Tar Sands Oil Spill

(Don't ever forget it - to big business, you are expendable)

From Crooks and Liars

Analysis After Tar Sands Spill Finds Benzene as Residents' Health Declines

The Faulkner County Citizens Advisory Group conducted independent tests on the air and water from Lake Conway in response to the Exxon tar sands oil spill, and presented the findings during a Townhall gathering in Mayflower, Arkansas this week. Residents were alarmed by what they heard.

KTHV 11:

    John Hammons lives near an area known as "The Cove," a body of water sitting across from Lake Conway in Mayflower.

    "We can smell it. So I know it's there," Hammons said, who is concerned about his three children and wife, who is seven months pregnant.

    "She's broken out in hives, had nose bleeds, (and) respiratory problems," he explained.

    The Hammons were among a group of concerned people in the area who met for the town hall meeting.

    Chemist Wilma Subra said ExxonMobil is being attentive to those inside the Northwoods subdivision, where thousands of gallons of heavy crude oil spilled nearly one month ago, but others in the area have suffered with little attention.

    "There's a population all around that's been made very, very sick by the emissions," Subra said.

    To evaluate the situation, Subra independently analyzed air and water data captured from the Lake Conway area, claiming the carcinogen Benzene is present in the region.