BP Oil Spill, BP Oil Spill Cleanup Workers BLOG POST
Can the EPA Protect Us from BP?
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the government agency responsible for monitoring and protecting the condition of our air, water, soil and natural food supply. The agency is charged with responding to climate change, banning toxins that find their way into our air, water and food, and responding to and monitoring the management and impact of environmental disasters. When the Deepwater Horizon explosion caused the largest spill of crude oil in U.S. history, the EPA joined a team of agencies that handled the cleanup.
An early recommendation
In May of 2010, reports of illness in cleanup workers began to pile up. Lisa Jackson, the EPA’s administrator at the time, asked BP to identify a possible alternative to Corexit, the chemical dispersant that was sprayed onto the spill. Corexit had already been (indirectly) authorized by the EPA years before under the Federal Oil Pollution Act and the agency did not have the authority to force BP to stop using the product. BP, which had already bought up roughly one-third of the world’s supply, chose to chose to defend its use of Corexit rather than switch to one of the less toxic solvents available.
An “environmental tradeoff”?
Jackson, however, was publicly supportive of BP and actually defended the company’s use of the product. On July 15, 2010, Jackson gave testimony before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, acknowledging that although the use of dispersants is not ideal, it was an “environmental tradeoff” ― she claims that the dispersants are less toxic than the oils they dissolve and that tests indicated that Corexit would have little if no effect on marine life. She was wrong.
In the years that have followed, it has become clear that it could be decades before the Gulf is restored ― if at all. Marine life may have been permanently damaged and a host of illnesses has emerged in the residents and cleanup workers of the Gulf region. These illnesses range from respiratory illness and skin lesions to nervous system disorders and cancer. Most of these illnesses have been attributed to the combination of crude oil and Corexit dispersant.
Resignation and lawsuits
As the story of BP’s cover-up continues to unfold, it becomes increasingly evident that the EPA didn’t do its job and the Agency is now being sued by various health and environmental groups for its failure to monitor the use of dispersants following the spill.
Lisa Jackson has resigned her position at the EPA and has recently been appointed Environmental Director of Apple, Inc.
The attorneys at The Downs Law Group help residents of the Gulf and cleanup workers who have been poisoned by the spill receive monetary compensation for their medical expenses. Call our office today for a consultation.
