scholarly journals Using Precision Environmental Health Principles in Risk Evaluation and Communication of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 599-616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Jackson ◽  
Meng Huang ◽  
Harshica Fernando ◽  
Ghulam Ansari ◽  
Marilyn Howarth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Risk Evaluation ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
Polycyclic Aromatic ◽  
Risk Of Exposure ◽  
Pah Toxicity

This article provides a description of the rationale and processes adopted by the Gulf Coast Health Alliance: Health Risks related to the Macondo Spill consortium to evaluate and communicate the risk of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in seafood over several years following the Deepwater Horizon disaster and subsequent oil spill. We examined gaps in knowledge associated with PAH toxicity following exposure to petrogenic (oil-derived) PAHs by studying the metabolic fate of PAHs and their potential toxicity using sophisticated analytical methods. Using the data generated, we developed a risk communication strategy designed to meet the needs of the stakeholder communities including a consumption guideline calculator, a web-based tool to reconcile seafood consumption with risk of adverse health effects.

scholarly journals Coping with oil spills: oil exposure and anxiety among residents of Gulf Coast states after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary Goldman ◽  
John A. Kaufman ◽  
J. Danielle Sharpe ◽  
Amy F. Wolkin ◽  
Matthew O. Gribble
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Emotional Support ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Tobit Regression ◽  
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Drilling Rig ◽  
Oil Exposure

Introduction: In April 2010, a fatal explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico resulted in the largest accidental marine oil spill in history. This research describes the association of oil exposure with anxiety after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and evaluates effect modification by self-mastery, emotional support, and cleanup participation. Methods: To assess the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted the Gulf States Population Survey, a random-digit-dial telephone cross-sectional survey completed between December 2010 and December 2011 with 38,361 responses in four different Gulf Coast states­: Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. Anxiety severity was measured using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder symptom inventory. We used Tobit regression to model underlying anxiety as a function of oil exposure and hypothesized effect modifiers, adjusting for socio-demographics. Results: Latent anxiety was higher among those directly exposed to oil than among those who were not directly exposed to oil in confounder-adjusted models (β=2.84, 95% CI: 0.78, 4.91). Among individuals exposed to oil, there was no significant interaction between participating in cleanup activities and emotional support for anxiety ( P=0.16). However, among those directly exposed to oil, in confounder-adjusted models, participation in oil spill cleanup activities was associated with lower latent anxiety (β=-3.50, 95% CI: -6.10, -0.90). Conclusion: Oil contact was associated with greater anxiety, but this association appeared to be mitigated by cleanup participation.

Changes in chemical composition and copepod toxicity during petroleum photooxidation

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Katz ◽  
Haining Chen ◽  
David Fields ◽  
Erin Beirne ◽  
Phoebe Keyes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Aromatic Hydrocarbons ◽  
Initial Phase ◽  
Water Solubility ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Water Accommodated Fractions ◽  
Polycyclic Aromatic ◽  
Target Lipid Model ◽  
Control Samples

Photoproducts can be formed rapidly in the initial phase of a marine oil spill. However, their toxicity is not well understood. In this study, oil was irradiated, chemically characterized, and tested for toxicity in three copepod species (A. tonsa, T. longicornis, C.finmarchicus). Irradiation led to a depletion of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and n-alkanes in oil residues, along with an enrichment in aromatic and aliphatic oil photoproducts. Target lipid model-based calculations of PAH toxic units (TU-PAH) predicted that PAH toxicities were lower in water accommodated fractions (WAFs) of irradiated oil residues (“irradiated WAFs”) than in WAFs of dark-control samples (“dark WAFs”). In contrast, biomimetic extraction (BE) measurements showed increased bioaccumulation potential of irradiated WAFs compared to dark WAFs, mainly driven by photoproducts present in irradiated oil. In line with the BE results, copepod mortality increased in response to irradiated WAFs compared to dark WAFs. Low copepod toxicities were observed for WAFs produced with photooxidized oil slicks collected during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The results of this study suggest that while oil photoproducts have the potential to be a significant source of copepod toxicity, the water solubility of these products might mitigate their toxicity at sea.

scholarly journals Deepwater Horizon oil spill impacts on Alabama beaches

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. 3639-3649 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. Hayworth ◽  
T. P. Clement ◽  
J. F. Valentine
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Sandy Beaches ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Ecological State ◽  
Current State ◽  
Physical Chemical ◽  
Long Term Consequences

Abstract. From mid June 2010 to early August 2010, the white sandy beaches along Alabama's Gulf coast were inundated with crude oil discharged from the Deepwater Horizon well. The long-term consequences of this environmental catastrophe are still unfolding. Although BP has attempted to clean up some of these beaches, there still exist many unanswered questions regarding the physical, chemical, and ecological state of the oil contaminated beach system. In this paper, we present our understanding of what is known and known to be unknown with regard to the current state of Alabama's beaches in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Motivated by our observations of the evolving distribution of oil in Alabama's beaches and BP's clean-up activities, we offer our thoughts on the lessons learned from this oil spill disaster.

scholarly journals Correction: Patel et al. Resilience: Examining the Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on the Gulf Coast Vietnamese American Community. Soc. Sci. 2018, 7(10), 203

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 74
Author(s):  
Megha Patel ◽  
Leia Saltzman ◽  
Regardt Ferreira ◽  
Amy Lesen
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill ◽  
Vietnamese American

The authors wish to make the following change to their paper (Patel et al. 2018). [...]

The Vietnamese Community Members Who Were Part of GC-HARMS Are More Aware of Their Health, Environmental Impacts on Their Health, and How They Can Have Better Health: An Interview With Dustin Nguyen

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 637-650
Author(s):  
John Sullivan ◽  
Beth Rosenberg
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Affordable Care Act ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Commercial Fishing ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Community Project ◽  
Financial Difficulties ◽  
Vietnamese Community

In this interview, Mr. Nguyen, Gulf Coast Health Alliance: Health risks related to the Macondo Spill Vietnamese community project hub manager (D’Iberville, Mississippi), describes his community’s cultural and financial difficulties finding adequate avenues for healthcare and wellness information before the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. He comments extensively on how the project’s clinical component in tandem with the Affordable Care Act promoted transformational changes in access to healthcare for his community and comments on generational shifts within the community in terms of language marginalization, its relationship to the pace of acculturation, and the allure of commercial fishing as a livelihood and a career.

Ecosystem restoration in Louisiana — a decade after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Shore & Beach ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 38-48
Author(s):  
Syed Khalil ◽  
Gregory Grandy ◽  
Richard Raynie
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Federal Agencies ◽  
The State ◽  
Coastal Protection ◽  
Louisiana Coast

Louisiana has a long history of coastal management and restoration actions with multiple projects implementing common approaches. Traditionally, most of the restoration efforts have been ongoing in Louisiana by state and federal agencies through the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA). These activities are now being expanded significantly through additional funding and implementing entities such as the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States (RESTORE) Act of 2012 Council, National Resource and Damage Assessment (NRDA) through the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group (LA TIG), and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). Considering a broader ecosystem or landscape context for implemented restoration projects can provide a framework for emphasizing commonality of restoration goals. Such a framework allows for multiple benefits of restoration efforts to be quantified, including prioritized natural resources, ultimately assessing the effectiveness of large-scale restoration efforts in coastal Louisiana. Three disasters have completely changed the trajectory of Louisiana’s coastal resto- ration and protection program. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (2005) compelled the state to take serious note of the vagaries of nature, especially high-energy events like hurricanes, and to develop a comprehensive/robust coastal protection and restoration plan. Five years later, the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill exposed the fragility of the Louisiana coast but at the same time penalty monies provided much needed funding to implement the state’s coastal protection and restoration plans. This paper provides a high-level assessment of project implementation and makes the case that Louisiana could move quickly in the implementation of various restoration plans because robust and comprehensive restoration plans were previously developed and are available. Here, it must be appreciated that for the first time, dedicated funding is available not only for regional programmatic monitoring to implement adaptive management, but also for development of the art and science of restoration. It is also suggested that for efficient and cost effective implementation of Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan federal agencies must work in tandem with the state/CPRA who not only bring the most comprehensive plan but expertise along with institutional knowledge to the table.

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