Concern over health risks posed by oil spill
Health official tells BP to take responsibility
Washington: Amid increasing reports of illnesses among workers helping to clean up oil in the Gulf of Mexico and residents living along the coast, concern is rising about health risks posed by the disaster and clean-up efforts.
"We're very concerned about the impact of the disaster on the public health of people in the Gulf region," said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius as she outlined steps the government was taking to respond to any physical and mental health problems that emerge from the spill.
In a sternly worded letter sent Friday to BP Chairman Lamar McKay, Sebelius urged the company "to take responsibility for the health consequences of the disaster".
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is monitoring poison centres and the BioSense tracking system for signs of any emerging medical problems, Sebelius said. The Environmental Protection Agency had tested more than 15,000 air samples from Venice, Louisania, to Pensacola, Florida, and had not yet detected dangerous substances at hazardous levels, she said. More than 500 water and soil samples have also been tested, she said.
Nevertheless, the National Disaster Medical System has been activated to provide additional medical care in the five Gulf states, and a federal mobile medical unit was being sent to Louisiana to help assess anyone complaining of illness, Sebelius said.
At least nine workers were hospitalised last week, including seven who were taken to the hospital last Wednesday after complaining of nausea, dizziness and headaches, prompting the Coast Guard to order all 125 boats working in the Breton Sound area to return to port as a precaution. An investigation was under way to try to determine the cause. Residents living along the coast have been reporting similar symptoms.
Precautions
Although BP officials and federal authorities have emphasised that all necessary precautions were being taken, questions are being raised by independent scientists, members of Congress and other federal officials, especially for the thousands of workers spending long hours in often overpowering fumes being emitted from the oil.
