CHENNAI: Fifteen fishermen from nearby fishing kuppams are the heroes at Ernavoor.
Even without much protective gear, they swim into the oil sludge and ensure the boom is in place in the sea close to R K Kuppam, one of the worst hit areas in Ernavoor near North Chennai, so that the oil doesn’t spread to other parts of the coast.
They are the sole breadwinners for their families and do this work for just a paltry sum of Rs 500 per day. But what many of them were aware of the risks of coming in contact with the oil sludge. They don’t have masks, gumboots and gloves.
“We don’t want to do it. But we don’t have any alternative. If we won’t be able to clear off the spill, we won’t be able to use our fishing boats here. Even our wives are goading us to take the money,” says Ilavarasan, a fisherman from K V K Kuppam.
But Ilavarasan and his fishing friends are unaware over the long term effect it will have on their health. With no guidelines or manual on how to tackle oil spill and the protective measures to be taken for oil spill due to lack of a contingency plan by the state, nearly 1,200 workers and volunteers are exposed to major health hazard.
According to a study published in New England Journal of Medicine on Gulf Oil Spill and its impact on the workers and communities, crude oils contain over a thousand of different hydrocarbons and depending on the source of oil the vary in amounts of individual hydrocarbons and trace metal and sulfur content.
The study says that degree of which workers are exposed to contaminants depends not only on the assignment and duration of exposure but also on the use of protective equipment.
A survey of cleanup workers published by the journal in 2011 says that the workers have chemical induced symptoms like respiratory tract illnesses, throat and eye irritations, headaches, dizziness and nausea.
Since the beginning of clean-up operations, 121 tonnes of oil sludge, 65 tonnes of oil-sand mix and 72 KL of oil-water mix has been removed. Minister of State for Shipping Pon Radhakrishnan visited Ramakrishna Nagar Kuppam site.