Pulmonary Specialist: “Never seen such enormous amounts of exposure”; Swimming in Gulf waters can cause “respiratory failure”

Potential Health Effects of Oil Spill, KRIV Channel 26 Houston (Fox), June 22, 2010:

And at hospitals in Louisiana, doctors and nurses are manning decontamination tents.

“We usually get a phone call ahead of time when patients are coming in, who have been exposed to some sort of chemical. whether it be from the oil spill or something else. We wash them off to be safe.”

As doctors on the ground deal with a first-of-its-kind problem, other medical experts are meeting with scientists at the request of the Department of Health and Human Services. ..

Dr. Harish Seethamraju is a pulmonary specialist at Methodist Hospital in Houston.

Seethamraju says potential problems include wheezing and asthma, but that’s not all. “It they take a swim in these waters, the toxic chemicals can cause pneumonia and respiratory failure.” …

“Nobody has experience with that,” said Seethamraju. “We have never seen such enormous amounts of exposure.”

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