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NIOSH Activities in the Deepwater Horizon Response
Margaret Kitt and Max KieferNational Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Agenda
Background
Worker Health and Safety Issues
NIOSH Objectives
NIOSH Activities
Deepwater Horizon Background
Largest accidental oil spill in U.S. history On April 20, 2010 drilling rig exploded, followed by fire and sinkingExplosion killed 11 platform workers and injured 17 othersLeak was largely stopped by capping the gushing wellhead on July 15 after releasing about 4.9 million barrels of oil
DWH Oil Rig
Explosion and Fire
Sinking
Deepwater Horizon:Some Numbers
Estimated oil flow rate of 35,000-60,000 barrels per dayTotal oil/gas recovered/flared to date: 771,283 barrels of oil and 1,729.6 million cubic ft of gasPersonnel: 46,271Boom deployed: 9,354,842 ftDispersant use: 1,776,995 gals (1,071,315 surface/705,680 subsea)
672 miles of shoreline impacted
C/I/O Personnel % of Response
NCEH/ATSDR (Lead) 80 16.9%
NIOSH 249 52.7%
OPHPR 90 19.1%
OSELS 24 5.1%
OD 18 3.8%
OID 4 0.9%
OSTLTS/SATA 6 1.3%
Other (EPA LNO) 1 0.2%
Total 472
CDC Assets in the DWH Response
Response Workers: OSH Hazards
Injury and Illness
Chemical Exposures
Heat Stress
Mental Health/Stress/Fatigue
NIOSH Objectives
To provide opportunity for every response worker to be counted
To prevent illness and injury real-time during the event by reducing or eliminating exposures
NIOSH Activities
Rostering
Health Hazard Evaluations
(HHEs)
Technical Guidance and Communication
Health Surveillance
Toxicity Testing
NIOSH ActivitiesRostering
Rostered over 52,000 response workers
Staging areas and training sites
Paper-based and web-based
BP employees, contractors, federal and state employees, volunteers
Rostering Workers in LA
Paper & Electronic RecordsAs of 8-17-10
Total Collected: 52,253
Percentage
Male 81%
Female 19%
Asian 2%
Hispanic 9%
Black 38%
All Others 52%
Deep Water Horizon Response Worker Roster Effort
Targeted Workers
BP Staff
BP ContractorsVolunteers
Federal
State & Local
NIOSH HEALTH HAZARD EVALUATIONS
Evaluated Workers at the Source
In-Situ Burns
Dispersant Use
Containment Boom
20
Decontamination of Vessels
Health Hazard Evaluations: Six Work Categories
On Shore Evaluations: Beach clean-UpWildlife rehabilitation Equipment decontamination and waste stream management
Off Shore Evaluations:Source ControlIn-situ burnsBooming, skimming, dispersant operations
HHE staff at source control
Health Hazard Evaluations
Additionally, Psychological Stress/Work Organization Focus Groups Conducted with Safety Officers
Note: HHE Interim reports #1 through #5 available on NIOSH website; remainder of
reports forthcoming
Interim Guidance for Protecting Deepwater Horizon Response Workers and Volunteers National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services andOccupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of LaborJune 25, 2010
For more information on general disaster response, consult the NIOSH Emergency Response Topic Page at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/emergency.html
NIOSH and OSHA Collaboration
DEEPWATER HORIZON RESPONSEGulf of Mexico Oil Cleanup
Recent NIOSH Webpage Updates:
• NIOSH Report of Deepwater Horizon Response/Unified Area Command Illness and Injury Data Updated August 13
• NIOSH Ongoing Health Hazard Evaluation: Deepwater Horizon Response Updated August 13
• NIOSH Voluntary Roster of Deepwater Horizon Response Workers Updated August 12
Health SurveillanceWorking across data sources
BP/UAC health data, State surveillance data, Poison Control Centers, BioSense
BP injury and illness data analysisCurrently on update #4 (posted on NIOSH website)
Working with HHS/ASPR on Medic Log dataHealth Symptom Surveys from HHEs
April 23 – July 27, 2010
Characteristic Injuries Illnesses
TotalNumber % Number %
Total 1136 53.3 994 46.7 2130
First Aid cases 959 51.9 888 48.1 1847
OSHA‐recordable cases
175 62.3 106 37.7 281
Missed or Restricted Duty cases
28 70.0 12 30.0 40
Injury and Illness Data(Note: Based on BP Reported Incident Data)
NIOSH Injury and Illness Report of BP Incident Data
NIOSH Injury and Illness Report of BP Incident Data
NIOSH Injury and Illness Report of BP Incident Data
Chemical Exposures: Crude/Weathered Oil/Dispersants
Oil and/or dispersants were noted as a contributing factor in 13 casesAll were treated by first aid aloneNine occurred offshoreSix cases were dermatologic in nature, four led to injury (such as slipping on oily surface), and three were attributed to oil or dispersant vapor exposure
Heat Stress
141/192 (73%) heat stress cases occurred “onshore” 110 of these occurred among laborers such as beach cleanup workers, boom decontamination workers, heavy equipment operators, and general laborers
Toxicity TestingAcute animal testing (rats) to be conducted on:
Dispersant (Nalco Corexit 9500A)Crude Oil from the source (sample from well head obtained May 23rd)Dispersant/crude oil mixture
Inhalation studiesMeasuring pulmonary, cardiovascular, and CNS outcomes
Dermal studiesAssessing hypersensitivity and immune-mediated responses
Questions?
