Tales from the Front: June 16 House Hearing on Gulf Disaster OSH Issues
Heidi Hansen of the Law Office of Adele Abrams attended the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing entitled “HHS Actions to Identify and Address Health Effects of the BP Oil Spill” on June 16, 2010. Committee members present were: Chair Joe Pallone (D-NJ); John Sarbanes (D-MD); Donna Christensen (D-VI); Bruce Braley (D-IA); Kathy Castor (D-FL); John Barrow (D-GA); Mike Ross (D-AR); Jan Schakowsky (D-IL); Vice-Chair Lois Capps (D-CA); Diane DeGette (D-CO); Betty Sutton (D-OH); Gene Green (D-TX); Anna Eshoo (D-CA); John Dingell (D-MI); Henry Waxman (D-CA); Ed Markey (D-MA); Ranking Member John Shimkus (R-IL); Joseph Pitts (R-PA); Tim Murphy (R-PA); Marsha Blackburn (R-TN); Phil Gingrey (R-GA); and Joe Barton (R-TX). The members of the witness panel were: Dr. Lisa Kaplowitz, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy at HHS; Dr. John Howard, Director of NIOSH; Dr. Aubrey Miller, Senior Medical Advisor at NIEHS; and Michael Taylor, Deputy Commissioner for Foods at FDA.
Chair Joe Pallone gave his opening statement, noting that there was grave concern over the health effects of short- and long-term exposure to oil. Additionally, there are concerns for exposure to the dispersants being used in the attempted clean-up. He noted that good information sharing between all the agencies is vital to health and safety of workers, volunteers, and community members who are all facing exposure to the oil and dispersants. Almost every Committee member present gave opening remarks that were similar in content; every member, despite party affiliation, seemed to agree that it was imperative that the potential dangers were at best mitigated and at worst minimized for the people in harm’s way.
Dr. Kaplowitz was the first to testify. She stated that HHS is working directly with OSHA and the EPA to monitor for and hopefully prevent illness among workers and the general population. Additionally, HHS is working closely with State health departments in the Gulf Region, as well as making use of poison control centers and the BioSense system through the CDC to monitor health. Dr. Kaplowitz noted that Institute of Medicine is having a public workshop on June 22-23 in New Orleans. A major purpose of the workshop is to create a framework for monitoring and surveillance of the affected populations in the Gulf area. Another focus for HHS is behavioral health of the general population and workers. She said that there is the potential for emotional and psychological damage due to the devastation from the spill, and that the needs of the people must be met in this area as well.
Dr. Howard discussed the role of the CDC in this oil disaster. He said that the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) started monitoring the situation immediately. The CDC has been active from the beginning monitoring for possible health effects. It is working collaboratively with other Federal Agencies and State Agencies as well. He listed the various ways of contact that could harm people: physical contact with the oil; smell; inhalation; burning oil; water (water for recreation could potentially be affected); and food (seafood will have to be monitored closely).
The occupational safety and health hazards and exposures that that the CDC believes most threatening to workers are: heat stress; dermal exposure to oil; fatigue; exposure to chemicals (benzene, oil mist, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and diesel fumes); sprains, strains, and lacerations; and psychological stress. Dr. Howard stated that NIOSH has been working with OSHA and NIEHS creating training materials for workers; before being employed every worker must complete between 1 and 4 training modules depending on the job assignment. NIOSH has also been advising OSHA, BP, and other health and safety personnel about the capabilities of different types of PPE. Additionally, NIOSH has created fact sheets for oil spill responders describing the health risks posed by the use of dispersants and the risk of stress associated with responding to such a traumatic event. Dr. Howard also spoke of the efforts NIOSH is taking to survey response workers and compile a roster of those involved it the clean-up effort. This information will help future studies to determine whether health conditions are associated with occupational exposures. He noted that they have collected data from 13,000 workers to date and NIOSH has asked for the employed worker rosters from BP, who has not as yet provided them.
Dr. Miller of NIEHS discussed the various toxic components workers are exposed to from the oil spill, such as benzene, toluene, and xylene. Additionally, there is the added complexity of exposure to the dispersants, which are hydrocarbons. NIEHS is working on research from this spill to find out what the effects are on the general population as well as on the clean-up crews. NIEHS has created three different levels of training for oil spill workers: a 40-hour course on hazardous waste operations and emergency response; and two short training courses, one 2 hour course and one 4 hour course. BP claims to have trained 30,500 workers using these training modules.
Mr. Taylor discussed the issue of contaminated seafood and how the FDA is working toward preventing any oil spill contaminated fish to enter the marketplace. The FDA is working in conjunction with NOAA and the EPA. The agencies have closed off critical fishing areas affected by the oil spill, as well as testing fish coming out of the Gulf for any sign of toxicity.