pulmonary edema
H) ongoing internal bleeding
I) cancer
J) liver damage
K) kidney damage
L) unconsciousness
M) bleeding from his ears
N) damage to the nervous system
O) seizures
P) paralysis (legs, arms, face, etc…)
Q) failing vision/blindness
R) brain lesions
S) death…
6) Toxic dispersants are still being used in gulf. The oil leak never stopped
(ocean bed fracture beyond repair in the blowout), and dispersants are being
used to make the problem "disappear from view".
7) The water and food along the Gulf Coast are not safe.
Conclusion: What do you think would happen to the bonds of the state
of Louisiana and Florida if the full scale of the BP oil spill was known?
What would happen to the rest of the municipal bond market? And what would
happen to the treasury market if the municipal bond market collapsed?
Covering up the BP oil spill has unnaturally extended the life of US debt
markets, at a terrible price.
--------------------------------
Below are some headlines about what is going on in the gulf of Mexico:
Scientist
predicts martial law to be imposed: "Beaches will eventually be closed
to everyone besides clean-up vessels" — "Air quality will
sharply decline"
March 10th, 2011 at
09:01 PM
LSU
professor: "There's nothing there" — Fishermen "telling
us that the reefs are just dead"
March 10th, 2011 at
07:24 PM
"A Huge Number": Shrimp tests show 4,000+
ppm petroleum hydrocarbons — Caught last week of Alabama coast (LAB
REPORT)
March 10th, 2011 at
06:40 AM
"Most Concerning": Chrysene found in
waters off Perdido Key, Florida — Effects
include "increased risk of cancer, chromosomal aberrations, genetic
damage"
March 9th, 2011 at
10:03 PM
"Red Flag": Oil spill study finds almost
HALF of residents suffering "unusual spike" in health symptoms
March 4th, 2011 at
01:45 PM
New
York Times article shows why public might want to think twice before trusting
the E.P.A.
March 3rd, 2011 at
07:02 PM
Same labs used by
FDA and BP are finding "significant amounts" of oil toxins in crabs
— Can be directly related to BP's crude (VIDEO)
March 3rd, 2011 at
05:46 PM
Mississippi
man's blood tests show extremely high Xylene, Ethylbenzene
— Now passing out for an hour at a time (LAB RESULTS)
March 3rd, 2011 at
03:28 PM
Another cleanup
worker blinded — Doctor: "I am most certain that the toxins that
are in his blood attacked his optic nerves"
March 2nd, 2011 at
01:32 PM
FOX:
Woman suffering paralysis in face "induced by heavy metals" —
Tests show high levels of benzene, xylene and other chemicals (VIDEO)
March 1st, 2011 at
06:20 AM
100,000's having
symptoms from oil disaster — Could be just the tip of the iceberg says
physician (VIDEO)
February 28th, 2011 at
09:19 PM
Cleanup
worker having SEIZURES after diagnosed with benzene poisoning —
Coughing up chunks of meat, black stuff coming out of nose & ears, lost
half of eyesight
February 24th, 2011 at
01:59 PM
Scientist:
A huge number of people very, very sick around Gulf — I see a total
lack of health care (VIDEO)
February 23rd, 2011 at
11:58 AM
Worst flu season
I've EVER seen in Louisiana says top doctor — "Shows no signs of
letting up"
February 23rd, 2011 at
10:54 AM
Fisherman: "Alarming reports that so many
people are ill and remain ill and have the very same symptoms"
February 17th, 2011 at 05:50 PM
22
y/o Paul Doomm to be placed in medically induced
coma (VIDEO)
February 16th, 2011 at
06:01 AM
Paper: "Time may never heal
the worst of the health concerns of the spill, concerns that those sickened
by oil and chemicals can't discard"
February 14th, 2011 at
05:14 AM
People will start
dying in large numbers if not addressed now writes top attorney to national
media
February 13th, 2011 at
11:56 AM
Five people have
died in Grand Isle that had no health problems prior to oil disaster says top
official for non-profit
January 17th, 2011 at
09:42 AM
Oil 'Spill'
Commission forum: "People call me crying and dying" —
"They need medical attention"
January 14th, 2011 at
08:54 AM
Young woman "developed
cancer within weeks" after going to Gulf beach — Doctor believes
"this was due to direct exposure to chemicals in the dispersants and
VOCs"
January 6th, 2011 at
09:02 AM
"It looked like the blood
vessels underneath the skin's surface were literally breaking and the blood
was slowly coming to the surface" (VIDEO)
January 3rd, 2011 at
11:58 AM
At
least two suicides linked to BP disaster — "If it wasn't
for my children, I probably would have already committed suicide"
says shrimper (AUDIO)
December 1st, 2010 at
08:41 AM
Shrimper/War
Veteran contemplates losing kids after losing everything else — Wife
says "He's taking this harder than he took Iraq, and he was at death's
door" (AUDIO)
November 30th, 2010 at
07:34 AM
Toxicologist: "Tests of
Gulf shrimp have shown unsafe levels… which can cause liver or kidney
damage in a MATTER OF WEEKS"
November 29th, 2010 at
06:28 PM
"Problem is continuing to
exacerbate" — 50% of all people survey on Alabama coast
"invited to begin treatment"
November 29th, 2010 at
11:44 AM
Hospice
gets funding to counsel Gulf residents using "bereavement
specialist" — Mission is to provide help "during times of
life-limiting illnesses"
November 29th, 2010 at
12:57 PM
Gulf resident's
November blood test shows ethylbenzene levels
higher than cleanup workers tested in August
November 26th, 2010 at
09:13 AM
Surprise?
Congressmen see information that shows Gulf residents are "very
sick" and "dying" (VIDEOS)
November 22nd, 2010 at
05:59 AM
Shrimper
of 30+ years hospitalized, told by his doctors to "get out of
there"
November 21st, 2010 at
12:36 PM
Still,
no one is doing anything about health issues — Corexit neurotoxins
"eat up the brain" and "it takes out your liver, kidneys and
lungs"
November 21st, 2010 at
09:32 AM
Doctor: "Dead people don't
talk, dead people don't sue, dead people don't tell the truth, and dead
people don't bother BP"
November 9th, 2010 at
12:31 PM
"I'm just trying to
survive": Alabama woman's face and neck swollen "three times normal
size" after trip to beach in late September (PHOTOS & VIDEO) (she is dead)
November 8th, 2010 at
08:44 AM
Microbiologist: "They've
been made ill but most are too frightened to speak out" —
"People that are sick are going to be sick for the rest of their
lives"
November 5th, 2010 at
06:38 PM
"Every person I was dealing with was sick"
says outreach volunteer in Grand Isle — "People that are living
there, heaven help them"
November 4th, 2010 at
04:24 PM
Commercial
fisherman: Doctor told me "I am Corexit-drunk"
— "Everybody in Dauphin Island is sick from this stuff"
November 4th, 2010 at
03:03 PM
Kindra:
"My body felt like it was attacking itself" on morning of November
2… "There's people sick everywhere"; Vicki says "last
week I felt like I was dying" (VIDEO)
November 4th, 2010 at
09:17 AM
"Dispersants were highly toxic and had left 8
people dead" when eating fish after '09 oil disaster says foundation
director - Corexit 9500A and 9527A used
November 3rd, 2010 at
09:18 AM
78
percent concerned over health effects of dispersant — "It's
logical" says professor, Corexit is 11 times
more toxic than the oil (Mobile, AL)
November 1st, 2010 at
05:07 PM
More Tears: "My lungs are
crippled — They found chemicals in my blood stream" (VIDEO)
October 31st, 2010 at
12:27 PM
Getting
worse: Toddler with "severe upper respiratory, sinus, and viral
infections" — Experts believe linked to oil disaster
October 28th, 2010 at
03:40 PM
Dean
Blanchard experiencing symptoms: "Coughing, sore throat, burning eyes,
headaches, just like everyone around here feels" — "They are
using us like lab rats"
October 28th, 2010 at
01:25 PM
Reporter:
Growing number of people with health problems along Gulf — "It's
chemical poisoning" (VIDEO)
October 28th, 2010 at
08:35 AM
Vanity Fair:
BP disaster "like Chernobyl" to last for "GENERATIONS"
— "It's only the beginning"
September 23rd, 2010
at 10:59 AM
Eric de Carbonnel
Market Skeptics
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