Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill 2010

On Tuesday, April 20, 2010, an explosion aboard the Deep Water Horizon, located off if the coast of Louisiana, sunk the drilling rig, causing oil to spill. The explosion started a chain of events resulting in the release of approximately 4.9 million barrels of oil in the Gulf of Mexico. The discharge of oil continued for 111 days, impacting the marine and coastal ecosystems, as well as local communities.

The Alabama Department of Public Health and other state and federal agencies conducted several activities in response to the event. Below are resources and reports as well as information about current and past projects regarding the oil spill:

Response Worker Resources

• GuLF STUDY - A long-term follow-up health study that began in February 2011 for individuals who helped with the oil spill clean up, took training, signed up to work, or were sent to the Gulf to help in some way after the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
  GuLF STUDY Interim Reports - Enrollment and data collection are ongoing. The tables included in this section provide some preliminary data on baseline demographic and health characteristics, employment history and oil spill clean-up activities.
• NIOSH Deepwater Horizon Roster Summary Report - A roster of workers who participated in response cleanup efforts.
• NIOSH/OSHA Deepwater Horizon Guidance for Workers
• NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) of Deepwater Horizon Response Workers - This final report summarizes evaluations made during the course of the offshore and onshore HHE investigations and describes the conditions and characteristics encountered during the event.

Community Projects and Resources

• Project Rebound - A non-profit organization providing free counseling and assistance in obtaining resources to individuals and families who need assistance in coping with the after effects of the Oil Spill. Call 1-800-639-REBOUND (7326863) anytime, 24 hours/7 days a week.
• NOAA Coastal Communities Project - A 10-year study exploring the changes in the health and well-being of communities in the Gulf of Mexico impacted by the Oil Spill in hopes to help local officials protect communities before a disaster and assist in recovery efforts afterwards.

Reports

• CASPER After the Gulf Coast Oil Spill: Alabama, 2011
• CASPER After the Gulf Coast Oil Spill: Alabama, 2010
• Oil Spill Surveillance in Alabama
• NIEHS Federal Data Sources - A table of data sources from federal agencies related to the Gulf Oil Spill response efforts.

Additional Resources

• Information on Oil Spill Issued by ADPH
• RestoreTheGulf.gov - The official federal portal for the Deepwater BP oil spill response and recovery.