Stress of oil spill still lingering in Orange Beach

By  David Ferrara - 

Councilman Jeff Silvers receives phone calls in the middle of the night. The citizens on the line tell him that BP is spraying oil dispersant over Perdido Pass “from an airplane with no lights,” he said, or that workers on boats are covertly dumping it into the water.

“I’m thinking one time I’m going to make a run back to the beach and I’m going to see it,” Silvers said. “But I just haven’t.”

Psychologists have said that a disaster like the Gulf oil spill can heighten anxiety and even divide neighbors and family. In Orange Beach, city leaders like Silvers find themselves spending time listening to citizens vent their fears and frustrations.

“What’s been happening in our community is what happened in Valdez,” Silvers said at a recent, impromptu meeting. “Friends started turning against friends. Family members started turning against family members. I’ve had family members question me.”

A frequent concern is reports and rumors of toxic dispersant in the air.

Councilwoman Pattisue Carranza, a pharmacist, said that she had seen more and more people seeking prescriptions and medications this summer for “thick throats.”

There’s something, she said, that’s “making people behave differently” and “making people cough and giving people headaches and nausea.”

Carranza said, “I don’t think it’s time to raise flags. But there’s a message out there that needs to be one of be cautiously aware of your own body. What kind of warning do we put out that’s a positive warning and not a panic warning? You want to be honest with people and tell them this is what’s going on, but you don’t want to alarm them.”

(Full article) 

 Press-Register/Bill Starling

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