The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health, activated programs throughout the institute to provide timely and responsive services following the Deepwater Horizon Gulf oil spill of 2010. NIEHS research efforts in this area continue.
GuLF STUDY
The GuLF STUDY (Gulf Long-term Follow-up Study) is a health study for individuals who helped with the oil spill cleanup, took training, signed up to work, or were sent to the Gulf to help in some way after the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The NIEHS initiated the study in June 2010. The GuLF STUDY will help determine if oil spills, and exposure to crude oil and dispersants, affect physical and mental health. Researchers are studying a range of problems, including breathing and blood pressure issues, skin conditions, self-reported symptoms, and cancer, as well as depression, stress, and anxiety. Almost 33,000 cleanup workers are enrolled in the 10-year health study, making a significant contribution to their communities and answering important public health questions. For more information on this study, visit GuLF STUDY.
University-Community Partnerships
NIEHS awarded $25.2 million in research grants to Gulf area universities that partner with communities affected by the oil spill. This research network also referred to as the Deepwater Horizon Research Consortia is addressing health questions specifically identified by the communities in need. Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans; Tulane University, New Orleans; University of Florida, Gainesville; and The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston are the five-year grant recipients. These research teams are evaluating reproduction and birth outcomes, general health and well-being among coastal residents, and seafood safety. Researchers are also analyzing individual and community resilience post-disaster, and determining the impact resilience may have on behavior and mental health of children and adults living in the Gulf region.
Disaster Research Response Efforts
NIEHS has played an important role in research related to disasters for more than 30 years, including the World Trade Center attack, Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, the Gulf Oil Spill, and the ongoing Ebola response. Health and safety concerns dominate every disaster and research helps to provide a better understanding of the health risks, exposures, treatments, and impacts associated with these tragic events. To be able to perform time-critical health research following disasters and other emergencies, NIEHS and the National Library of Medicine (NLM) have joined together to create the NIH Disaster Research Response Program. The website serves as a data collection tools repository. The project will help improve our nation’s capabilities for performing timely environmental health research to address identified knowledge gaps in response to emerging threats and disasters. For more information on these efforts visit Disaster Research Response Efforts.
Toxicology Research
The National Toxicology Program (NTP), headquartered at NIEHS, has established a research program to increase understanding of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs), widespread environmental contaminants that are naturally present in crude oil and also formed during the incomplete burning of gas, coal, and other organic matter. The oil spill brought to light knowledge gaps on the ecological and human health hazards of these compounds. NTP is studying both individual PACs and PAC mixtures, to gain a better understanding of how exposures to these compounds may affect human health. For more information on this research, visit NTP Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds Research.
Safety Training
Protecting the health and safety of response workers is top priority for NIEHS. Within days of the oil rig explosion, staff from the NIEHS Worker Training Program were on-site to train approximately 150,000 cleanup workers to protect their own health and safety while responding to the disaster. NIEHS continues to work with Gulf communities, clinicians, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to develop and provide additional types of training, including training that addresses the mental health impact experienced by cleanup workers and emergency responders. For more on this resiliency training, visit Responder & Community Resilience.
NIEHS Newsletter Articles
2020
2018
- NIEHS trainee receives high award for oil spill research
- From single cells to whales — genotoxicity across the biological spectrum
- Lichtveld discusses enterprise evaluation
2017
- Dispersants associated with health symptoms in cleanup workers
- Japan and NIEHS partner to advance disaster research response
2016
- Disaster Research Response takes next steps
- Deepwater Horizon Research Consortia wraps up projects
- Progress and challenges in disaster research response
- Society of Toxicology meeting to feature sessions led by NIEHS and NTP
2015
- NIEHS highlights public health and disaster research at oil spill conference
- New RESTORE Act center builds on NIEHS experience
- Sandler honored by AMA for outstanding government service
- NIEHS leads disaster research response project
2014
- Big Picture, Small Talk presentation showcases GuLF STUDY
- Science-ready — enabling public health research during disasters
- The GuLF STUDY four years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
- Tsunami exercise helps prepare research community for disaster response
- Community resilience and disaster response in the U.S. Gulf Coast
- Birnbaum highlights human health effects at Gulf oil spill conference
2013
- NIEHS issues update on GuLF STUDY progress
- Strengthening research and community partnerships in the Gulf
- Oil spill researchers tell what they learned
2012
- Hot Zone summit challenges environmental injustices
- GuLF STUDY marks recruitment milestone
- Predicting sudden changes in pollution patterns
2011
- Hughes honored for worker training efforts
- NIEHS launches GuLF STUDY media tour
- NIH-funded research network to explore oil spill health effects
- WETP workshop explores lessons learned from the Gulf oil spill
- NIH launches largest oil spill health study
- Shaping protocol for the GuLF STUDY
- NIEHS reaches out in New Orleans
- Aubrey Miller to speak on Gulf oil spill response
- Oil spill update - NIEHS activities in the Gulf
2010
- WETP gets “back to basics”
- NIEHS to fund $36 million in worker safety training
- NIH to Launch Gulf Oil Spill Health Study
- NIEHS Joins NC Oil Spill Forum
- Applying Superfund Expertise to the Gulf Oil Spill
- Grantees Host Sebelius During Gulf Visit
- 30 Year Old Research Still Resonates
- NIEHS Oil Spill Response Intensifies
- NIEHS and OSHA Lead Oil Spill Worker Safety Efforts
Press Releases
- September 19, 2017 - Gulf Spill Oil Dispersants Associated with Health Symptoms in Cleanup Workers
- April 13, 2015 - NIH Still Active in Gulf Region Five Years After Oil Spill
- April 11, 2014 - GuLF STUDY Gears Up for Second Round of Health Exams
- October 02, 2012 - Final opportunities to enroll in NIH oil spill health study
- September 24, 2012 - Media Advisory: Last chance to enroll in NIH oil spill health study
- May 22, 2012 - Surgeon General invites oil spill workers to join the NIH GuLF STUDY
- April 09, 2012 - Lead NIH scientist for GuLF STUDY available for interviews
- February 29, 2012 - More than 10,000 participants have joined the GuLF STUDY: NIH seeking thousands more oil spill workers to find potential health effects of spill
- July 07, 2011 - NIH-funded research network to explore oil spill health effects
- February 28, 2011 - NIH launches largest oil spill health study
- February 23, 2011 - Media Advisory: Largest oil spill health study to launch along Gulf Coast
- September 23, 2010 - NIEHS to Fund $36 Million in Worker Safety Training
Fact Sheets
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