Building Community Resilience to Large Oil Spills: Findings and Recommendations from a Synthesis of Research on the Mental Health, Economic, and Community Distress Associated with the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

AbstractObjectiveThis study examined the role of community resilience and psychological resilience on depressive symptoms in areas on the Mississippi Gulf Coast that have experienced multiple disasters.MethodsSurvey administration took place in the spring of 2015 to a spatially stratified, random sample of households. This analysis included a total of 294 subjects who lived in 1 of the 3 counties of the Mississippi Gulf Coast at the time of both Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. The survey included the Communities Advancing Resilience Toolkit (CART) scale, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC 10), and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D).ResultsThere was a significant inverse relationship between psychological resilience and depressive symptoms and a significant positive relationship between community resilience and psychological resilience. The results also revealed that community resilience was indirectly related to depressive symptoms through the mediating variable of psychological resilience.ConclusionsThese findings highlight the importance of psychological resilience in long-term disaster recovery and imply that long-term recovery efforts should address factors associated with both psychological and community resilience to improve mental health outcomes. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:241–248)

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Mental Health Needs Assessment After the Gulf Coast Oil Spill—Alabama and Mississippi, 2010

Prehospital and Disaster Medicine ◽

10.1017/s1049023x12001100 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 27 (5) ◽

pp. 401-408 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

Danielle Buttke ◽

Sara Vagi ◽

Tesfaye Bayleyegn ◽

Kanta Sircar ◽

Tara Strine ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Oil Spill ◽

Gulf Coast ◽

Deepwater Horizon ◽

Coastal Communities ◽

Health Needs ◽

Mental Health Needs ◽

Health Needs Assessment ◽

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill ◽

Mental Health Effects

AbstractIntroductionPrevious oil spills and disasters from other human-made events have shown that mental health effects to the affected population are widespread and can be significant.Hypothesis/ProblemThere has been concern regarding the likelihood that existing public health surveillance was not capturing the mental health effects to the population affected by the Gulf Coast oil spill. The objectives of this study were to assess the mental health needs of coastal communities in the states of Alabama and Mississippi following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.MethodsA cluster sampling methodology was used to assess the mental health status of coastal residents in three counties in Alabama four months following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and in the Gulf Coast counties in Mississippi 5.5 months after the oil spill.ResultsA total of 469 residents of the selected areas were interviewed. Between 15.4 and 24.5% of the respondents reported depressive symptoms, with 21.4-31.5% reporting symptoms consistent with an anxiety disorder, and 16.3-22.8% reporting ≥14 mentally unhealthy days within the past 30 days. Overall, there were more negative quality of life indicators and negative social context outcomes than in the state's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey. Between 32.1% and 35.7% of all households reported decreased income since the oil spill, and 35.5-38.2% of all households reported having been exposed to oil.ConclusionThe proportion of respondents reporting negative mental health parameters in the affected Alabama and Mississippi coastal communities is higher than the proportion reported in the 2008 and 2009 BRFSS state reports, suggesting that the public health response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill should focus on mental health services in these communities.ButtkeD, VagiS, BayleyegnT, SircarK, StrineT, MorrisonM, AllenM, WolkinA. Mental health needs assessment after the Gulf Coast oil spill—Alabama and Mississippi, 2010. Prehosp Disaster Med.2012;27(5):1-8.

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Meaning, Resilience, and Traumatic Stress After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: A Study of Mississippi Coastal Residents Seeking Mental Health Services

Journal of Clinical Psychology ◽

10.1002/jclp.22232 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 72 (12) ◽

pp. 1264-1278 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Bethany J. Aiena ◽

Erin M. Buchanan ◽

C. Veronica Smith ◽

Stefan E. Schulenberg

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Health Services ◽

Health Services ◽

Oil Spill ◽

Traumatic Stress ◽

Deepwater Horizon ◽

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill ◽

Coastal Residents

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Development of Lubricating EA Gel Oil of Marine Engine for VGP

Impact ◽

10.21820/23987073.2020.4.57 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 (4) ◽

pp. 57-59

Author(s):

Tomohiro Murakami

Keyword(s):

Oil Spill ◽

Environmental Protection Agency ◽

Oil Spills ◽

Deepwater Horizon ◽

Protection Agency ◽

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill ◽

Oil Drilling ◽

The Us ◽

History Of ◽

Marine Vessels

In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill – the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum history – occurred. The cause of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was an explosion on the oil drilling well. There are other causes of major oil spills, including leakages from sunken vessels. As a result, there is increasing attention on environmental protections. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has, in recent years, put more stringent measures in place in an attempt to curb the potential for oil spillages. One of their key focuses has been on accidental spills during the operation of marine vessels, which culminated in its Vessel General Permit (VGP). In 2013, the EPA ruled that the VGP mandated the use of environmentally friendly lubricants, where all ship operators entering the US had to use eco-friendly lubricants in all of the equipment that came into contact with seawater. Tomohiro Murakami is a Japanese researcher who has focused the majority of his studies on the development of novel gels and lubricants that have attractive properties. Based at the Yuge National College of Maritime Technology in Japan, he and his team has been working on overcoming the challenges associated with creating eco-friendly lubricants for use in marine vessels.

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Adverse Physical and Mental Health Effects of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Among Gulf Coast Children: An Environmental Justice Perspective

Environmental Justice ◽

10.1089/env.2020.0046 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Gabriella Y. Meltzer ◽

Alexis A. Merdjanoff ◽

David M. Abramson

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Environmental Justice ◽

Health Effects ◽

Oil Spill ◽

Gulf Coast ◽

Deepwater Horizon ◽

Physical And Mental Health ◽

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill ◽

Mental Health Effects

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Resilience after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Disaster Prevention and Management An International Journal ◽

10.1108/dpm-02-2017-0046 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 26 (5) ◽

pp. 597-610 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Stacy Buckingham-Howes ◽

Poorna Sreekumar ◽

Glenn Morris ◽

Lynn M. Grattan

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Mental Health ◽

Oil Spill ◽

Deepwater Horizon ◽

Mood Disturbance ◽

World Health ◽

Early Assessment ◽

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill ◽

Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which self-reported resilience was associated with mental health outcomes four years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DWHOS). Design/methodology/approach Participants included 179 men and women randomly selected from two Northeast Gulf Coast communities as part of a larger, prospective study of behavioral health post oil spill. The majority of the participants were Caucasian (70.8 percent), female (61.5 percent), had a high school education or lower (75.3 percent), and ranged in age from 18 to greater than 60 years old. Participants completed a measure of resilience (Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, CD-RISC) 2.5 years post oil spill and measures of overall mood disturbance (Profile of Mood States), depression (Beck Depression Inventory), quality of life (World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF Scale) 4.5 years post oil spill. Findings Based upon linear regression analyses, elevated self-reported resilience significantly predicted lower scores on mood disturbance (b=−0.63, p<0.01) and depressive symptoms (b=−0.14, p<0.05) and higher scores on psychological (b=0.08, p<0.01) and overall health quality of life (b=0.08, p<0.01). Factor analysis of the CD-RISC identified three factors (hardiness, adaptability, optimism). Each factor predicted some, but not all, of the outcomes with optimism being the least predictive of mental health. Originality/value Self-reported resilience two years after the DWHOS was a useful predictor of mental health outcome four years post-spill. Early assessment may facilitate the identification of individuals at risk of longer-term mental health problems for public health prevention or mental health intervention efforts.

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