OIL SPILL HEATH EFFECTS 1

The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill:

Potential Human Health Effects

Daniela Grey

California State University San Marcos

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The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Potential Human Health Effects

On April 20, 2010 off the coast of Louisiana a British Petroleum oil rig exploded. The

explosion killed 11 rig workers and let 40,000 barrells of oil in the ocean everyday up until July

15, 2010 when they capped it off. Over the last 5 years Louisiana has endured hurricane Katrina,

Gustav, and Rita and now in an economy that depends on the ocean that is now contaminated the

people are devastated. Not only has the spill effected Louisiana’s economy negatively but their

have been complaints of health issues in children, pregnant woman, and workers cleaning up the

spill (McCauley, 2010). Are these health issues are related to the toxicity of the oil in

combination with the dispersants? Or are these issues pychological related to the trauama

Louisiana has experienced in the last 5 years? Even though gas prices are high and with new

legislation restricting oil companies there is a less likely chance of a disaster like the Deepwater

Horizon Oil Spill happening again, Studies should be funded to gain more information on the

short and long term health effects the oil spill could have on the people of Louisiana in order to

confirm or deny the claims of potential health effects in the area.

In June 2010 The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services asked the Institution of

Medicine to hold a meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana to discuss the potential human health

effects of the spill (McCauley, 2010). In the meeting the participants concluded that “cleanup

workers have a greater immediate risk than residents do” (McCauley, 2010). McCauley (2010)

and the other participants of the meeting’s conclusion was confirmed when just weeks later

dozens of workers had already been admitted to the hospital with symptoms ranging from

shortness of breath to nausea and heat stress. It is not known whether or not the symptoms are

from directly working with the crude oil or if they are from the combination of the oil and the

despersant known as Corexit which can be responsible for pneumonitis, respiratory irritation,
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nausea, vomitting, red blood cell injury, and eye irritation (McCauley, 2010). Corexit also

contains a dangerous substance known as benzene, “According to the Department of Health and

Human Services Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, benzene is a known

carcinogen and breathing high leveles of it can cause drowsiness, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, and

headaches” (McCauley, 2010). Because benzene is a known carcinogen the importance of

training the cleanup workers and providing them with protective gear has been established.

However important the immediate health effects may be, protective gear is very expensive and

the challenge will be to get that kind of funding. In the bigger scheme of things the long term

health effects are going to be difficult to isolate throughout the population of Louisiana,

“Discussions at the meeting centered on the risks of exposure to children, pregnant women, and

developing fetuses, among others” (McCauley 2010). There is a potential risk of permanent

DNA damage to workers who were around the spill for months based on studies that were

conducted after the 2002 Prestige oil spill. According to genetic toxicologist Bianca Laffon, “she

and her collegues took blood samples from two groups: volunteers who worked on-site for only

five days and workers who did so for several months. The found DNA damage in both groups

after exposure to the oil spill; DNA damage was reversed in those exposed to the oil for five days

but was irreversable in workers exposed for several months” (McCauley, 2010). Since the spill

the federal government has worked with the local government in response to the disaster, “new

academic and research partnerships will allow researchers to collect data and study the factors

affecting the health of volunteers, workers, and Gulf Coast residents. These studies will help

researchers develop interventions to treat these populations and will allow us to prepare for the

next environmental health disaster” (McCauley, 2010).

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Director of the Global Health Center at Oregon Health and Science University, Peter S.

Spencer, is not sure what physical effects we can expect from the spill but states that, “What is

certain is that the spill will have considerable adverse effects on the mental health of Gulf

residents, who are still recovering from the devastation of hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Gustav

over the last five years” (Slomski, 2010). In studies conducted by Lawrence A. Palinkas after

the Exxon Valdez oil spill it was found that there was at 25% increase in post-traumatic stress in

the Alaskan native population dependent upon fishing the the Gulf of Alaska and were involved

in the cleanup (Slomski, 2010). “This population also experiences high rates of anxiety

disorders, substance abuse, impaired social relationships, fighting and behavioral and academic

problems in children (Slomski, 2010). These mental impairments of the Exxon Valdez spill

directly relate to the psychological issues already occuring in Louisiana, “We are seeing an

increased amount of domestic violence, drinking, anxiety, depression, anger and avoidance”

(Slomski, 2010). However, it can not be sure that the psychological effects impairing the

Louisiana community is attributed to the chemicals directly or the trauma of it all. Children have

an especially high risk for physical impairments according to Irwin Redlener, “Children are short

so they inhale toxic environmental elements that are heavier than air at greater concentrations

than adults…They also have a very large skin mass relatve to body mass, which has implications

for absorbing toxins through the skin” (Slomski, 2010). Redlener also expresses another

concern in the increase of childhood asthma due to the spill which can lead to long-term

conditions of the central nervous system (Slomski, 2010). Brenda Eskenazi, director of the

center for Children’s Environmental Health Research at UC Berkley, states, “We have a growing

body of evidence that shows that paternal exposure could increase the risk of spontaneous

abortions, birth defects, and aneuploidy syndromes” in reference to male cleanup workers
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exposure to the toxicity (Slomski, 2010). Even though the oil spill is continuously effecting the

health of the Louisiana residents, there has been some initiative taken by BP. They have,

“pledged $500 million to the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative to study the impact of the spill

on the environment and public health” (Slomski, 2010).

In July 2010 the House of Representatives discussed the proposed Oil Spill

Accountability and Environmental protection Act of 2010. This act would require the party

responsible for an incident to pay for personal injuries suffered due to that incident (Weinhold,

2010). It is said that with regard to the Deepwater Horizon spill, “generally speaking the

government has significant authority it just didn’t fully utilize or adequately carry out”

(Weinhold, 2010). This protection act would suggest to BP a greater protection for workers

unless data confirms that lesser protection is warranted. In order to do so, volunteers must be

informed of potential health effects they could endure and let them decide whether or not they

want to work (Weinhold, 2010). In addition a study is going to be conducted on the health

effects of the spill, “The goal of the Gulf Long-Term Follow-Up (GuLF) Study is to evaluate

more than 20,000 of the cleanup workers for a range of possible health effects including

respiratory, neurobehavioral, carcinogenic, immuologic, and mentl health disorders” (Slomski,

2010). The study will last up to 20 years to evaluate the potential long-term effects including the

possibility of cancer (Slomski, 2010).

In conclusion, the Deepwater Horizon Spill was not long ago but the residents of

Louisiana have and will continue to experience the health effects. Aside from the acute

symptoms mentioned above, mental impairment is also rearing its ugly head. Through research

and oil protection acts the residents of Louisiana will soon be informed of these potential long-

term effects and be able to treat them.

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References

McCauley, L. A. (2010, September). Will the BP Oil Spill Affect Our Health? [Electronic

version] American Journal of Nursing, 110(9), 54-56.

Slomski, A. (2010, August 11). Experts Focus on Identifying, Mitigating Potential Health Effects

of Gulf Oil Leak [Electronic version]. JAMA: Journal of the American Medical

Association, 304(6), 621-624.

Weinhold, B. (2010, August). Emergency Responder Health [Electronic version]. Environmental

Health Perspectives, 118(8), A346-A350.

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Annotated Bibliography

McCauley, L. A. (2010, September). Will the BP Oil Spill Affect Our Health? [Electronic

version] American Journal of Nursing, 110(9), 54-56.

Linda A. McCauley is a dean and professor at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson

Woodruff’s School of Nursing in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a member of the American

Academy of Occupational Health Nurses and the American Academy of Nursing. She is

a world-renowned environmental researcher in addition to being a member of the

Institute of Medicine. On May 1, 2010 she began her tenure at Emory University,

previously working as the Nightingale Professor in Nursing at the University of

Pennsylvania School of Nursing. She is well known in the area of pesticide exposure and

its impact on vulnerable populations, particularly children and migrant farm workers.

Slomski, A. (2010, August 11). Experts Focus on Identifying, Mitigating Potential Health

Effects of Gulf Oil Leak [Electronic version]. JAMA: Journal of the American

Medical Association, 304(6), 621-624.

Anita Slomski is a licensed medical doctor. She has multiple published works in the

Journal of the American Medical Association. These works include; Older Patients: Safe

Behind the Wheel?, Topic Collections: Injury Prevention and Control, as well as Experts

Focus on Identifying, Mitigating Potential Health Effects of Gulf Oil Leak. She

specializes in a wide range of issues but stays relatively central to geriatrics and nutrition.
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Weinhold, B. (2010, August). Emergency Responder Health [Electronic version].

Environmental Health Perspectives, 118(8), A346-A350.

Bob Weinhold of Massachusetts is a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists.

He has been covering environmental health issues regarding numerous places since 1996.

He was first published in Emergency Responder Health and has continued to stay active

covering environmental health issues.