Common Themes Between Asbestos and the BP Oil Spill Health Risks

The damage to the environment and health hazards that the BP oil spill caused dominated the news during much of 2010. The numbers associated with the disaster demonstrate just how catastrophic it was:

• Between the start of the spill on April 20, 2010, and the official sealing of it on September 19, 2010, 185 million gallons of crude oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico.
• At the start of November 2010, spill responders had collected nearly 7,000 dead animals. The oil spill threatens 400 endangered species and affects all of the 8,332 species that live in the environment where the spill occurred.
• Nearly 30,000 people have been involved in the cleanup effort.

Cleanup workers and residents in the Gulf area felt the health effects of the spill within weeks of its start. Long before BP successfully closed the leak, residents complained of dizziness, vomiting, nausea, headaches and chest pains. The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals received similar complaints from many workers involved in the cleanup process.

Companies Opting for Profits Over Health

In its cleanup efforts, BP used 1.9 million gallons of toxic chemical dispersants to break up the oil slicks in the Gulf of Mexico. These dispersants exposed people to dangerous poly-aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. Scientists have identified PAHs as carcinogenic (directly involved in causing cancer), mutagenic (capable of changing genetic material, usually DNA), and teratogenic (causes physiological abnormalities).

The dispersants also contain 2-butoxyethanol, a chemical compound responsible for headaches, vomiting and reproductive problems. Exposure to these chemical dispersants, some scientists warn, is even worse than exposure to the oil.

This is not the first time companies have chosen profits and quick fixes over the health of their workers. People have used the dangerous mineral asbestos for over 4,000 years because of its ability to absorb sound and its resistance to heat and chemical damage. By the late 19th century, companies noticed that asbestos caused health problems. In the first decades of 1900s, medical professionals increasingly linked asbestos inhalation to deaths and diseases such as chronic bronchitis and fibrosis. A 1932 letter from the U.S. Bureau of Mines to an asbestos manufacturer described asbestos dust as "one of the most dangerous dusts to which man is exposed."

Nevertheless, companies continued to employ asbestos and deny evidence that it caused health problems. They had magazines remove references to asbestos-related diseases in articles and funded their own research suggesting that asbestos was safe to use. Asbestos manufacturers refused to publish any research that linked asbestos exposure to lung cancer or mesothelioma.

Most developed countries did not attempt to ban or phase out asbestos use until the 1980s or 1990s. In the United States, the 1989 asbestos ban applies only to specific products, including flooring felt, rollboard, and corrugated, commercial or specialty paper. Asbestos manufacturers fought and successfully overturned other portions of the ban, which had been more extensive. Workers continue to use asbestos in items such as cement asbestos pipes, and asbestos remains in many buildings before the 1990s.

If you or a loved one has developed a disease as a result of asbestos exposure, a mesothelioma lawyer is available to discuss legal remedies.

Like asbestos manufacturers, BP disregarded people's health. In spite of health complaints and the known dangers of inhalation and exposure to oil and the cleanup chemicals, the company did not prioritize safety. For instance, the Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN) distributed respirators to BP cleanup workers, only to have BP threaten to fire workers who used them or any safety equipment that BP did not provide.

Workers and people directly handling the dangerous products like asbestos, oil or chemicals are not the only ones at risk. In the case of asbestos exposure, many people that contract mesothelioma do so by frequently being around someone who worked with asbestos, as the dangerous particles easily travel on clothing and skin.

Despite scientific studies linking chemical or asbestos exposure to diseases like mesothelioma or lung cancer, companies continue to put their workers in harm's way. Contact a mesothelioma attorney at the law firm of Cappolino, Dodd, and Krebs, LLP for more information about obtaining compensation when you or a loved one develops a disease as a result of exposure to dangerous substances.