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As countless tar balls washed ashore on a beach along Alabama's Gulf Coast, cleanup workers sat and watched because they didn't have the proper plastic covers to protect their shoes. Elsewhere, a crew using shovels and garden rakes worked for hours on a long stretch of sand that a machine could have cleaned in minutes.

Almost two months after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, shortages of government-required protective gear and cleaning equipment are slowing work to remove the sticky mess and keep beaches and marshes along the Gulf Coast safe and oil-free.

BP says it's doing all it can to keep supplies stocked and has had to turn to foreign companies for help. "But with demand so high for everything from plastic gloves, to oil-blocking booms and sand-sifting machines, finding enough items to outfit workers and protect the coast is an unending task."

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And now, many fishermen, already out of work since the federal government issued a ten-day ban on commercial and recreational fishing starting last Friday, are signing up for paid volunteer work to help BP with its cleanup efforts. Fishermen with boats are being paid nominal fees to ferry materials to and from shore and load the gigantic plastic containment booms that are supposed to keep oil from spreading further inland.

“We understand that the fishermen who are working with this cleanup are not being provided with any respiratory masks or anything to protect their lungs,” said Paul Orr, with Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper. Orr said that the crude oil that is spilling from 5,000 feet under the water contains “volatiles” like benzene and toluene, chemicals that can lead to respiratory irritation, permanent brain damage, memory loss, leukemia.

But fishermen are desperate for work, and BP knows it. This weekend, after being pressured in court, BP was forced to retract large portions of an agreement it forced cleanup volunteers to sign that would indemnify it against legal action if workers were injured.

BP's volunteer agreement also forbade workers from talking about the clean-up efforts without first getting approval from the company and demanded 30 days notice before anyone tried to bring legal action against the company. BP also tried to force volunteers to agree that if people were injured or boats or other equipment got damaged, the volunteers' own insurance, and not BP, would be responsible for covering all damages.

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Fishermen who’ve been hired to do cleanup and containment work in BP’s Gulf Coast oil spill have been told they would be fired for using their own respirators or safety equipment that wasn’t provided by BP.

“It appears that, despite the obvious potential for exposure to respiratory toxins, BP does not consider respiratory protection necessary equipment,” said Paul Orr, Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper in LEAN’s statement. “And even so to prevent the fishermen from using their own respiratory protection if they chose to do so is deeply troubling.”

This news comes on the heels of reports last week that ten cleanup workers had to be hospitalized after reporting dizziness, nausea and difficulty breathing. The news prompted the Coast Guard to demand 125 commercial fishing boats participating in containment work to return to shore.

Hundreds of fishermen, already risking their own health and using their own boats to help ferry materials and place containment booms to stem the oil's spread, had won a restraining order earlier in May against BP ordering the company to provide proper haz-mat training and safety gear to workers when it was clear that workers were not receiving either.

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Hippie Operative Nikovich Nikita Nicovna Talibani,
signing off


To our President: “Mr. President, you're a god damn, mother fucking liar. Fuck you, you cock sucking community activist piece of shit.... oh, go fuck yourself, Mr. President” ...Raptor

To Anthony, unquestionably the most civil person on this forum: “Go fuck yourself. On this matter, make no mistake. I want you to go fuck yourself long and hard, as well as anyone who agrees with you. I got no use for you. ...Raptor

To Frem: “You miserable piece of shit.” ...Raptor

To Niki: “My guess is it won't just be your ugly face you dislike.....Well, it's true......if you had a soul.” ...Raptor

To Kwicko:" You're the putrid slime which oozes between troll's toes, you're so low.” ...Raptor

...Remember, remember, the ugliest member...