from
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100602/ts_ynews/ynews_ts2365A Louisiana fishermen who fell ill and had to be hospitalized after working on BP's Gulf oil cleanup crew — filed a restraining order against the oil giant. The order demanded that the company cease spraying dispersants into the Gulf unless BP managers also provide "appropriate personal protective equipment," and cease alleged harassment campaigns and termination threats targeting workers who chose to wear their own protective masks.
Attorneys for BP have now filed a motion to block the restraining order. In a 12-page response obtained by Yahoo! News, the attorneys argue that even though "Mr. Wunstell claims personal injuries from exposure to a dispersant, he was neither handling the dispersant nor in the immediate vicinity of it." BP's legal team contends that "dispersant use has been specifically approved by both the Coast Guard and EPA" — and that it would be "counterproductive to interfere with remedies selected or approved by EPA while a cleanup effort is underway."
BP's attorneys also suggest that the federal authorities overseeing the Gulf spill would be implicated in any finding for Wunstell: "Any injunctive relief against the BP defendants would inherently also operate against the federal decision-makers and executive branch officials."
. . .
BP officials have previously asserted that the air in the area is safe and that workers therefore don't need to use masks or respirators. BP has also vaguely denied threatening to fire anyone choosing to use masks or other protective gear.
It is sad that there are workers going to court to have the right to wear their own protective gear.
This is the first case so far where BP has responded and we see what BP's stance is going to be in any case filed against them: The US gov't is our partner in crime.