SLS 182ES-85 ORIGINAL
2018 Second Extraordinary Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 16
BY SENATOR MORRELL
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH. Requests BP P.L.C. to institute medical monitoring and
treatment, and to publish advisory medical protocols to all Louisiana residents and clean-up
workers who were exposed to chemicals related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To urge and request BP P.L.C. to institute medical monitoring and treatment, and to publish
3 advisory medical protocols to all Louisiana residents and clean-up workers who were
4 exposed to chemicals related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
5 WHEREAS, fishermen, oystermen, shrimpers, firemen, police officers, members of
6 the United States Coast Guard, the Louisiana National Guard, animal clean-up workers,
7 various other public health workers, countless public servant professionals, as well as private
8 citizens and residents of Louisiana all came out to defend the state's coast, our way of life,
9 and our coastal economy, as a result of the highly toxic effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil
10 spill disaster; and
11 WHEREAS, during the response to the disaster, Louisiana residents were exposed
12 to the chemicals related to the spill, including petroleum, arsenic, benzene, dangerous heavy
13 metals, and dispersants such as Corexit, a chemical banned in Britain, which were used in
14 unprecedented amounts and these chemicals were forced upon all residents and those
15 involved in the clean-up efforts of the oil spill, in never before seen quantities; the effects
16 of which are becoming readily apparent with the passage of time and are now proving to
17 have devastating effects on human health and wildlife, as has already been seen and proven
18 by scientific studies; and
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SLS 182ES-85 ORIGINAL
1 WHEREAS, there has been an alarming and distinct uptick in the number of cancer
2 cases since the oil spill for workers involved in the response to the disaster, and scientists
3 expect that number to dramatically increase in the next two years; and
4 WHEREAS, there has also been an alarming and distinct uptick in the number of
5 cancer cases in the last few years of Louisiana residents who lived in areas near the oil spill
6 and exposed to toxic chemicals in the water and air; and
7 WHEREAS, the number of Louisiana residents who were exposed to toxic chemicals
8 and who will potentially develop cancer is unknown; and
9 WHEREAS, there has been an alarming number of chronic conditions that people
10 are suffering from, including but not limited to dermal, ocular, respiratory, nasal conditions,
11 neurological problems as well as depression, PTSD, and memory loss; and
12 WHEREAS, to date, BP has compensated only forty-two people for their chronic
13 medical conditions but has not compensated anyone from a diagnosis of cancer related to
14 the oil spill; and
15 WHEREAS, the state of Louisiana has been and will continue to be burdened with
16 covering the costs of astronomical and growing medical bills for these BP victims; and
17 WHEREAS, the state of Louisiana should take steps to protect its people and prevent
18 more of its citizens from continuing to suffer such dire and drastic consequences; and
19 WHEREAS, it has been almost a decade since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and
20 Louisiana citizens are still suffering severe medical and financial hardships due to
21 increasingly high medical bills and loss in their quality of life; and
22 WHEREAS, the financial strain that diagnosis and treatment has already and will
23 continue to place on the Louisiana healthcare system is incalculable; and
24 WHEREAS, the total compensation paid out by BP for losses to businesses and
25 property through the economic class action settlement is over thirty-three billion dollars, but
26 the total compensation paid out by BP for medical conditions in the medical class action
27 settlement to citizens across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida is approximately
28 sixty-five million dollars; and
29 WHEREAS, action must be taken, and BP should be held responsible for the toxic
30 chemicals they have released that caused so many Louisiana citizens and workers to contract
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1 chronic and life-threatening illnesses, extreme suffering, and even death; and
2 WHEREAS, BP should, since it has specifically acknowledged exposure of these
3 chemicals to our citizens, give a public advisory and protocols and/or medical monitoring
4 on how to seek early detection and early diagnosis and treatment to save medical costs and
5 lives for the citizens of Louisiana; and
6 WHEREAS, BP should implement an independent study and discovery process into
7 the particular reasons why Louisiana citizens are suffering from cancer and chronic
8 conditions; and
9 WHEREAS, BP should implement an independent medical monitoring program and
10 treatment for Louisiana citizens suffering from cancer and other chronic conditions due to
11 their exposure to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
12 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Louisiana Legislature does
13 hereby urge and request BP P.L.C. to institute medical monitoring and treatment, and to
14 publish advisory medical protocols to all Louisiana residents and clean-up workers who were
15 exposed to chemicals related to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
16 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
17 governor, to the secretary of Louisiana Department of Health, and to BP P.L.C.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by McHenry Lee.
DIGEST
SR 16 Original 2018 Second Extraordinary Session Morrell
Requests BP P.L.C. to institute medical monitoring and treatment, and to publish advisory
medical protocols to all Louisiana residents and clean-up workers who were exposed to
chemicals related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
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