Gulf oil spill 2010 health safety overview

Gulf Oil Spill 2010: Health & Safety Overview PF Anderson / Perplexity “Lexi” Peccable (SL) Emerging Technologies Librarian University of Michigan, Taubman Health Sciences Library Today’s Topics Background Compounds & Symptoms Current Health Data Longterm Effects Staying Safe Recommended Sources Safety Basics  Volunteering Hurricanes Background May 25, 2010 OSHA's Assistant Secretary David Michaels   asked that Admiral Allen "stress  to BP that their failure to address the issues in the memo raises serious concerns  about the safety and health of the workers involved in the cleanup “BP has continued to fail to provide adequate protective gear and respirators to  fishermen working in close proximity to the spilled crude oil and dispersants.   The workers are afraid to complain, for fear they will loose their cleanup jobs,  their only source of livelihood.  BP has threatened to fire fishermen attempting  to utilize respirators provided by LEAN, LMRK and other organizations." Louisiana Environmental Action Network: Protecting the Health of Fishermen  Performing Cleanup Activities:  http://leanweb.org/news/latest/protecting­the­health­of­fishermen­performing ­cleanup­activities.html May 28, 2010 SF Gate: Thin Green Line: Oil  spill cleanup workers falling  sick:  http://www.sfgate.com/cgi­bi n/blogs/green/detail?blogid= 49&entry_id= 64595 "Cleanup efforts in the  Gulf of Mexico were briefly  halted Wednesday after  four workers in three  separate vessels became  sick. Their symptoms  included nausea, high  blood pressure, chest pain,  headaches and shortness of  breath." "They say we don't need  respirators," one fisherman  said, shaking his head. "I  don't know." May 30, 2010 Science Blogs: The Pump Handle: "This scares everybody, the fact that we can't stop this well," ­ BP  Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles, May 29, 2010: More oil­spill responders hospitalized and exposure  information gaps persist (Elizabeth Grossman) http://scienceblogs.com/thepumphandle/2010/05/this_scares_everybody_the_fact.php#more "As of Saturday afternoon, May 29th, ten oil spill clean­up workers had been admitted to West Jefferson  Medical Center (WJMC) in Marrero, Louisiana. All but two have been hospitalized suffering from chest  pains, dizziness, headaches, and nausea." But the thought was, said [hospital spokesperson Taslin Alonzo], that symptoms were caused by some  kind of chemical irritant. When asked if the hospital tested incoming cases like these for evidence of  chemical exposure, Alonzo told me that it doesn't. "We just treat the symptoms," she said No respiratory protection was issued, said [Coast Guard Captain Meredith Austin, Unified Command  Deputy Incident Commander in Houma, LA] "because air ratings were taken and there were no values  found to be at an unsafe level, prior to us sending them in there." June 1, 2010 Louisiana Environmental Action Network: BP Tells Fishermen  Working On The Oil Spill That They Will Be Fired For Wearing  A Respirator http://leanweb.org/news/latest/bp­tells­fishermen­working­on­t he­oil­spill­that­they­will­be­fired­for­wearing­a­respirator html June 2, 2010 NPR: SHOTS: Oil Cleanup Dirty, Not Toxic,  For Workers:  http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/06/02/1 27374111/oil­cleanup­workers­might­face­heal th­risks June 2, 2010 Symptoms: dizziness, headache and nausea; heat stress Good news: "And it's reassuring that a federal study of  11,000 workers involved in the Exxon Valdez cleanup did  not find many health problems." Bad news: "Higher temperatures, he says, could release  toxins that would otherwise stay locked inside of tarballs.   Also, nearly a million gallons of chemical dispersant have  been used to break up the oil in the Gulf — far more than  was used in Alaska." July 8, 2010 SF Gate: Thin Green Line: Sources: BP threatens  to fire cleanup workers who wear respirators:  http://www.sfgate.com/cgi­bin/blogs/green/deta il?entry_id=67426 Tracking This Topic University of Michigan Risk Science Center: Gulf Oil Spill and  Human Health Impacts Updates:  http://www.sph.umich.edu/riskcenter/news/oil.htm RSS Feed: http://gulfoil.umrscblogs.org/?feed=rss2 Twitter: @UMRSC @Oil_Spill_2010 Louisiana Environmental Action Network:   http://www.leanweb.org/ http://delicious.com/rosefirerising/oilspill Sources: US Government Restore the Gulf: http://www.restorethegulf.gov / CDC: Emergency Preparedness and Response: 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill:  http://emergency.cdc.gov/gulfoilspill2010/ • CDC: NIOSH: Deepwater Horizon Response: Workplace Safety:  http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/oilspillresponse/ • NIH: National Library of Medicine (NLM): Disaster Information Management  Research Center: Crude Oil Spills and Health:  http://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc/oilspills.html • NOAA: Deepwater Horizon / BP Oil Spill Response:  http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/deepwaterhorizon • CDC: Gulf Oil Spill: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/gulfoilspill2010/ • NLM: Crude Oil Spills & Health:  http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc/oilspills.html Sources: State & Local • Florida Department of Health (DOH) / Florida Department of  Environmental Protection (DEP): Deepwater Horizon Health Information  Frequently Asked Questions:   http://www.dep.state.fl.us/deepwaterhorizon/files/faq_doh_051010.pd f • University of Southern Florida Libraries: Disaster Mental Health:  http://guides.lib.usf.edu/disastermentalhealth • Emory University, Woodruff Health Sciences Center: Short­ and Long­ Term Health Impact of the Gulf Oil Disaster (Linda McCauley, Dean  School of Nursing):   http://whsc.emory.edu/home/multimedia/videos/oil­disaster.html  Youtube Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list? p=58F6964152B8DD21 Sources: Organizations • Institute of Medicine: Assessing the Human Health Effects of the  Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill: An Institute of Medicine Workshop:  http://www.iom.edu/Activities/PublicHealth/OilSpillHealth/ 2010­JUN­22.aspx   Videos: http://www.prolibraries.com/iom/?select=sessionlist • TEDxOilSpill: http://tedxoilspill.com/  Videos: https://docs.google.com/document/pub? id=1DwyiDUdiooHG9m­10TNrw­3PP1olfhy4rqp5rTMJGcc PBS Special: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need­to­ know/environment/tedx­conference/2040/ Sources: More Videos •  Emory University: Gulf Oil Spill and Health:  http://whsc.emory.edu/home/multimedia/videos/oil­ disaster.html Youtube Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list? p=58F6964152B8DD21 • Youtube: Deepwater Horizon:  http://www.youtube.com/user/DeepwaterHorizonJIC • Emory University: Gulf Oils Spill & Health (Youtube videos): http://whsc.emory.edu/home/multimedia/videos/oil­ disaster.html Youtube Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list? p=58F6964152B8DD21 • Youtube: Deepwater Horizon Response Channel:  http://www.youtube.com/user/DeepwaterHorizonJIC Contact • This presentation was compiled by PF Anderson,  pfa@umich.edu for the Netroots Nation Oil Spill Teach­In in  Second Life on July 25, 2010 ... he oil spill that­they­will­be­fired­for­wearing­a­respirator html June 2, 2010 NPR: SHOTS: Oil Cleanup Dirty, Not Toxic,  For Workers:  http://www.npr.org/blogs /health /2010/ 06/02/1 27374111 /oil cleanup­workers­might­face­heal... contaminated with  chemicals from the  oil spill could cause  health effects." Dispersants & Oil Dispersants:   "For most people, brief contact with a small amount of  oil spill dispersants will do no harm. However, longer ... pill­illnesses­injuries­double­in­past­month Current Health Data BP Health Report NIOSH Report of BP Health Data:  http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/oilspillresponse/data.html Steady increase in incidence of reports