2015 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 227
BY SENATOR CROWE
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request the Department of Health and Hospitals to study the medium- and
long-term health effects of the British Petroleum oil spill on the health of the
residents of Louisiana.
WHEREAS, on April 21, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil platform operated for the
benefit of British Petroleum (BP) and located about fifty miles southeast of Southwest Pass
at the mouth of the Mississippi River exploded, killing eleven platform workers and
instigating an oil leak that continues to gush crude oil and natural gas into the depths of the
Gulf of Mexico in amounts not adequately measured at this point; and
WHEREAS, the estimates of the amount of oil and gas being leaked into the Gulf of
Mexico range from five thousand barrels a day to an estimate given by scientists watching
video of the oil and gas leak which is nearly five times the official estimate by BP, the
responsible party for the drilling accident; and
WHEREAS, several months after the spill, an estimated thirty million gallons of oil
had already leaked into the Gulf of Mexico, exceeding the eleven million gallons of oil that
resulted from the Exxon Valdez disaster; and
WHEREAS, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is the worst oil spill in Louisiana and
United States history and is the worst environmental disaster the United States has faced; and
WHEREAS, in response to the oil spill, BP tried for months to stop oil from spewing
into the Gulf of Mexico; and
WHEREAS, BP has tried to stop the oil by using all of the following means: (1) a
containment dome to cover the leak and funnel the oil to the surface, which was
unsuccessful; (2) an insertion tube to pump oil to the surface, which at best appears to be
capturing only about twenty percent of the oil; (3) the "top kill" method in which viscous
drilling fluid is pumped into the leak, which was unsuccessful; and (4) the lower marine riser
package cap containment system, which required cutting off the damaged riser pipe at the
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top of the failed blow-out preventer, and this procedure has been successful to some degree
but it has not completely stopped the leak; and
WHEREAS, as part of its oil leak response, BP has been using dispersants that
contain human health hazards, in particular, Corexit 9500, containing solvents that are listed
as hazardous substances, and Corexit 9527a, containing 2-butoxyethanol, a known acute
human health hazard that may cause injury to red blood cells, the kidney, or the liver; and
WHEREAS, under fire conditions, both of these Corexit products may evolve into
and emit noxious oxides, which further endangers response workers; and
WHEREAS, BP is simultaneously burning the oil slick and applying Corexit
dispersants, resulting in the poisoning of the air and water along Louisiana's coast; and
WHEREAS, the Environmental Protection Agency ordered BP to find a nontoxic
dispersant to use on the oil leak due to concerns about the long-term effects of Corexit; and
WHEREAS, BP agreed to reduce the amount of Corexit used in the Gulf of Mexico
but has continued to use Corexit in its response efforts; and
WHEREAS, in 2010 more than five hundred birds had already been found dead
across the leak region, and since that year more than two hundred sea turtles and thirty
mammals have also been discovered dead; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana's commercial and recreational seafood industries represent
four billion dollars annually in economic impact to Louisiana and its coastal communities;
and
WHEREAS, in addition to the seafood industries, Louisiana's restaurants, tourism,
and other small businesses have sustained economic impacts due to the oil leak; and
WHEREAS, over one hundred miles of Louisiana's shoreline have been impacted by
oil coming ashore; and
WHEREAS, the efforts of BP have thus far failed to protect the coast, marshes, and
estuaries of Louisiana, its citizens and businesses, which failure has resulted in an economic
crisis for this state, its citizens and businesses; and
WHEREAS, the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana has serious concerns related
to the medium- and long-term effects of the BP oil spill and the use of Corexit on the health
of the residents of Louisiana.
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THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby urge and request the Department of Health and Hospitals to study the medium-
and long-term health effects of the British Petroleum oil spill on the health of the residents
of Louisiana and report back to the Senate prior to the 2016 Regular Session of the Louisiana
Legislature.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
attorney general and the secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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