Oil spill cleanup workers at risk!

BP's record on worker safety is beyond pathetic.
Sign our petition: Any worker who wants safety equipment – like respirators – should get it, and BP should pick up the tab.

Manny Herrmann, American Rights at Work

Did you know that over 27,000 men and women are working to clean up BP's toxic mix of oil and chemicals without any breathing protection? Every day they go without respirators, their lungs – and ultimately, their lives – are put at risk.

Just how dangerous is it to be exposed to oil and dispersants without proper breathing protection? Well, cleanup workers have already reported nausea, vomiting, nosebleeds, headaches, and chest pain.(1)

Sign our petition for BP to pay for proper safety equipment and respirators for cleanup workers.

Despite clear evidence that folks are getting sick from its toxic mix of oil and chemicals, BP won't provide respirators to the people cleaning up the Gulf Coast. In fact, there are even reports of BP threatening to fire workers who tried to use their own respirators. Why? For starters, BP is afraid that news footage of people wearing this critical safety equipment will show the public just how bad the spill is. The company is putting PR above workers' lives.(2,3)

Fortunately, we know that BP responds to public pressure. So we're joining with our friends at the leading progressive blog and advocacy group Firedoglake to launch a petition to BP. We're also delivering copies to the government agencies responsible for worker safety in the Gulf Coast, and Admiral Thad Allen, who is overseeing the government's cleanup efforts.

Our request is simple: Any worker who wants safety equipment – including a respirator – should get it, and BP should pick up the tab.

Demand respirators and other safety equipment for the workers who are cleaning up BP's toxic disaster in the Gulf Coast. Sign our petition now!

BP's oil disaster isn't the first time in recent history that workers responding to a hazardous emergency have had their lungs – and lives – put at risk. In the aftermath of 9/11, police, firefighters, and cleanup workers spent months in the wreckage of the World Trade Center, and many inhaled toxic ash. Over time, that ash has caused major health problems for tens of thousands of people, and even caused some people to lose their lives.(4)

The longer Gulf Coast cleanup workers go without respirators, the greater the danger. Don't let history repeat itself: Sign our petition to protect the men and women who are working to clean up BP's toxic disaster!

Eleven BP workers died when the Deepwater Horizon rig blew up. And so far, over 100 people in the Gulf are reportedly sick. But that's only scratching the surface. Because right now, 27,000 men and women are working with their lungs totally unprotected. And many aren't speaking out because they're afraid they'll befired.(5,6)

Sign our petition to BP: speak out for the workers who are afraid to speak out for themselves!

Thanks for all you do to protect working men and women across America.

P.S. OSHA – the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, which is responsible for overseeing worker safety – has been working non-stop to figure out which kinds of respirators are most effective against the specific toxins in the Gulf Coast. Because not just any generic respirator will protect workers well, this is critical work that needs to continue. But as the government figures out these important details, we can't lose sight of the big picture: oil cleanup workers must not be asked to work with their lungs totally unprotected. It's common sense! Sign our petition now!

1 http://www.propublica.org/documents/item/oil-spill-surveillance-summary-report
2 http://www.georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2010/06/bp-tells-cleanup-workers-theyll-be.html
3 http://www.racewire.org/archives/2010/06/bp_threatens_to_fire_cleanup_workers_who_use_their_own_safety_gear.html
4 http://workinprogress.firedoglake.com/2010/06/09/rep-maloney-address-health-of-gulf-cleanup-workers-now-before-they-lose-it/
5 http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0611/rfk-center-bp-discouraged-crews-respirators/
6 http://workinprogress.firedoglake.com/2010/06/18/bp-failing-to-report-workers-sick-from-pollutants/