Article archive / August 1, 2010
Originally published: . Volume 1, No. 12. Source pages: 1, 4.
In a July 29th letter, Alan Levine, outgoing Secretary for LA’s Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH), again requested aid from BP for present and expected mental health issues resulting from the oil spill.
Psychologist Dr. Anthony Speier, Deputy Assistant Secretary at DHH, told the Times, “We have had 11,000 contacts and 23,000 crisis counseling interventions.” He said that the kinds of issues seen are the increased frustrations and weariness among people “who have a tradition of living off the land.” And he noted, “There is an increased worry and anxiety among those who can’t find jobs, and concern over the security of their future, and loss of a way of life.” He explained the agency is seeing more stress, anxiety, more drinking, and is concerned about the potential for more domestic violence.
Secretary Levine had also written to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in July to highlight “an unprecedented behavioral health crisis” due to the oil release. He asked for her help because BP had ignored his requests for aid. He cited studies from the Valdez spill that showed “the long-lasting psychological impact of this type of technological disaster, particularly on those who rely on the ecosystem for their livelihoods…” He wrote that mental health impacts could persist 10 years after the spill, based on the Valdez experience.
Dr. Speier told the Times, “People along the coast are feeling that they haven’t fully recovered from Katrina,” and this contributes to difficulties coping.
Secretary Levine had written in one request that Louisiana’s citizens are suffering from “the compounding effects of the disasters they have faced.” And he warned of the “insidious” effect on the mental health of children, from the stress faced by parents.
A July 19 review by Moody’s Analytics estimates that the job loss across the coast will be 17,000 jobs. Louisiana will likely be one of the hardest hit, due to its fishing and aquaculture, as well as offshore drilling that is seeing a decline.
Dr. Speier was a contributing author to Lifespan Perspectives on Natural Disasters, Coping with Katrina, Rita, and Other Storms, edited by Dr. Katie Cherry.
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