"Nearly a decade of BP-funded research has uncovered a laundry list of potential health effects resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, including possible links between obesity and dispersants used to break up the oil; the discovery of dangerous bacteria in tar balls still washing up on Gulf beaches; and a new understanding of the links between disasters and the mental health problems of both fishers and oilfield workers.

The research is summarized in a review article published in the American Geophysical Union’s GeoHealth journal in October, authored by researchers at the College of Charleston, the University of Maryland, and Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health.

The article describes the findings of more than 32 peer-reviewed scientific papers. Those papers outline the results of research paid for with grants from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, created in May 2010 to dole out $500 million in BP settlement money over 10 years."

Mark Schleifstein reports for the New Orleans Times-Picayune January 2, 2020. [2]