Health hazards in Mexican gulf due oil spill

Crude oil may not flow in the Gulf anymore right now, but a lot of chemicals escaped in the last three months from the Mexican Gulf and may still escape e.g. from travelling from water into the air. This chemicals may as wel origin from the crude oil itself as from gases escaping with the oil as well as from the dispersants.
A lot of these chemicals are able to affect the functioning of the body, at diverse levels. In doing so, dependent of the level of which an organism / human has been exposed to these chemicals, they may cause light, moderate or possibly severe health concerns.


For worrying locals looking for information, on this site from sciencecorps, an overview of health hazards have been given. The site is scientifically and has trustable sources that are published too at the bottom of each part to verify the given information.
So for more information, please see here: http://www.sciencecorps.org/crudeoilhazards.htm

Without meaning to elicit panic, I want to say to everyone who is living in areas that close to the borders of the Gulf Spill, please try to follow EPA reports of hazardous chemicals in the air, water or soil.
Even if you live far from the oil spill or didn't noticed anything, be aware that not all chemicals (or levels of chemicals) can be sensed by humans (by smelling or feeling it by causing physical symptoms) so not noticing anything doesn't mean that safety barriers aren't exceeded.

Gulf leak closed, temporarily!!

Finally, after almost 3 months of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, it has now stopped leaking!

BP designed a custom-made 75 tons heavy cap to contain the oil from flowing in the open sea. I'm very excited about this and I don't want to destroy this moment what must be a moment of happines, especially for all directly and indirectly (we all) involved people. For me, it's a moment of joy too. But ... we must remember that the present closing of the leak is aimed to be temporarily and it is mainly a test (called the '(well) integrity test') to explore the strength of the well... and if you ask me, it will be a test of the strength of the casing too!

The pressure will be monitored closely. Each 6 hours, a decision of continuation or cancellation will be made based on the provided pressure data.
If pressure remains high for the upcoming 48 hours, meaning that the oil has no other way out and there are no other (yet invisible) leaks in the well or casing (or worse: ocean floor...), this will mean a condition for a permanent stopping of the oil leak due to the use of the two relieve wells has been established. This permanent solution will be tested on late August. In the meantime (and if the pressure on the present cap sustains,) there may be decided to keep this cap onto the oil leak, meaning it will be completely shutted down for the upcoming weeks, which is good news to (ocean) life.

The pressure dropping will be a bad sign meaning that solutions to permanently close the leak will need to be revised. In this case, the test will be stopped after 6 hours, removing the cap from the leak to prevent possibly further rupturing of a new leak (in the well, casing or ocean floor) which may be far more difficult to stop.

This tests certainly holds dangers, because some sources reported already visible ruptures in the ocean floor and in the casing (e.g. on YouTube, you can see a film of an ex Shell employee stating that there's no chance the case isn't ruptured after such a big explosion, of course, it is likely that Shell will not hurry to spread good news about its concurrent). This will mean that there's no known way to stop the oil from flowing, except maybe bombing it ... which will hold evident risks and an uncertain outcome.

Photos of the Gulf you don't want to see.

What BP is trying to hide from the world, and I understand why...

!!! Warning: shocking pictures!!!

In my quest for how things really were in the Gulf, reported by locals and uncensored by some 'big forces', I remember I came across a blog of someone crossing trough an affected areas... This person stated that he (or she) stopped by the seashore to take a look at the damage the oil leak and 'preventing' it's damage (by means of Corexit...) caused. Large groups of fishes swimming upside down very close to the waters surface and gasping for air were reported. Now there's more then this person's text...





This is not a way, but water as you can see... with tiny dead fishes in it ...


Here they are too, but washed ashore....


As you can see on their size, they must have been on nearly the bottom of our food chain. And they are millions ... I mean were. :-s














Most of these pictures date from May / begin June ..........................................................



Thanks too Washington's blog and Jonathan Elinoff for these and more pictures of the oil spill disaster that may not be seen.
For more pictures and other news, see: http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2010/07/you-are-not-authorized-to-see-these.html

Hiding the extent of the disaster from the public

The BP way to hide the extent of the disaster:

1. Forbid the press to enter the affected areas and do the same to the public. Use the excuse that the affected places are now you're work area and the clean-up may be hindered or dangerous situations may be created for the clean-up workers...(?!) Threat curious journalists with imprisoning and large fines.

2. If one area seems to be unaffected superficially (meaning: no visible tar balls nor crude oil on the beach because it is covered with a new fresh layer of sand obviously from somewhere else (see other unconfirmed blogs stating this here), nor affected water because Corexit broke the big oil layers into small droplets spreading everywhere in the water) invite the press so they can spread the news of the 'clean' beaches and water. If a politician or alike will visit the beaches, invite 100s of temporary workers to clean them at an unseen speed and send them home after the politician and cameras have left.

3. Buy popular terms on search engines to control the information availability of the public. Costs: only $50 000 000.

4. Make sure clean-up workers are being photographed cleaning the beaches, but let them do as less as possible as no outsider is around.

5. Prohibit clean-up workers to wear respiratory protection or any other necessary health protection gear because they are bad for your reputation even though the product's factsheet you are spraying in the air says you need to ware respiratory protection.

Where concentrations in air may exceed the limits given in this section, the use of a half face filter mask or air
supplied breathing apparatus is recommended.

as well as gloves, regular protection clothing and protecting goggles...

According to CNN, 128 clean-up workers got sick.


6. Forbid clean-up workers to spread anything by way of talking, writing, taking pictures or filming what they see on the disaster sites. Let them sign a contract.

7. Don't mind if the Corexit mixture is up to 4 times more poisonous for people and marine life then the crude oil itself (see for extra information about toxicity of Corexit here) and the mixture can never be retrieved while crude oil on the surface can be skimmed off easily: just use that Corexit in order to prevent that satelites may be able to make pictures of the full extent of the disaster from the skies. The use of Corexit will make the oil sink and as a consequence: invisible to the public as it will fall apart into small droplets beneath the surface (see picture left).
Don't mind that the ecosystem will need maybe more then half a century to recover (at least 3 decades, see Exxon Valdez where Corexit treated areas are still not recovered!) while other solutions such as bacteries can restore the ecosystem in 3 years!!

That this will damage crops and water supplies is just colateral damage. See here everything about Corexit inclusive the letter from EPA to BP where it asks to use more effective and less toxic dispersants: http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/dispersants.html

8. Threat everyone whose trying to break up the huge efforts being taken for censoring the full extent of the disaster you created.
Local photographer Lance Rosenfield says:

He said I could show him the pictures or he could handle this another way, including calling Homeland Security and taking me in. I agreed to show him the pictures on the back of my camera, while he took my driver's license. Meanwhile, the truck that had been following me showed up, driven by a security guard with a BP patch on his uniform.

Read more here: http://www.propublica.org/article/photographer-tells-of-being-followed-by-bp-security-and-then-detained

BP's economist admitted they would never have enough money to restore the environment completely. As we all know, e.g. thanks to Kindra Arnesen for this, BP does everything to minimise clean up costs. Astonishing less clean-up workers and equipment are used, and they aren't used effective... But BP seems to have money to pay these men in blue shirts (see right). Who they are? BP security guards. To prevent whistleblowers...


Is this the beloved American freedom?

Toxic air in Gulf Coast imminent? What symptoms and how could this be?

Gases such as Hydrogen Sulfide, Benzene, Methylene Chloride (or chloromethane), and other toxic gases pose a greater risk to human health than the presence of crude oil in the Gulf ara. The allowable levels of Hydrogen Sulfide and Benzene according to the EPA are 5-10 parts per billion and 0 respectively.The EPA reported the level detected in the Gulf at almost 1,200 PPB for hydrogen sulfide and 3400 PPB for Benzene during the month of May. The amounts pose a serious health risk to people and animals.

Methylene Chloride is known to cause birth defects and cancer in the lung, kidney and stomach of animals. It also causes kidney, liver and lung damage.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/BP-Gulf-oil-blowout-still-by-Chris-Landau-100706-671.html

Symptoms being caused by overexposion of Methylene Chloride

• Skin irritation
• Skin redness
• Dry skin
• Burning skin sensation
• Skin burns
• Eye irritation
• Eye redness
• Eye pain
• Eye burns
• Methemoglobinemia
• Abdominal pain
• Dizziness
• Drowsiness
• Headache
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Tremor
• Breathing difficulty
• Encephalopathy
• Unconsciousness

See here for more information of Methylene Chloride here: http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/c/chemical_poisoning_methylene_chloride/symptoms.htm
Hydrogen sulfide is a chemical asphyxiant, similar to carbon monoxide and cyanide gases. It causes "biochemical suffocation" by inhibiting cellular respiration and the uptake of oxygen.
Breathing high levels of hydrogren sulfide can cause the following symptoms:

Frostbite on contact with liquid

Eye irritation

Eye burns

Eye redness

Eye pain

Permanent vision impairment

Cough

Sore throat

Headache

Dizziness

Labored breathing

Nausea

Vomiting

Dementia

Breathing difficulty

Extrapyramidal symptoms

Increased blood pressure

Impaired sense of smell

Hypothermia

Tearing eyes

Myoglobinuria

Paresthesia

Rotten egg odor on breath

Seizures

more information...»

More information here.

Hydrogen sulfide is considered a broad-spectrum poison, meaning that it can poison several different systems in the body at the same time. As mentioned previously, hydrogen sulfide is a chemical asphyxiant. It is similar to carbon monoxide and cyanide gases. It can be extremely deadly at high concentrations.

Source: http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/benzene-and-hydrogen-sulfide-the-real-dangers-from-the-gulf-of-mexico-oil-spill

Breathing high levels of Benzene can cause the following symptoms:

• Ataxia
• Blistered skin
• Aspiration
• Cough
• Dizziness
• Lethargy
• Headache
• Blood in urine
• Hoarseness
• Dilated pupils
• Leukopenia
• Eye symptoms
• Paresthesia
• Ringing in ears
• Tremors
• Rapid heart rate
• Red skin
• Vomiting
• Dementia
• Seizures
• more information...»

More information here.

Long-term exposure to Benzene can do a ton of damage to the human body. Benzene actually enters cells and damages DNA material. In addition, benzene is known to cause harmful effects on bone marrow and it can cause a decrease in red blood cells, leading to anemia.

For women, long-term exposure to benzene can result in irregular menstrual periods and a decrease in the size of their ovaries.

In addition, as mentioned previously, benzene is a known cancer-causing agent. In fact, the Department of Health and Human Services tells us that exposure to benzene is known to cause leukemia.

http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/benzene-and-hydrogen-sulfide-the-real-dangers-from-the-gulf-of-mexico-oil-spill

Ingredients in Corexit are known to cause cause the following symptoms: central nervous system depression, nausea, unconsciousness, on long term: liver, kidney and red blood cell damage (e.g. hemolysis). See safety data sheet of the product itself.


See here for a better physical explanation of these gases, how they are being formed in the Gulf and how they can get trapped in the air too): http://www.opednews.com/articles/BP-Gulf-oil-blowout-still-by-Chris-Landau-100706-671.html

Check the EPA data base daily to see how these chemicals might be building up in your area.
See full EPA reports here: http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/air.html

Although it is not unlikely that especially clean up workers will experience this symptoms: please note that some of these symptoms also occur when exposed to high levels of psychological or fysiological stress which the Gulf citizens and everyone who cares about the environment will experience on this moment for sure...

Knowing that the spreading of especially Corexit (which is heavily polluting and only serves to mask the massiveness of the oil spill to keep up BP's reputation - I wrote about it here) and oil will continu for at least 3 more months since measurements started and airborne pollutants can accumulate in the environment as well as spread further inland and to other continents, this seems like the ideal recipe for an apocalyptical scenario... If I didn't know better, I would say this was the biggest terroristic attack ever on the world's population...


See videos reporting on this issue here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGxGVGiD3yk and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjUIvaZK7no


Needless to say that fish and animals who are residents of this waters being filled with these oxygen depleting gases could have a more bright looking future...

I'm not a believer of conspiracy theories, nor can I believe this is really truth but ... taken the health information of this gases into account I can somewhere imagine that it is possible that people may being killed by this gases. Was it maybe then true that, as many conspiracy sites state, Obama said to his counterparts during the last G8 that millions would die this year due to the unfolding oil disaster?

Again I want to insist that please people of the U.S. especially and of all nations worldwide we need to take global action for this. It is already been very clear that money still has the highest priority and no sufficient action is being taken to prevent the damage this oil leak can have on all inhabitants of our actually tiny and vulnerable Earth ... If according to you it's not yet time to organise widely protests with millions of people, I don't know when it's going to be time to protest then... We need to protest in front of those buildings where decisions of the future of all life on Earth are being taken, not tomorrow, but now already...

! Please see this site from sciencecorps for a scientifically based overview of all possible health hazards and how to protect yourself.

What BP doesn't want you to see: unconfirmed local reports and other footage

These are non-official messages, pictures and other footage put on the internet by ordinary local people (or "small" people according to BP) which are covering what they see, hear, feel, experience, ... I gathered them from different social media sources: facebook, twitter, forum, blogs, diverse websites, ...

We all know how BP is in charge of the media (internet, newspapers, search engines, ... -> Apparently with money you can buy just everyting, from censorship till the ocean and the right on a clean future) so I am afraid they may give a far more accurate picture of what is really going on in the Gulf and other affected regios then the official mainstream news channels do.

Take a look with me on what they tell us about the spill:

!! WARNING: Content may be shocking!!

* Source: Nick, he covers the disaster in pieces called 'the Black Death", see his website: itsjustlight.com


Black Death, part I:

I noticed the first unusual smell. It wasn’t unpleasant and smelled sweet, almost like custard. According to most reports, the oil flowing from the leaking well is light sweet crude oil, which contains a very low sulfur content and small amounts of hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide.

Black death, part IV:

Picture shows a BP Clean-up worker with his equipment: a shovel for toddlers....

Black death, part V:




This piece is from Black Death (part VI)

The scent hit me before I could see it, a thick, invisible wave of nauseating petroleum vapors rising off the ocean and evaporating from the oil drenched sand. A small crew of workers scooped shovel-loads of oily sand into garbage bags in a losing David vs. Goliath battle that saw a nearly infinite tide of oil washing ashore for every drop that was scooped away. From my vantage point only a dozen feet above the workers, I could hear their mutterings as they cursed the obvious futility of their labor.

Decaying redfish (Sciaenops ocellatus) dotted the sand, most of them appearing almost mummified by the blazing sun. Their bodies lay belly up, internal organs missing and scaly skin hardened like a medieval suit of armor. Their mouths were frozen open in wide, ghastly frowns, their eye sockets empty and dark.

Before long, my senses were overwhelmed by the unmistakable scent of death. I began to notice bones and bodies on and between the rocks, those of birds and fish. On a large rock, two young seagull chicks were baked into a pile of decaying skin and feathers. They were recent victims, perhaps only dead for a day. A few feet away, the large bones of a brown pelican and its oil stained feathers lay between rocks spotted with oil. Brown pelicans were just taken off the US federal endangered and threatened species list in November of last year. Just beyond the rocks, the beach began to open up, formed by sand that washes through the pass and collects along the rocks. This beach was completely drenched with crude oil and it looked as if a cleanup crew had never set foot there.

(...) As I neared the northern side of the island and Barataria Bay, more bones dotted the sand. Bigger ones. As I approached them, the stench grew worse and worse and soon I could see the carcasses of what were clearly more dolphins. (...)

When the photographer went back to his car, BP security contractors asked him:

Why are you coming from the staging area? You don’t have any business being in this area.”

For more information, see: http://itsjustlight.com/?p=1146

* Death baby whale that BP was inable to pick up or burn before it was photographed (source: Facebook group boycott BP)

"BP offers settlements to Gulf coastal residents of no more than $5,000 if they give up their right to sue." (J.M., Facebook)

What food will be left?

As BP continues with spraying the higly poisonous toxic Corexit in the Gulf zone. Russian scientists have already warned that this may destroy possibly the entire eastern half of North-America because the dispersant will phase transition into gas and come onto land as toxic rain, destroying crops, food-, water supplies and eventually killing animals and people...
After Louisiana, reports of crop damage in Missisipi pop up too.
Can BP and Obama please think about what food then will be left to eat? Of course, one must not be a clairvoyant to realise that fish and other seafood will be the first to decrease in the Gulf Region. Not only they will decrease, but a lot of them will be poisoned with crude oil, Corexit or it's mixture. Fears that they will eventually end up in our foodchain or in or dishes are not paranoid.

dispersion doesn't make the oil disappear: the droplets collect on the seabed, where they may be consumed by the microorganisms that form the basis of the ocean's food chain. These tiny animals are then eaten by shrimp, oysters and other seafood, many of which could later find their way to the dinner table. Unlike the current crop of tainted fish, which are covered in crude, these fish will carry oil -- and its attendant toxins and carcinogens -- in their flesh.

(...)

The future looks dark for Gulf fisheries: unless the FDA can train people to smell oil on the cellular level, chances are that much of the Gulf will be closed to fishing for decades to come.

See more: http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/company-news/for-food-business-bp-oil-spill-is-a-recipe-for-disaster/19508084/

Scientific research already pointed out the disturbing fact that crab larvae of the Gulf are cleary affected by oil botches.

about 40 percent of the area where the crab larvae were found has been affected by oil gushing from the broken deepwater well. The orange spots have been detected in crabs across the northern Gulf coast, from southwestern Louisiana to Pensacola, Fla.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38068334/ns/technology_and_science-science/

So, at least the seafood of the Gulf will be contaminated for decades to come. But will the Corexit-Oil mixture limit itself to the Gulf? We already know that if these disaster and Corexit spreading will go on, they'll turn out to be in the Atlantic Ocean.

The huge oil slick that has spread across the Gulf of Mexico could soon extend its reach, traveling around the tip of Florida and entering Atlantic waters, a computer model suggests.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/0603/BP-oil-spill-could-spread-to-Atlantic-Ocean


This means not only the inhabitants of the Gulf waters will be affected ...


A couple weeks ago, I found an article stating that food shortages might soon appear due the shortage of fish and seafood supplies, which form for some nations a giant part of their available food. This was stated by an american government organisation. I think I re-put it somewhere on the internet myself (on facebook or maybe even on this blog) but even though i googled it nearly a half hour, I don't seem able to find it anymore... Although I remember the article was from the very beginning of the oil leak. I think it was like the first half of May, at that time the proportion of the disaster was thought to be far less big ...

The fact that this article seems to be missing (it doesn't prompt up on the search engines like it did a couple weeks ago) is another prove of what we already knew: BP controls the news people get of the "oil spill". and the US government doesn't seem to have any problems with that ...


So, the fish and seafood in the world will drastically decline. As the crops will, which are directly food to humans but also to domesticated animals slaughtered by people to eat them ... So, what will be left then? Insects maybe? Because of their short life cycle they will nearly be affected by the BP oil spill and Corexit use? I think so ...

Please people, let this make clear that worldwide protests are needed urgently!!!


To be continued, I'm afraid...