LEAN Technical Adviser, Wilma Subra, has been named the Domestic Honoree at the 9th annual Human Rights Awards
Wilma Subra in the field collecting samples.Since 2001, the Human Rights Awards Gala has brought together activists, supporters, and friends to recognize the efforts of exceptional individuals and organizations working for human rights from around the country and around the world.
On June 1, 2011, the work of Gulf Coast Activist Wilma Subra (Domestic Honoree) will be honored at the 9th annual Human Rights Awards. Wilma is an accomplished environmental scientist who has been on the front-lines fighting for the rights of local communities in Louisiana following the Gulf Spill. This year’s International Honoree is U.N. Ambassador for Bolivia Pablo Solón, a strong proponent of climate justice and the rights of nature.
The wetlands here look typical, with nothing unnatural about the appearance of the water or the browning of the mid winter marsh grass. But with minimal effort it is easy to shatter the sense of normalcy of both of these sights.
Evaluation of the Results of Whole Blood Volatile Solvents Testing
By Wilma Subra
Subra Company
for the
Louisiana Environmental Action Network
Evaluation of the Results of Whole Blood Volatile Solvents Testing
Samples of blood were collected on December 16, 2010, from four males, age 3, 36, 42 and 43, and one female, age 38. The individuals tested were a diver who came in contact with the BP spill chemicals, individuals who visited the coastal communities and wetlands, documenting the impacts of the BP spill, and individuals exposed along the beaches. The whole blood samples were analyzed for Volatile Solvents by Method 0762, Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry, by Metametrix Clinical Laboratory in Duluth, Georgia
In response to the BP Oil Disaster, the Lower Mississippi River Keeper (LMRK), Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN), and Subra Company have performed monitoring, sampling and analysis of the environment and seafood in the coastal estuaries and wetlands of Louisiana. Monitoring of the environmental and human health impacts were initiated immediately following the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting crude oil spill on April 20, 2010. Physical and chemical field sampling and analysis of the wetlands and ecosystems, along the coast of Louisiana, were initiated on August 2, 2010. The field sampling has been performed and continues to be performed on an ongoing basis since August 2, 2010, from Atchafalaya Bay eastward to the Louisiana/Mississippi state line.
Results of sampling performed by the Lower Mississippi River Keeper in St. Bernard Parish on October 26, 2010
Tissue samples were collected from a cove, 1.4 miles from the southern end of a “spoil canal†south of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO). The sample of oysters contained 84 mg/kg of Petroleum Hydrocarbons and 2 Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) (3.6 ug/kg). The redfish sample contained 84 mg/kg Petroleum Hydrocarbons.
We have all had frustrations with the response to the recent Gulf oil disaster. One such frustration that we at Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper felt early on was the lack of solid data about the impacts from the disaster. This frustration prompted us to begin an environmental sampling project.
LEAN/LMRK technical advisor, award winning chemist Wilma Subra, put together the sampling protocols. We coordinated with world-class commercial laboratories who would process the samples. We prepared Julia the LMRK patrol boat and were ready to go.
HOW TO CLEAN UP AN OIL SPILL
THE MANUAL BP COULDN’T FIND
STEP ONE: Use an Oil Well Leak Solution
- Go around and/or over the wellhead
- One solution stabilizes pressure and ‘adheres’ to the ocean floor like a bandage over a wound while a chemical mixture is used to “clot” the oil
- The other solution is a large ring that sinks to the ocean floor over the wellhead, is connected through strong oil resistant mesh walls to a second ring that floats at the surface – allowing the oil to be captured from this large “hose”
In response to this summer's Gulf oil disaster a Think Tank was brought together in New Orleans, LA by award winning filmmaker Josh Tickell and his wife and partner Rebecca Tickell. A group of many talented, intelligent, and interested individuals came together to pool their resources and knowledge to find solutions to the Gulf oil disaster. Having such diverse areas of expertise, life experiences, and viewpoints working together towards the same goal made the resultant solutions both well-informed and inventive; while also remaining acutely attuned to the sensitive issues surrounding the oil spill. The following document was developed from the Think Tank.
The Louisiana Environmental Action Network released the following evaluation on November 26th 2010
Evaluation of the Results of Whole Blood Volatile Solvents Testing
By Wilma Subra and Marylee Orr
Louisiana Environmental Action Network - Baton Rouge, LA
