US Oil Spill Clean-up Boats Recalled After Crews Fall ill

[jayfish]

Source: Physorg.com

The crew members aboard three separate vessels "reported experiencing nausea, dizziness, headaches and chest pains" mid-afternoon Wednesday, the US Coast Guard said in a statement.
"No other personnel are reporting symptoms, but we are taking this (recall) action as an extreme safeguard," said Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Robinson Cox.
The move raises questions over the safety of the clean-up operation in and around the Gulf in Mexico, in particular the protection workers have been given as they mitigate the oil, and the toxicity of the controversial chemical dispersants being used by BP in an attempt to break up the slick.

Read more: http://www.physorg.com/news194170114.html

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Yup, totally safe. What will happen when this stuff shows up as rain?

FSH

[Kalun D]

1. As Punishment

As punishment for their role in the spill all the BP execs should be made to swim in the oil/dispersant stew everyday for the rest of their lives. They also should be kept alive to clean up the oil for the rest of their lives. I'm talking physically on the beach with shovels. Cuz Alaska still has spilled oil, it takes forever to clean up and this spill is worse.


kick and rec

[joanmj]

2. good idea

[lonestarnot]

3. Best idea! I wanted them to swim ashore from the moment it blew!

[thecrow]

6. If they swam in it I doubt they'd last the hour.

Definitely put them on beach duty, though

[SPedigrees]

4. Nothing good. Here is an eyewitness report that oil is already falling as rain:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8429279

[BelgianMadCow]

5. Check them for Corexit as well

please

[chill_wind]

7. "Mr Coast Guard, you're lying. Mr NOAA , you're lying."

George Barisich, president of United Commercial Fisherman's Association, called the official account of illnesses "a pack of lies," and said at least nine fisherman were treated in hospital Wednesday, while dozens more have worked through sickness brought on by the clean-up operation.

"Mr Coast Guard, you're lying. Mr NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), you're lying. We've been warning since the beginning that this would make people sick," Barisich told AFP.

"BP calls our boats vessels of opportunity. We call them vessels of guys who gotta work," he said.

Louisiana fishermen usually make half their money for the year over the next 80 days, said Barisich.

But the oil spewing out of the ruptured BP well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico sounded the death knell for this year's fishing season, leaving the fishermen little option to make money but to help with the clean-up.

"We're not unaccustomed to working through hard times, even when we're sick. A lot of guys are out there, getting sick, but they were working through it because -- how else are we supposed to live?" Barisich said.


"I warned them. I said this was dangerous and would sicken us. I asked them for respirators, gloves, plastic sleeves, and we're only getting them now from volunteer groups, not from BP."

[Iowa]

8. What an unbelievable clusterfuck.

[Lagomorph]

9. It's no secret that...

...many hydrocarbons are unfriendly to living organisms.

[Catherina]

10. Cleanup Boats Sent to Shore After More Workers Get Sick

Source: ProPublica

Cleanup Boats Sent to Shore After More Workers Get Sick

May 27, 2010 1:45 pm EDT

All 125 commercial vessels working to clean up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico have been ordered back to shore temporarily after four workers on three separate vessels became ill, according to a Deepwater Horizon Response press release.

...

The sick workers said they had headaches and chest pain, and were nauseated and dizzy. One was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Marrero, La., another was taken by boat and two were taken in an ambulance, according to the press release.

The current symptoms mirror those of other fishermen who were hired by BP to help clean up the spill, as we pointed out earlier this week. The dispersants BP is using to break up the oil have many health risks of their own.

...



Read more: http://www.propublica.org/feature/cleanup-boats-sent-to-shore-after-more-workers-get-sick

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Will these workers even get medical care?

[Paper Roses]

11. If it is this bad for the workers, imagine the animals.

This breaks my heart.

[FreeJG]

12. yes, im in a gulf state and i know the wildlife...it's beautiful...and Im full of anxiety

[Catherina]

13. Mine too

I have to deliberately keep chasing the images out of my head so I can get some work done, get some sleep, function what.

They don't even know what is happening to them :(

[kentauros]

14. It's not just the people offshore getting sick, either.

I know it was reported on Keith Olberman last night that those cleaning up on the beaches were getting sick and being hospitalized. I don't have a link, but it's probably been reported here already.

One reason I bring this up is that one of my employment contractors sent me this in an alert email back on 5/5/10. Contractor portion first, and the announcement in bold:

We are only sharing this info…we do not have further details you must check it out for yourself…looks like it may have already happened.
If you know of anyone needing a job, hiring immediately – no experience needed … read below.

To all….should have clarified…..I got this yesterday evening, this is for this morning at 9 a.m. at Texas Worksource…the phone number is [phone]

FYI…..for anyone you know who is out of work, or wants something on the side for some temporary work…
The Hazwoper training alone is worth about $450 and you can use that it any upcoming jobs you may be hunting.


Need a JOB?? $1,272.00 per week.

Tomorrow at 9 AM at the Workforce in Texas City, (behind McDonalds) they will be hiring ALOT of people to clean up the oil spill. Start working on Monday. 7 days a week, 12 hr shifts. No Experience needed.

Employer provides 40hr Hazwoper Training (non-paid)

The moment I saw that, my first thought was, "I don't care how much they're paying, my health is more important." Luckily, it wasn't the kind of email I had to reply to, or I would have said the same thing to them. And now it's happening to people :(