Broad Coalition Rallies for BP Accountability
original article at Inter Press Service
By Dahr Jamail
Louisiana fishers, seafood distributors, oil-field workers, conservationists and concerned citizens rally in Baton Rouge on Oct. 30. Credit:Erika Blumenfeld/IPS
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, Nov 1, 2010 (IPS) - Gulf coast fishers, conservationists, seafood distributors and oil workers rallied here at Louisiana's capital over the weekend to demand that oil giant BP be held accountable for the "ongoing" use of toxic dispersants in the Gulf of Mexico.
Hopkins, who works for Dean Blanchard Seafood, a large and well-known seafood distributor, was a member of the Oct. 30 Rally for Gulf Change, whose organisers said they were working towards "preserving our God-given rights to clean air and water for future generations."
Drew Landry, who describes himself as "a songwriter who works for a commercial craw-fisherman", told IPS that he first grew concerned about BP's mishandling of the oil disaster, which began on Apr. 20 when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, by what he saw the oil giant do the following day.
"I played a concert in New Orleans on Apr. 20, and the next morning went to take one of the classes on how to clean oil," Landry told IPS. "I realised it was not about cleaning oil, but rather BP's effort to get a roster of names of commercial fishermen from whom they'd have to defend themselves against in the future."
The organisers and speakers at the rally that was held on the steps of the state capitol building on a sunny Saturday were most concerned with BP's massive use of toxic dispersants to sink the oil. The dispersants were also injected at the wellhead to keep most of the oil from reaching the surface.
BP used Corexit 9500 and Corexit 9527, both of which are banned in Britain and at least 19 other countries. Chemicals released from the combination of crude oil and dispersants can cause health problems that include central nervous system depression, respiratory problems, neurotoxic effects, genetic mutations, leukemia, birth defects, cardiac arrhythmia, and cardiovascular damage, among many others.
"I've had lung problems, auto-immune problems, nausea, headaches, and bronchitis because of BP's disaster," Beverly Armand from Grand Isle told IPS. "When I leave the area it clears up, and when I go back, I get sick again."
Armand said her doctor has placed her on three different antibiotics, none of which has been very effective, and had her blood tested for hydrocarbons.
"My creatine level is high, and they found creosote in my blood," she explained. "And we still have fresh oil coming in, and BP is still spraying Corexit. The stuff they are calling algae is foam caused by the dispersants."
Protesters held signs that read "Hell No It's Not Over", "Ban Corexit Now", and a drawing of a pelican with the words "I want my life back" - the last also a reference to comments by the former chief executive of BP, Tony Hayward, which were widely deemed insensitive to struggling Gulf residents.
Organisers told IPS that several people were unable to attend the rally because the interstate 10 highway from Lafayette was closed due to a chemical spill.
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