Gulf Coast Fund reports 53 million gallons of oil in Gulf as disastercontinues

[caption id="attachment_11307" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="oil spill"][/caption]

Editor -  The Gulf Coast Fund group reports there is still plenty of oil left in the
Gulf, washing ashore in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama
and the panhandle of Florida.

What this organization says is there remains a mental health crisis with the demise of jobs.  Toxic dispersants remain an issue, and they believe unsafe seafood continues to be a problem.  Furthermore dead wildlife continues to be found.How much is fact or fiction depends upon where one travels on the Gulfthese days, who one interacts with and who one reads as well.  But everyone agrees the problem isn't over, far from it.

Scientists did say early on, however, the oil would not readily disappear and to expect environmental consequences for a long time.
These same scientists in the organizations devoted to the environment like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth say the problem is not over.

The Gulf Fund in a press release that describes itself as community led and oriented towards philanthropy in the Gulf South reports "a dangerous amount of
oil and dispersant remains in the Gulf of Mexico.  Contrary to what BP and government officials have been stating, over 53 million gallons of oil are currently spread over the coastal areas and are washing ashore in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida panhandle."

"Just because the oil is no longer on the surface, it does not indicate that the area is healthy," explains Wilma Subra, a chemist/microbiologist and
advisor to the Gulf Coast Fund. "

Subra goes on to explain the seriousness of the problem that exists, "We've received reports from local residents all along the coast who continue
to see oil on and off shore, as well as reports of hundreds of dead fish, crabs, birds, dolphins, and other sea life," She also says samples
of crab larvae taken from the Gulf have been shown to contain both oil and dispersant.

The spill released 172 million gallons of oil into the Gulf.  To clean it up BP used 1.84 million gallons of Corexit.  This is a dispersant that
contains known human carcinogens and is banned in Europe.   Fisherman and residents report the dispersant continues to be used, despite denial by BP.

"Commercial fishermen in the Gulf know the seafood is unsafe for eating and will not feed it to their own families," remarks Gulf Coast Fund advisor and
community organizer Derrick Evans of Turkey Creek, MS.

Gulf fishermen are reported by Gulf Coast Fund to have gathered in Panama City Beach, FL on August 15th to tell President Obama that the fishing grounds need to be closed until the seafood is thoroughly tested for safety.

At present, no tests have been conducted on seafood for the presence of dispersants.

The problems have been, and continue to be numerous, with the fishing communities hardest hit by BP's oil spill. "Once the fisheries were
closed, commercial fishermen had no recourse and BP was their only potential employer," explains LaTosha Brown,
Director of the Gulf Coast Fund. "Workers were hired to clean up the spill but were not supplied with proper safety equipment," she says.

Louisiana Environmental Action Network (http://www.leanweb.org), with funding from the Gulf Coast Fund, provided respirators and
protective gear for the workers. "But BP told the workers that if they wore the respirators, they'd be fired," Brown reports.

Residents of Louisiana coastal parishes including Plaquemines, Terrebonne, and LaFourche continue to report health problems that include headaches, nausea, vomiting, burning eyes, and chest pains. Long-term health effects from chronic exposure to oil and dispersant include decreased lung function
as well as genetic, cardiovascular, and reproductive damage. "Health issues will impact residents and clean-up workers for the rest of their
lives," says Subra.

BP began pulling out of the region on August 5th, after the well was cemented.

Clean-up jobs, already in scarce supply, have all but dried up, leaving few if any prospects for alternative employment. According to Brown, "Most of
the fishing families have lived and worked in these communities for generations, and BP may have permanently destroyed their way of life.
The pressures are creating a mental health crisis across all affected communities. The Native American tribes, the African American and
Vietnamese American fishing communities -- all of these coastal communities are strongly connected to this unique environment."

"We're approaching the fifth anniversary of Katrina and the region still needs a comprehensive and appropriate economic recovery plan, one that
addresses the ongoing issues from the hurricanes as well as this latest disaster. The government needs to ensure that the communities impacted
by the BP catastrophe are able to live, pay their bills, and receive medical attention," states Stephen Bradberry, Gulf Coast Fund advisor and Executive Director of the Alliance Institute, a social and economic justice organization in New Orleans

"BP and the US government need to be held accountable and keep their promises to the Gulf Coast," insists Aaron Viles, Gulf Coast Fund advisor and campaign director for the Gulf Restoration Network , a group focused on protecting the Gulf of Mexico.

"The long-term, cumulative damage to the coastal ecosystem, the food chain, and human health as a result of this disaster is huge and of great
concern. It's not over. The damage is still unfolding," says Subra.

The Gulf Coast Fund is a community-led philanthropy founded in 2005 after
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Fund works to galvanize resources and
support Gulf Coast communities and grassroots organizations.