Mark A. D’Andrea, MD, FACRO Uncovers Health Issues Associated with BP Flaring Incident

HOUSTON - Jan. 8, 2015 - PRLog -- Immediately following the explosion of Deepwater Horizon, the offshore oil drilling rig owned by British Petroleum (BP) on April 20, 2010, tens of thousands of workers showed up to work on off-shore platforms and on on-shore facilities. Workers were charged with the seemingly impossible task of cleaning up, classifying, recording and documenting the remnants of the more than 200 million gallons of oil that continuously poured into the Gulf of Mexico for 87 days contaminating over 600 miles of shoreline from Florida to Texas.

Employed by different subcontractors, cleanup workers were called to serve for various reasons, including a genuine desire to help salvage the health of the Gulf of Mexico, its marine life, wildlife habitats, and the 600 miles of coastal lands affected by the spill. While pay for the oil spill cleanup work was also attractive, it did not compensate for the extended, life-altering health problems workers would encounter due to extended exposure to toxic chemicals, insufficient and inadequate protective gear, as well as misleading information about the potential hazards of the work they were doing. Specifically, workers were told the chemicals they were exposed to were not harmful.

While research on the long-term effects of the oil spill is still emerging, studies published in The American Journal of Medicine (September 2013 and 2014) have already confirmed that workers who participated in the Gulf oil spill cleanup activities are at risk of developing alterations in hematological and hepatic functions. Furthermore, current, ongoing research is linking exposure to the contaminants with lung and other types of cancer.

Conversations with workers who responded to the call for cleanup crews reveal gross mishandling of issues of workers’ safety and health on the behalf of BP and its subcontractors. Charged with cleaning up the calamitous remnants of the oil spill, cleanup crews oftentimes worked 7 days a week for 12 hour shifts under the relentless Gulf coast sun. The protective gear they were issued was inconsistent and inadequate. One worker whose job it was to clean boats covered in oil with a pressure hose says he was only issued eye goggles and a disposable, paper-thin, white, HAZMAT coverall. Although he was exposed to oil and other toxic chemicals for over 12 hours per day and almost always smelled like oil at the end of the day, he was never given a mask to cover his nose and mouth. Furthermore, because his job was on an offshore platform, this worker, like thousands of others, not only worked surrounded by oil and contaminated waters, he also slept and ate in the same area, thus being exposed to the contaminants 24 hours per day for the duration of his contract. During his 2-month stint cleaning up BP’s oil spill, he developed a persistent cough, and later had difficulty breathing and filling his lungs with air, migraines, and sinusitis. Three trips to the emergency room resulted only in more frustration, as he was repeatedly dismissed with a diagnosis of pneumonia. It was only after consulting Dr. Mark D’Andrea that a more thorough examination revealed the source of his persistent cough to be, not pneumonia, but lung cancer. A mere four years after his work cleaning up the oil spill, this patient has little appetite, takes anxiety medication, is unable to sleep, walk far, or carry anything over ten lbs.; frustratingly, he spends the majority of his day in bed.

Another patient whose work included sorting, classifying, and recording the wildlife, debris, and other materials that were brought to shore, suffered burns on his right hand when tar ate through his work glove on his second day on the job. His skin immediately became irritated and began itching. When he went to the on-site medical facilities, he was told that the open sores and burning, itching sensation was a typical rash and was given a topical ointment of the likes of hydrocortisone. Subsequent complaints did not get him more examination; instead, he was told that there was no way the tar created the rash. Like with other oil spill workers, his protective gear was insufficient – again, he was only issued a disposable coverall, eye goggles, and work gloves – and his complaints to medical staff were quickly dismissed and trivialized. Three years after he finished his work with BP’s subcontractor, the sores on his right arm have only gotten worse, spreading from his finger tips to his elbow and he suffers from the psychological and emotional stress of having to face the world with an infected arm that has significantly deteriorated in muscle mass and is covered in open sores. In order to be able to interact with other people without feeling psychologically stressed, he wraps his arm in bandages everyday. Aside from the very visible infection caused by exposure to the toxins of the oil spill, he also has headaches, difficulty breathing, a persistent cough with phlegm as well as itchy, burning eyes.

Representatives from BP and the subcontracting companies repeatedly assured workers that the oil and the dispersants, especially Corexit, used to combat it were non-toxic and exposure to these chemicals would have no effect on their health. Countless cases of oil spill workers with infections, blood irregularities, persistent coughs, worsening headaches, and difficulty breathing would suggest otherwise. In fact, as a team of researchers from the University Cancer and Diagnostic Centers, Houston, TX is discovering, there is a significant links between exposure to the chemicals and respiratory malignancies.