7 in hospital receiving treatment for contact with dispersant

[Ian David]

Source: WWLTV.com

by WWLTV.com

wwltv.com
Posted on May 26, 2010 at 9:30 PM
Updated today at 7:15 AM

NEW ORLEANS – Seven people have been admitted into the West Jefferson Medical Center and are receiving treatment for having contact with dispersant while working to clean up the oil spill.

Taslin Alfonso, a spokesperson for the hospital, said two of the men came by ambulance and one by helicopter. All three were on the same boat in Venice. The other four came by ground.

Alfonso said it "seems to be the case" that some of the men, such as the one flown in by helicopter, have worse conditions than the rest, but the hospital can't release any more information at this time.

<snip>

Alfonso said they were all complaining of "severe" headaches, but none of these instances are considered critical. Alfonso said there are other health concerns at this time, but the family did not want to disclose that information to the media.

Read more: http://www.wwltv.com/news/3-in-hospital-receiving-treatment-for-contact-with-dispersant-4-more-on-way-94980259.html

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Hat-tip to: http://twitter.com/Uncucumbered/status/14835668778

[dgibby]

1. It is criminal negligence on the part of the hiring entity (BP?)

not to supply Hazmat suits and respirators to these workers. It's also a blatant violation of OSHA regulations.

In addition to the toxins in the dispersant, the hydrocarbons and other toxic chemicals being released into the air will cause long term lung damage and debilitation.

Where is OSHA? Where is the EPA? Who is looking out for the welfare of these workers?

[dipsydoodle]

4. Same could be said

of US troops dispersing Agent Orange over Vietnam. Were criminal negligence charges ever brought against the US Government ?

[revolution breeze]

8. No, but we are paying out millions monthly

I know six Vietnam Veterans who are receiving approximately $2,000 each per month due to exposure to Agent Orange. All six have heart conditions which may or may not be related to Agent Orange exposure, but they are considered 100% disabled and receive full benefits from the VA.

[dipsydoodle]

9. I think you might find

that those payments are made without admission of guilt.

[revolution breeze]

11. No, they clearly receive the payments as a result

Of exposure to Agent Orange, documented by the Veterans Administration. I worked for the attorney who helped them obtain the benefits.

[dipsydoodle]

12. I'm pleased to hear that

.

[CountAllVotes]

15. I believe you

used to work for the DoD at one time and you don't get anything from them without a stack of paperwork a mile high supporting your claim(s).

:kick:

[revolution breeze]

10. Not just the workers,

Airplanes have been seen taking off after being filled with dispersants which are leaking on the runway. What is this leakage, I am certain it is not fuel, and are we certain the leakage stops as soon as the plane takes off?

[kestrel91316]

14. If they hired them as independent contractors, they don't have to provide

jack shit in the way of protection. It's up to the contractors to protect themselves.

You KNOW they did it this way. It's cheaper.

[dipsydoodle]

2. Hardly suprising

if they came in contact with undiluted dispersant.

[izquierdista]

3. Got to read the MSDS

If you do, you find out that this Corexit is mostly petroleum distillate with a little detergent in it. While that may make a good dispersant for a small spill, since the detergent is already dissolved in an organic fraction, there is no shortage of organic fraction to go around here. They would be better off with a jumbo sized box of Tide if they need to apply dispersant. Then it wouldn't be giving off any poisonous fumes.

[joanmj]

5. i thought they were to stop using that dispersant....

[revolution breeze]

6. You think that means they have?

This is turning into one big testing area! Thank goodness this was the Gulf of Mexico and not somewhere important. :sarcasm:

[dgibby]

7. They were,

but they basically told the EPA to go pound sand.

[blueworld]

13. This is the kind of amateurish insanity that I simply do not understand

BP lies & surely they knew they must provide respirators etc. for these people, but they didn't. So where are the "boots on the ground" from the "unified command"? Why are the booms allowed to beach themselves on the barrier islands? Why is BP allowed to tell the EPA to screw over those dispersants?

I heard Allen interviewed on CNN this a.m. & he said it was his call as to use of resources like National Guard, DOD whatever. He said he didn't realize oil was washing up on the barrier islands because he was using satellite data to track the slicks. Like watching a video game? If the satellite data is not good enough, why hasn't he forced BP to pay for more local people to monitor & report.

Even if you consider BP merely incompetent & clueless (which I don't, they're greedy liars) wouldn't he feel compelled to monitor data & their reports more closely? I simply do not understand. This is Bush/Cheney disaster nurtured by the previous Congress (& previous administrations), but I'm underwhelmed at the Fed response thus far.