Environmental Protection Agency? By Dahr Jamail
Residents of the US Gulf Coast say their pleas for help and transparency continue to be ignored by regulators.
In October, Dr. Wilma Subra, a chemist and Macarthur Fellow, conducted the blood tests for volatile solvents - chemicals present in BP's crude oil as well as their toxic dispersants - on eight people Nix provided who live and work along the coast.
Chemical contamination
Most of the people tested had these toxic chemicals present in their blood at levels several times higher than the national average. "Ethylbenzene, m,p-Xylene and Hexane are volatile organic chemicals that are present in the BP Crude Oil. The blood of all three females and five males had chemicals that are found in the BP Crude Oil," according to Subra’s report.
Ethylbenzene is a form of benzene present in the body when it begins to be broken down. m,p-Xylene is a clear, colorless, sweet-smelling, flammable liquid that is refined from crude oil and is primarily used as a solvent.
These chemicals in BP's oil are extremely hazardous to humans. They can cause headaches, nausea, vomiting, kidney damage, altered renal functions, irritation of the digestive tract, lung damage, burning pain in nose and throat, coughing, wheezing, skin problems and cancers.
See 68 reasons to why the Gulf Oil Disaster is turning into the endless disaster.
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