Desperation: “Local economy will completely collapse” without help soon — “Going to be true devastation”

Shuckers Oyster Bar at the Wharf is not closed, but it looks like it. At noon on Monday, what should be the middle of the lunch rush, there were only two tables in the restaurant. … [Manager Teri Days] told us the restaurant has only received one check for just $1,000. She knows many other businesses are in the same fix and she said without help soon the local economy will completely collapse. “This is going to be true devastation for a large part of our community if something is not done,” she said.

ANOTHER: Florida physician refers patient to toxicologist, who concluded “symptoms are due to the elevated, abnormal levels of chemicals present in my system from the Gulf oil spill”

Okaloosa Island resident Joseph Yerkes says he recently tested positive for high levels of volatile solvents in his blood and is being treated for toxic exposure. His longtime attending physician at the Immediate Care Center in Fort Walton Beach performed the test at Yerkes’ request, after he experienced multiple symptoms related to exposure of this type, such as tiredness, lethargy, headaches, blisters, non-healing sores on his elbows and head, as well as an aggravating cough and chronic body aches. Yerkes was referred to a toxicologist following testing. The doctor gave him the sobering news. “He was very clear about his diagnosis, explaining how dangerous and damaging these chemicals can be to our bodies, and concluded all of my symptoms are due to the elevated, abnormal levels of chemicals present in my system from the Gulf oil spill,” the former Vessels of Opportunity operator, who was employed by BP, told The Sun in a recent e-mail. … Yerkes’ physician’s suggested treatment includes diet and his temporary relocation. “It’s very hard to accept the fact that I have to leave the Gulf of Mexico,” Yerkes said.

Crab containing 8,815 ppm of hydrocarbons had NO smell or sight of oil — “We were astonished there were levels like that”

Blue crab samples in the Atchafalaya Bay contained a dangerously high 8.815 mg/kg of hydrocarbons, for example, according to LEAN’s [Louisiana Environmental Action Network] reports. “When we took samples, there was no visible smell or sight of oil,” [Mary Lee Orr, executive director of LEAN] said. “We were astonished there were levels like that. You can’t eat a crab like that, with those levels of hydrocarbons.”

BP cleanup worker: “They was spraying them chemicals on us at night, while we was sleeping”