Lousiana oil spill crews sick and suffering

Toxic elements in the crude oil and the dispersants sprayed to dissolve it during the BP spill last summer are making gulf residents, especially the workers who tried to clean up the spill, very sick.

Local chemist Wilma Subra has been helping test people's blood for volatile solvents, and said levels of benzene among cleanup workers, divers, fishermen and crabbers are as high as 36 times that of the general population.
"As the event progresses we are seeing more and more people who are desperately ill," she said.
"Clearly it is showing that this is ongoing exposure," Subra said, noting that pathways include contact with the skin, eating contaminated seafood or breathing polluted air.
"We have been asking the federal agencies to please provide medical care from physicians who are trained in toxic exposure."
She said she has received no response.
-Raw Story