On March 3 Nicole Maurer learned of the proposed settlement between
BP and hundreds of thousands of Gulf Coast businesses and residents
harmed by its 2010 oil spill, the largest in US history.
In her cramped but immaculate trailer on a muddy back road in the small
town of Buras, Louisiana, Nicole tells me that the two years since the
tragedy began on April 20, 2010, have been “a total nightmare” for her
family. Not only has her husband William’s fishing income all but
vanished along with the shrimp he used to catch but the entire family is
plagued by persistent health problems.
For months following the onset of the disaster, she says, there was
an oil smell outside their home and “a constant cloudiness, like a haze,
but it wasn’t fog.” Her 6-year-old daughter Brooklyn’s asthma got
worse, and she now has constant upper respiratory infections. “Once it
goes away, it comes right back,” Nicole explains.
Before the spill, Elizabeth, 9, was her “well kid.” But now Elizabeth
constantly suffers from rashes, allergies, inflamed sinuses, sore
throat and an upset stomach.
Nicole stares at me and catches her breath; she apologizes for the
tears that flow down her face. “It’s a touchy subject,” she says. “They
are just tired. Tired of being sick.”
