By TRAVIS LOLLER and MICHAEL PHILLIS (Associated Press)
When a deadly explosion destroyed BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, 134 million gallons of crude oil gushed into the sea over the next three months. Tens of thousands of regular people were hired to help clean up the environmental damage caused by the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.
These workers were exposed to crude oil and the chemical dispersant Corexit while collecting tar balls along the shore, placing booms from fishing boats to absorb oil slicks, and saving birds covered in oil.
Noticing that some members of the cleanup crews had likely become sick, BP agreed to a medical claims settlement two years after the 2010 disaster. Experts applauded it as “an extraordinary accomplishment” that would fairly compensate workers with minimal trouble.
However, things didn't turn out as expected.
The outcome has fallen significantly short of expectations, leaving many workers who claimed lasting health effects stranded with little or no compensation.
Through the settlement, BP has paid a small fraction of $67 million to ill workers and coastal residents, compared to the billions spent on reimbursing for economic and environmental harm.