Studies on Previous Spills

Prestige oil spill endocrine & immunology, genetics, and respiratory studies:
Hebei Spirit oil spill research overview, cancer trends, blood, respiratory effects on children:

Government Publications and Records

National Academy of Sciences, 2022. Oil in the Sea IV: Inputs, Fates, and Effects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. 

Concludes there is a causal relationship between oil spill exposures and neurological and cardiovascular harm. (Studies finding a causal relationship between oil spill exposures and respiratory harm were published too late to be reviewed). Many new disease pathways and mechanisms are described in wildlife and human health sections.

National Response Team, Emergency Responder Health Monitoring and Surveillance (ERHMS) framework, Technical Assistance Document, 2012.

Acknowledges that emergency disaster responders are getting sick below levels of pollutants thought to be "safe." Introduces "uncertain exposures" from chemical mixtures and recommends pre-, during, and post- deployment health monitoring (of individual workers) and surveillance (of the population of workers) to supplement air quality studies to better assess health risk.

National Archive and Administration Records (NARA) on the BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster.

 

NARA, FOSC Documents, USCG Phase V, Admiral Nash Documents, Dispersants. HOV00009027 Batch B. EPA Mathy Stanislaus email, 7/3/2010, at 37-38.

Validating that coastal spraying of dispersants did occur and showing FOSC approval and records of coastal spraying were "removed from daily reports" issued by Unified Command.

NARA, FOSC USCG Phase V, Admiral Nash Documents, Dispersants. HOV00009027 Batch A. Notes from EPA-USCG Conference Call: Dispersants, 6/22/2010.

Showing concerns raised over subsea dispersant use regarding daily volume (Rear Admiral USCG "RADM" Watson at 24), lack of protocol and pre-planning (Admiral USCG "ADM" Allen at 24, and lack of data to justify BP's argument that subsea use reduces hazardous oil gases ("VOCs") at the surface (EPA Administrator Jackson at 25). Bottom line: "Don't leave it to BP" (ADM Allen at 25).

Court Documents

BP Deepwater Horizon Multi-District Litigation (MDL 2179)

Multi-district litigation rewards plaintiffs’ attorneys with a common benefits fee, whether they win or lose their cases. The fee is negotiated with and paid by the defendants. Concerned citizens recommend tying lead lawyers' common-benefits fees to the benefit those attorneys actually confer on the plaintiffs.

Lead attorneys receive $87 million each in the BP oil spill MDL 2179, Times Picayune,
4/13/2017

Plaintiffs’ attorneys to share $680 million in the BP oil spill MDL 2179, Times Picayune,
10/27/2016

MDL 2179, Eastern District of Louisiana

522-Exhibit 1:  Fairley v BP, CV No. 17-3988 Section M (4), Eastern District of Louisiana, Order and Reasons ruling, 11/03/2022.

The court ruled that BP had no “duty” to initiate a worker health monitoring program. This rule prevails in future disasters until either the regulatory agencies or Congress establishes a duty to conduct such a program to protect the health of emergency disaster responders.

MDL 2179, Northern District of Florida, Pensacola Division

 

Document 547, 10/28/22. Plaintiffs’ Motion for Admission of Plaintiffs’ Expert Opinions Because of BP Defendants’ Spoliage of Evidence of Plaintiffs’ Exposures.

Reveals how BP contrived to avoid conducting worker health programs recommended by three federal agencies to adequately assess workers’ health risk from toxic exposures.

547-Exhibit 6:  Greg Lotz (CDC/NIOSH/DART) email, 6/24/2010 at 1.
Reveals why BP’s air quality monitoring program was insufficient to assess worker exposures.

Reveals why a worker health monitoring program is critical to assess worker health and conduct long-term health studies.
Reveals the purpose of BP’s voluntary air
quality monitoring program was about public perception.

Press

[BBC] The biggest oil spill in US history: What we’ve learned since Deepwater Horizon

October 14, 2024

Fourteen years after the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, would we fare any better at cleaning up another huge oil spill? Jocelyn Timperley examines the latest science of ocean clean-ups.

[AP] Settlement to help sickened BP oil spill workers leaves most with nearly nothing

April 29, 2024

The Associated Press [AP] reports on the disappointing settlement for workers, first responders who worked to clean up the BP Oil Spill. 

GAP releases DEEP IMPACT Report on Ongoing Impact of Corexit Use

April 29, 2024

The Government Accountability Project released the fourth installment of its BP Oil Spill reports. The newest report, “DEEP IMPACT,” discusses the ongoing impact of Corexit’s use to clean up the 2010 BP Oil Spill. The report includes the Executive Summary of “An Opportunity to Make it Right” by ALERT’S Dr. RIki Ott.

Amicus Letter Granted By Eleventh Circuit of Appeals

January 12, 2024

Written by ALERT’s Dr. Riki Ott, the Eleventh Court of Appeals accepted an amicus letter written in support of the plaintiff-appellants in BP Deepwater Horizon BELO cases v. Lester Jenkins, et. al. Her amicus advocates for the reversal of the district court’s order excluding the expert testimony of Dr. Freeman and Dr. Solomon. Ott calls…

The Guardian: Environmental Protection Agency US government toughens rules on chemicals used to break up oil slicks

June 15, 2023

“Environmental activists sued EPA to update regulations, after thousands of people sickened from Deepwater Horizon cleanup The Environmental Protection Agency has announced more stringent rules governing offshore oil spill response, amid continuing concerns about the effects on public health and wildlife from chemical disasters, including BP’s Deepwater Horizon explosion in 2010.” https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jun/14/epa-chemical-regulation-oil-spill-cleanup-exxon-valdez-bp

The Guardian: They cleaned up BP’s massive oil spill. Now they’re sick – and want justice

April 20, 2023

Today, on the thirteenth anniversary of the BP oil Spill, The Guardian published an in-depth piece on the human health crisis that was left in the wake of the disaster.

Tampa Bay Times: Florida workers got sick after Deepwater Horizon oil spill. They want BP to pay.

February 18, 2023

Tampa Bay Times reports on the more than 5,000 lawsuits filed in federal courts in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida.

Here’s Where BP is Dumping Its Oil Spill Waste (Colorlines)

April 20, 2021

“More than half of the landfills EPA has approved are in communities where a majority of residents are people of color.” By Daisy Hernandez   Read the full article here

BP’s waste management plan raises environmental justice concerns (DissidentVoice.org)

April 20, 2021

The Halliburton loophole allowed BP in 2010 to save millions by dumping at least 40,000 tons of toxic Corexit-laden oil spill waste in nine municipal landfills designed for household waste. The majority were in People of Color communities. Story by Robert D. Bullard for the DissdentVoice.org Read full story  here