BP Oil Spill, BP Oil Spill Cleanup Workers BLOG POST
What BP Doesn’t Want You To Know
A recent Newsweek article by Mark Hertsgaard has provided an extremely gruesome, yet accurate description of BP Oil’s massive cover-up and the health problems suffered by cleanup workers and residents of the Gulf Region following the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010. Here are some highlights of that article:
Mopping floors, doing dishes and coughing up blood
BP Oil supervisors told a Gulf coast resident that the “gunk” cleanup workers were tracking into the kitchen where she was working was “as safe as Dawn dishwashing liquid.” Just a few days later, she was coughing up blood and within months, she exhibited a variety of strange and painful symptoms similar to those suffered by soldiers with Gulf War Syndrome.
Fatigue, skin irritations, memory loss and other cognitive issues were just the beginning for many cleanup workers and residents of the region. Most experts now agree that BP’s decision to implement one of the most outrageous corporate cover-ups in history ended up causing far more damage than the spill itself.
The great cover-up
BP has managed to make the disaster appear not as bad as it actually was, by:
- Preventing media coverage of the full extent of the oil pouring into the Gulf
- Using an extraordinary amount of chemical dispersants
- Ignoring safety measures, including the use of protective clothing and other equipment, in order to make the cleanup work appear safe to the workers and the general public
Three years after what is considered the worst environmental disaster in our nation’s history, media coverage of the aftermath is limited to business press coverage of the trial.
Walruses in the Gulf of Mexico?
U.S. law mandates that oil companies have a response plan in place prior to commencing drilling. Failure to comply with this measure placed BP in the dangerous situation of having to come up with a response to the disaster in the heat of the moment — for instance, copying response plans drafted after the Exxon-Valdez spill in Alaska, which included provisions for protecting walruses.
As far as we know, there have never been any walruses in the Gulf of Mexico.
The great vanishing oil trick
Many people are familiar with the now widely publicized scientific study that found that Corexit, the chemical compound used to disperse the oil and prevent it from reaching the shoreline, actually makes crude oil 52 times more toxic than it already is. Corexit did a fabulous job of making much of the oil “disappear” — along with 80% of the area’s seafood and a vast amount of microscopic life that forms the base of the marine life food chain. Not to mention the disappearance of a large portion BP’s liability for spilled oil that cannot be accounted for.
Getting your life back
Bob Dudley, BP Oil’s new CEO, recently told his shareholders in London that Corexit “is effectively… dishwashing soap.” He said this despite the fact that Corexit’s labeling clearly indicates that it causes red blood cell, liver and kidney damage. It appears that Dudley is hardly an improvement over previous BP CEO and multimillionaire Tony “I want my life back” Hayward.
Unfortunately, nine of the most common symptoms experienced by cleanup workers and residents do not appear on the medical settlement’s list and the Downs Law Group is one of only two law firms in the country with appeals pending on that settlement. Our lawyers are working diligently to assist you get the medical attention you need and the compensation you deserve. If you need help getting your life back on track, call our office today for a consultation.
