Oil and Water

Guest Editorial Disasters and their environmental and health consequences know no bounds. Although no geographic area or population is exempt from natural or manmade disas­ ters, Louisiana and its neighboring coastal states on the Gulf of Mexico have had more than their fair share over the past 5 years. The latest environmental disaster is the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which began on 20 April 2010, < 5 years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita wreaked havoc in the same area. The effects of hurri canes, which are annual events, are relatively well understood, but the environ mental and human health effects of oil spills are much less so. The amount of oil released from the spill site peaked at about 62,000 barrels/day (Robertson and Krauss 2010) until the well was per­ manently capped on 15 July 2010. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS 2010) estimated that as of 1 August 2010, 4.4–5.4 million barrels of oil were released. In addition, approximately 1 billion ft 3 of natural gas has been flared, well over 265,000 barrels of oil have been burned, and > 1.8 million gallons of dispersant (primarily Corexit 9500 but also Corexit 9527) have been applied. More than 52,000 workers have been involved with spill training and cleanup efforts [National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 2010a], and BP estimates that the cleanup is about 90% complete (Heron R, personal communi­ ca tion). However, others question this estimate [Georgia Sea Grant 2010; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 2010]. In addition, there are concerns about effects of oil on oxygen levels in the water and the ability of bacteria and other organisms to break down oil and dispersants at all water depths. Data are available on acute health effects in humans exposed to 7 of 39 large oil spills documented throughout the world (reviewed by Aguilera et al. 2010). These relatively short­term cross­sectional studies have documented acute disorders, including low back pain, headache, inflammation of the eyes and throat, nausea, injuries, lower respiratory tract effects, and psychological effects including depression. To date, workers involved in fishing and clean­up in Louisiana—the most heavily impacted state—have reported head­ aches, nausea, breathing difficulties, cough, throat irritation, eye irri­ tation, and injuries (Lousiana Department of Health and Hospitals 2010) consistent with acute effects documented in past spills (Aguilera et al. 2010). As of 8–14 August 2010, 376 persons in Louisiana had reported health …