Exposure to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Associated Resource Loss, and Long-Term Mental and Behavioral Outcomes

Ramchand, Rajeev; Seelam, Rachana; Parks, Vanessa; Ghosh-Dastidar, Bonnie; Lee, Matthew R.; Finucane, Melissa L.

doi:10.1017/dmp.2019.3

Cited by 27 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Fifth, telephone surveys are useful for efficiently reaching large samples and a wide range of respondents but can inhibit responses on sensitive topics. While this is a concern, our estimates for a range of relatively sensitive topics (e.g., depression, alcohol misuse, sexual orientation) are in line with other regional and national surveys (Ramchand et al., ). Furthermore, respondents were aware that the survey was being conducted by a trusted university in the region.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Persistent Risk‐Related Worry as a Function of Recalled Exposure to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Prior Trauma

et al. 2019

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Large oil spills are disasters associated with psychological effects for exposed communities. The amount of worry that individuals experience after a disaster may be influenced by many factors, such as the type and extent of exposure to disaster impacts, prior trauma, and sociodemographic characteristics. This study examined the nature and predictors of worry about ongoing impacts of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DH) oil spill reported by Gulf of Mexico coastal residents. A random sample of 2,520 adult residents of Gulf of Mexico coastal counties were administered a telephone survey in 2016, including items about persistent worry and exposure to DH impacts, prior trauma, residence at the time of the spill, and sociodemographic characteristics. Respondents varied in the amount of worry they reported about ongoing health, social, and economic impacts. Controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, higher exposure to the DH oil spill was related to higher levels of worry about ongoing impacts, with past traumatic events related specifically to worry about health impacts. Unexpectedly, those who moved into the region after the spill showed similar levels of worry to residents exposed to the spill, and higher levels than residents who did not recall being exposed to the DH oil spill. This study highlights the impact of the DH oil spill on coastal residents many years after the DH disaster. The findings underscore the need to examine multiple pathways by which individuals experience disasters and for risk researchers to close knowledge gaps about long‐term impacts of oil spills within a multi‐dimensional framework.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Persistent Risk‐Related Worry as a Function of Recalled Exposure to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Prior Trauma

et al. 2019

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“…Even years after the spill, Gulf Coast residents report DWH-associated distress, but this may vary for different social groups, in part because of differing prior trauma, life disruption (especially income loss), or available support (Arata et al, 2000;Grattan et al, 2011;Morris et al, 2013, Cherry et al, 2015Rung et al, 2016;Ayer et al, 2019;Ramchand et al, 2019;Bell et al, 2020;Parks et al, 2020). Higher levels of social support, sense of community, and perceived resiliency seem to be protective against spillrelated stress.…”

Section: Health Effects On Non-workersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human Health and Socioeconomic Effects of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico

Sandifer¹,

Ferguson²,

Finucane³

et al. 2021

Oceanog

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The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill is the only declared Spill of National Significance in US history, and it significantly impacted the health of people and communities in the Gulf of Mexico region. These impacts amplified adverse effects of prior disasters and may compound those of future traumas. Studies, both to date and ongoing, show some negative mental and physical health outcomes associated with DWH in some spill workers, as well as some coastal residents in all Gulf States. The spill was also associated with negative effects in the living resources, tourism, and recreation sectors, at least in the short term. Compared with others, people dependent on these sectors reported more health and financial concerns. Consumer concerns about the safety and marketability of seafood persisted well after data demonstrated very low risk. Parents were concerned about possible exposures of children as they played on beaches, but this risk was found to be minor. Spill-related stress was an overarching factor associated with adverse health outcomes, and some residents reported greater stress from navigating the legal and claims processes following the spill than from the spill itself. Research revealed a serious lack of baseline health, environmental, and socioeconomic data against which to compare spill effects. This finding highlighted the need for ongoing observing systems to monitor health and socioeconomic parameters and establish continuous baselines of such information.

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“…In an effort to evaluate how oil spill-related resource loss is connected to mental and behavioral health issues, Ramchand et al (2019) used STRONG survey data to compare Gulf states prevalence estimates of depression, anxiety, alcohol misuse screenings, and resident's health care usage 6 years post spill. Overall, nearly half of adults in this study screened positive for depression, anxiety, or alcohol misuse, while less than 20% of those individuals were engaging in mental health care.…”

Section: Psychosocial Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oil Spills and Human Health: Contributions of the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative

et al. 2019

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The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) was established in 2010 with $500 million in funding provided by British Petroleum over a 10-year period to support research on the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and recovery. Contributions of the GoMRI program to date focused on human health are presented in more than 32 peer-reviewed papers published between 2011 and May 2019. Primary findings from review of these papers are (i) the large quantity of dispersants used in the oil cleanup have been associated with human health concerns, including through obesogenicity, toxicity, and illnesses from aerosolization of the agents; (ii) oil contamination has been associated with potential for increases in harmful algal blooms and numbers of pathogenic Vibrio bacteria in oil-impacted waters; and (iii) members of Gulf communities who are heavily reliant upon natural resources for their livelihoods were found to be vulnerable to high levels of life disruptions and institutional distrust. Positive correlations include a finding that a high level of community attachment was beneficial for recovery. Actions taken to improve disaster response and reduce stress-associated health effects could lessen negative impacts of similar disasters in the future. Furthermore, GoMRI has supported annual conferences beginning in 2013 at which informative human health-related presentations have been made. Based on this review, it is recommended that the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 be updated to include enhanced funding for oil spill impacts to human health.

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Exposure to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Associated Resource Loss, and Long-Term Mental and Behavioral Outcomes

Cited by 27 publications

References 41 publications

Persistent Risk‐Related Worry as a Function of Recalled Exposure to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Prior Trauma

Persistent Risk‐Related Worry as a Function of Recalled Exposure to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Prior Trauma

Human Health and Socioeconomic Effects of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico

Oil Spills and Human Health: Contributions of the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative

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