EPA: Moderate health concerns with Gulf air

[Robbien]

Source: AP

NEW ORLEANS — The Environmental Protection Agency says the air in some places along the Louisiana coast poses a health risk to vulnerable people.

The EPA says recent air sampling shows a moderate health risk in Venice and Grand Isle, two Louisiana towns about 50 miles from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill site.

The agency says anyone unusually sensitive to low-quality air should avoid "prolonged or heavy exertion."

EPA's warning comes as concerns grow that the Gulf oil spill may be fouling not just the water and shores but also the air.

The agency says the levels of chemicals found in air samples have not been linked directly to the BP spill. But odor-causing pollutants associated with oil have been detected.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j0N90uaet1kRIKv5u6Y2iX3_VoSAD9GR6GFG4

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With the EPA so far deep in BP's pocket, the air must be pretty bad if the EPA is saying anything at all.

[Grinchie]

1. In other words, Healthy people exposed to the air will become sensitive eventually

It's amazing how they disavow any long term effects, simply because healthy may not show immediate or long lasting symptons, yet the reality is that the toxins build up in the system, and take a hell of a long time to be expelled.

Anyone remember how hard it was to quit smoking? Well, it's 4 months before you can smell Tobacco on other people or on the clothes you wear. 4 Months till the toxic load is expelled from the body.

This Oil vapor shit? It's anybodies guess how long it lingers in the tissues, lungs, and other parts. It loves fatty tissues, so morbidly obese people beware.. Last time I looked, that 50% of the south..

This is EPA propaganda on behalf of the Petro-Chemical industry. Healthy people should not be exposed to it, even it they can "Tolerate" it, unlike those "Sensistive" people that should "Avoid" it. If you don't have free Universal Health Care, you will be liable for any complications down the road. It's proven, and it will happen.

Thanks for the post K/R

[glowing]

3. And its further than just the two listed areas. Its just too smelly to say nothing is going on, you

all are imagining the horrible smell that is making you all sick.

But its along the entire coast. The corexit is one of the worse things they could have added to the spewing oil.. and they are still adding at the source of the volcano and spraying in the middle of the night.

[Zoeisright]

2. In other words, the air is extremely toxic.

Since the Environmental Pollution Permission Agency is willing to admit it poses a risk.

[glowing]

4. Exactly my thoughts. On top of that, they haven't been testing the fish

for corexit chemicals. hmm. wonder why. The great killing of the Gulf.

[pattmarty]

9. I've thought about the fish already and will be watching closely.........

...........what kind of fish I eat and most importantly WHERE it came from, although throughout all the oceans I wonder if ANY fish is truly safe nowadays.

[CreekDog]

5. what are you saying about EPA employees?

:shrug:

[rpannier]

6. It's at this moment one of the old Johnny Carson bits about air quality in L.A. would be appropriate

[earcandle]

7. I want my friend in Pensacola to move out of town.. into my home or a relative asap.

She has a biology degree and knows that the chems in Corexit
will be cancerous in 4-5 years and it will settle in the air
and on the land and food sources and on people's skin... oh
gopod, what the fuck are we doing now????  Why do I have to
identify with America? 

[Altoid_Cyclist]

8. Hopefully this won't be like what happened to the people after 9-11.

Sure, it's safe to breathe the air around ground zero. Come on down, the EPA (under pressure I grant you) says that it's completely safe to be here and they wouldn't lie to you.

So many government agencies have become political pawns and toadies that as much as I'd like to still trust the EPA, I approach what they say with a large grain of salt at the ready.

They won't know for years just how bad this is going to be I'm afraid.

[pattmarty]

10. Ya know, I still remember when the government "agencies" were.....

....there to protect consumers/citizens. Shit, you might as well just close ALL of them up and help lower the deficit since they all now "protect" the industries they were supposed to regulate.

[Lorien]

13. Yep. Remember all those 60 minutes and other prime time shows that exposed

health risks and dangers to the public? The EPA was on it right after those articles aired. Now they'll allow millions to suffer and many to die to protect share holder prices. Who needs terrorists?

[pattmarty]

14. Who needs terrorists? The answer is "we" (the American public)......

...do. There has to ALWAYS be something anything to distract the publics views from the real (now) obvious problems. Mexicans, gays, unions, or anyone, there HAS to be something to distract. We are fucked.

[Altoid_Cyclist]

15. That's not a bad idea.

On the other hand, it could just be that they're too busy like these people.

Federal Workers Caught Watching Porn at Work

Several senior staffers at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) spent hours daily watching porn on their work computers even as the massive financial crisis was unfolding in 2008, according to agency's inspector general.

Seventeen investigations involved senior SEC staffers earning between $100,000 and $222,000 annually. In many cases, the Kotz's office obtained on-the-record admissions from the employees involved, though the report does not say how, or even whether, the employees were disciplined.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/194932/federal_workers_caught_watching_porn_at_work.html

It seems as though our government has become one of being of the (rich) people, by the (rich) people and for the (rich) people.

The rest of us are merely worker ants and disposable it seems.

[Soylent Brice]

11. moderate??

riiiiiiiight.

[Lorien]

12. Many of us in Central Florida have been coming down with what seem to be sudden flus

for the past month or more. Blinding headaches, congestion, dizziness, burning eyes, ears, nose and throat-and we're 50 miles from the coast! Those living on it are in real danger imho.