Gulf Oil Spill Aftermath: Illness, Death, Toxic Food and Ecosystem

Posted by Heartmind _Featured_, Environment Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011

It’s been almost a year since the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster first occurred. For nearly three months (from April 20th to July 15th, 2010), at least 4.9 million barrels of crude oil and gas were spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. Furthermore, for every 93 gallons of crude oil released into the environment by the BP spill, one gallon of dispersant has been applied in corporate cleanup procedure. So in addition to the spill, the continuing cleanup effort has also released extremely large amounts of toxic chemicals into Gulf waters.

The total and lasting effects of this unprecedented event are likely far-reaching and incalculable. However, many severe consequences are already being reported. According to various sources, sudden and crippling illnesses have been seen in many of the cleanup workers and residents along the affected coastlines. One of these sources is Dr. Wilma Subra, a Louisiana physiological biochemist. Dr. Subra was the principle speaker for the Truth Out For The Gulf Forum
, where she lectured and provided proof of the medical problems now facing Gulf populations, as well as scientific evidence of the extremely harmful toxins now being found in seafood samples from the region. (*scroll down the page to watch the video*)

An 8 part series of articles from Al Jazeera has also detailed many of the problems now facing the Gulf.

Here’s an excerpt from one of the articles:

“I have critically high levels of chemicals in my body,” 33-year-old Steven Aguinaga of Hazlehurst, Mississippi told Al Jazeera. “Yesterday I went to see another doctor to get my blood test results and the nurse said she didn’t know how I even got there.”

Aguinaga and his close friend Merrick Vallian went swimming at Fort Walton Beach, Florida, in July 2010.

“I swam underwater, then found I had orange slick stuff all over me,” Aguinaga said. “At that time I had no knowledge of what dispersants were, but within a few hours, we were drained of energy and not feeling good. I’ve been extremely sick ever since.”

Aguinaga’s health has been in dramatic decline.

“I have terrible chest pain, at times I can’t seem to get enough oxygen, and I’m constantly tired with pains all over my body,” Aguinaga explained, “At times I’m pissing blood, vomiting dark brown stuff, and every pore of my body is dispensing water.”

And Aguinaga’s friend Vallian is now dead.

“After we got back from our vacation in Florida, Merrick went to work for a company contracted by BP to clean up oil in Grand Isle, Louisiana,” Aguinaga said of his 33-year-old physically fit friend.

“Aside from some gloves, BP provided no personal protection for them. He worked for them for two weeks and then died on August 23. He had just got his first paycheck, and it was in his wallet, uncashed, when he died.”

Read the full article.

Aguinaga’s testimony is only one of many. As discussed in Dr. Wilma Subra’s lecture (*watch below*), there are a vast number of others whos health and livelihood has been severely impacted by the BP spill and the use of the Corexit dispersant in its cleanup effort; the full list of facts and evidence is nothing less than shocking.

Truth Out For The Gulf Forum: Dr. Wilma Subra

Sources: Al Jazeera, Dr. Wilma Subra