Nearly 2 years after the
Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, more than 10,000 cleanup workers and volunteers have enrolled in the Gulf Long-term Follow-up (GuLF) STUDY, a national effort to determine whether the spill led to physical or mental health problems. The study is being conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).
"Ten thousand people have stepped forward to help find answers for their community and for the health concerns that linger after the oil spill," says Dale Sandler, chief of NIEHS's Epidemiology Branch and principal investigator of the study. But the agency wants information from more people. Individuals may be eligible for the study if they:
- are at least age 21;
- performed oil spill cleanup work for at least 1 day;
- supported the cleanup effort in some way or completed oil spill worker training.
Study participants must complete a telephone survey. Most participants also complete an in-home medical exam, and provide blood, urine and other samples. Upon completion of the medical exam, participants receive a $50 gift card.
For more information, call (855) NIH-GULF (855-644-4853) or visit the GuLF STUDY website
here.
