NEW ORLEANS — Concerns about the chemical dispersant being used to fight the gulf oil spill are suddenly spiking along the coast here, with workers fretting over exposure and health officials investigating a tiny cluster of complaints.
On Wednesday afternoon, seven crew members aboard fishing vessels who had been working to clean up Breton Sound, southeast of New Orleans, blamed the chemicals for health complaints including nausea, shortness of breath and high blood pressure.
All were working on a cleanup crew one hour south of Venice, La., by boat and were admitted to a hospital. Doctors who examined them said that their conditions were “related to some kind of irritant, combined with dehydration” and predicted that they would be discharged within a day or two.
Read this NY Times story in full