Thousands of samples from the 2010 BP oil spill are inside a South Florida warehouse. NBC 6 Investigators were granted exclusive access and explain why some say they could lead to answers. Willard Shepard reports
It’s been nearly 13 years since one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history: the BP oil spill.
The Deepwater Horizon explosion killed 11 workers, devastated wildlife and Florida’s economy.
Many who worked on the cleanup efforts have since taken legal action alleging they were exposed to harmful chemicals that made them sick.
NBC 6 Investigators were granted exclusive access to a secret location attorneys said could lead to some answers.
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It’s a subzero room inside a South Florida warehouse filled with about 120,000 samples taken following the disaster.
“You are going to see a combination of water samples, sand, beach samples,” said attorney Dylan Boigris. “Even samples from the PPE workers were wearing.”
His law firm is representing at least 150 people who have filed lawsuits against BP, including Florida resident Vincent Culliver.
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“I was in Grand Isle, Louisiana, during the oil spill, cleaning up vessels and booms,” he said during an exclusive interview with NBC 6.
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill sent over $3 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, according to the EPA.
Culliver said his job was to clean boating equipment used to soak up the oil.
“We had to decontaminate the boom from the oil into a swimming pool of contaminated water,” he said.
But one day, Culliver said he fell into that pool.
“One of the pallets broke. When it broke, I fell back and my back hit the back of the pallet. I'm lying in this stuff. I won't move because of my back. I'm screaming my back,” he said.
Culliver said his back got better but a few years ago, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
“Discussing prostate cancer for the first time with my doctor was devastating. I just got married. I just got married,” he said.
In a federal lawsuit, Culliver alleged “the exposure during the time he worked as a Clean-Up Worker for the Oil Spill was a substantial contributing cause (of Culliver’s cancer).”
“Our lives changed that day. Our lives changed that day,” Culliver said while fighting back tears.
“This fight is still ongoing, and the fight is particularly for the people who were cleaning up BP's mess and for the people who were in the communities BP contaminated their water,” Boigris said. “They need to check with their physicians to understand if they have been impacted by the oil spill in any way.”
Boigris said the subzero room is holding evidence that could be presented in court. His law firm took control of the samples and moved them from Colorado to Florida after the initial BP litigation.
Boigris said they have experts running their own tests.
“What we can now do is take these samples and run our own independent analytical methods with our own independent laboratories and make sure that BP did exactly what they needed to detect the full extent of contamination and toxicity that the communities were exposed to,” he said.
BP’s attorney told NBC 6 the company doesn’t comment on pending litigation. But in court filings, BP denied the allegation concerning Culliver's prostate cancer, just acknowledging he performed cleanup work as an employee for one or more third parties. The company also denied any responsibility.
BP presented 22 defenses claiming in part, “one or more superseding and/or intervening causes - such as a preexisting medical condition or conditions preclude any finding of liability for damages on the part of the BP parties,” and that Culliver’s alleged injuries were caused by his “own negligence and recovery is thus barred.”
Culliver told NBC 6 that’s not the case and he was a healthy man before. After his first diagnosis, Culliver says the cancer came back and he’s currently undergoing treatment.
“I have these choices no man wants to live with, so I had to really get with God and my wife,” he said.
There have been several studies looking into the potential health impact on cleanup workers but NBC 6 couldn’t find any study looking specifically into the link to prostate cancer, which it’s the second most common form of cancer among men in the United States, according to the CDC.
BP entered a major settlement over medical claims years ago. But since, other cleanup workers have filed lawsuits claiming they developed health conditions afterward. Some cases have been dismissed for insufficient evidence.
Culliver’s case is moving through the court system.
