Environmental Expert Warns Of Health Threats In Gulf Region

By Miles Wolf Tamboli - Talk Radio News

A House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee held a field hearing Monday on the "Local Impact of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill" in Chalmette, Louisiana. During the hearing, environmental experts offered up to date information on how the spill will affect human health in the region.

The use of dispersants and the fumes created by burning oil off the surface of the water have created "crude oil aerosols," which "have resulted in health impacts including headaches, nausea, respiratory impacts, irritation to eyes, nose, throat and lungs and asthma attacks," according to Wilma Subra, a leading environmental scientist and president of the Subra Company.

"BP ... failed to provide adequate protective gear to the fishermen [and] workers exposed to the crude oil and the workers experienced health impacts," Subra said. "The workers were afraid to speak up due to the potential to lose their jobs. Those fishermen who attempted to wear respirators while working were threatened to be fired by BP."

In addition to the health effects, Subra said that attempts to mitigate the massive oil spill have also negatively impacted the local ecology.

"The actions have had detrimental impacts to the water column, sediment, biota and wetland areas by dispersing the crude oil into the water column, sediments and wetland areas," Subra explained. "The dispersing of the crude oil also has resulted in a much larger area of impact in the Gulf of Mexico than has been covered by the surface crude oil spill."

Reform for Louisiana

The National Press Club Newsmaker Luncheon Program held a discussion on “Bold Reform that Works” with the governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal. He said that when he became governor, his aim was to be the most boring, but effective, governor of Louisiana. He said Louisiana is a wealthy and blessed state, but it was losing workers even before the storms of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. His first goal as governor was to fight the war on corruption. He said he created dozens of bills against corruption, and worked hard to restore trust in the government. He said Louisiana is already seeing results, and that fewer jobs are leaving.

Jindal said he wants Louisiana to be an inviting state for investments, jobs, and opportunities. He also wants to invest in roads, infrastructure, and deferred maintenance. Another priority of his is workforce development and creating skilled workers.

Jindal said he was grateful to the country for help after Hurricane Katrina, and thanked the media for its coverage of the state after the storms. He wants the country to see that Louisiana is recovering, but still had ongoing needs. He also wants the recovery money in the president’s budget to be approved sooner than later. He said the levees need to be rebuilt correctly, as they should have been originally. He said as bad as Hurricane Katrina was, it provided Louisiana a chance to rebuild and fix the problems that existed before the storm.

When asked if he would consider being McCain’s running mate, Jindal said he has the job he wants, and is excited to be part of generational changes in Louisiana. Finally, he said the country needs a more rational, national energy policy. He said Louisiana has created budget assumptions to prevent dependency on oil, and he aims to diversify the economy outside of oil and gas.