The Daily Glob

Petroleum Chemicals Found in Blood of Gulf Cleanup Workers

Lab tests have found that the blood of Gulf oil spill cleanup workers has elevated levels of several chemicals that are characteristic components of the oil from the Deepwater Horizon well.

The blood was collected in early August from 8 cleanup workers, 5 men and 3 women, ranging in age from 30 to 59. Samples were analyzed by Metametrix Clinical Laboratory in Pensacola, Florida. The tests found levels above the 95th percentile for ethylbenzene and m,p-Xylene in all 8 workers. Three of the workers had levels of 2-Methylpentane above the 80th percentile.

The results were reported in the Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper blog on October 25, 2010, by Dr. Wilma Subra. Subra,  Louisiana chemist, is a MacArthur Fellows genius grant recipient and advisor to the Gulf Coast Fund for Community Renewal and Ecological Health

"Halliburton and BP Knew of Cement Flaws"

The chief investigator of the presidential commission investigating the gulf oil spill says that Halliburton and BP knew of flaws in the cement used to seal the oil well weeks before the spill. Here is his letter to the full commission. John M. Broder reports for the New York Times October 28, 2010.

"Louisiana Oystermen: Out of Work, Out of Options"

"Elton 'Hambone' Encalade is one of the first oystermen to greet me as I pull into Beshel’s Boat Launch in Pointe-a-la-Hache, Louisiana. He’s sitting on a plastic milk crate that seems too flimsy to support his muscular frame. Hambone has high cheekbones, a beard flecked with gray, and a gaze that is unrelenting. He wears his red baseball cap backward and a tight matching T-shirt. When I arrive at 1 p.m., he and his friends have already emptied a considerable number of beer cans, which lie crushed on the ground amids the oyster shells." Barry Yeoman reports for onearth October 28, 2010.

"For Chevron, 2 Giant Gulf Drilling Ventures"

"Just nine days after the Obama Administration lifted the deepwater
drilling moratorium, Chevron announced on Thursday that it was going
forward with a $7.5 billion project to develop two giant deepwater
fields in the gulf." Clifford Krauss reports for the New York Times
October 21, 2010.

SEE ALSO:

"East Timor Forges Ahead on Deepwater Oil Drilling" (New York Times)

"Gulf Corals in Oil Spill Zone Appear Healthy"

"ON THE FLOOR OF THE GULF OF MEXICO -- Just 20 miles north of where
BP's blown-out well spewed millions of gallons of oil into the sea,
life appears bountiful despite initial fears that crude could have
wiped out many of these delicate deepwater habitats." Brian Skoloff
reports for the Associated Press October 22, 2010.

SEE ALSO:

"Researchers Seek Out Coral Killers at Oil Spill" (MSNBC)

"Judge Tosses Shallow-Water Drilling Rule"

"A new set of federal rules issued for shallow-water drilling are null and void because federal regulators didn’t offer the proper notices or public comment period, a judge in New Orleans said this week.

District Judge Martin Feldman, who also overturned a ban the government placed on offshore drilling, said the government failed to follow the proper procedures for new safety requirements issued in June.

That meant a certain vindication for drilling companies, who have complained bitterly that the adjustment to those new rules issued by the government has slowed the permitting process, impacting jobs and revenue. Jim Noe, a spokesman for the Shallow Water Energy Security Coalition, a group of drilling companies, cheered the decision in a statement Wednesday."

Kathrine Schmidt reports for Houma Today October 21, 2010.

SEE ALSO:

Drilling Safety Rules Thrown Out by Federal Judge (Bloomberg)

"Judge: Drilling Safety Rules Improperly Issued" (AP)

"Groups Sue BP For Harm To Endangered Gulf Wildlife"

"U.S. environmental groups filed a suit on Wednesday against British-based oil giant BP Plc saying the world's worst offshore spill inflicted "ongoing unlawful" harm on endangered wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico." Matthew Bigg reports for Reuters October 21, 2010.

"BP Plans To Close Its US Safety Watchdog"

"BP is disbanding the external safety ombudsman it set up after the fatal explosion in 2005 at its Texas City refinery, despite the growing number of concerns raised by the oil company's employees.

"BP Lavishes Free Sports, Entertainment Tickets on CA Govt Workers"

"Petroleum giant BP's corporate sponsorship of Arco Arena has been lucrative for the Sacramento Kings during a long run that's set to end next year.

It's also been a sweet deal for state Capitol workers. Since 2000, Arco's parent company has lavished more than $430,000 in the form of free tickets to basketball games, concerts and other arena events on lawmakers, their staff members and relatives, according to a Bee review of lobbyist disclosures by BP.

'That's a huge amount of money,' said Bill Magavern, director for Sierra Club California. 'What concerns me is that the ethical bar in the Capitol has been set so low that that a company like BP could brazenly curry influence this way.'"

Rick Daysog reports for the Sacramento Bee October 11, 2010.

"Turtle Rescue Plan Succeeds"

"Scientists have revealed that a mammoth effort to move thousands of turtle eggs from beaches around the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill may have saved almost 15,000 of the reptiles." Melissa Gaskill reports for Nature News October 8, 2010.