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Gulf Oil Spill Response Efforts

Programs & Initiatives

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health, activated programs throughout the institute to provide timely and responsive services following the Deepwater Horizon Gulf oil spill.

• NIEHS Continues Response to Gulf Oil Spill  (367KB)
• Safety Training  - Within days of the explosion, the NIEHS Worker Education & Training Program facilitated safety training for more than 100,000 cleanup workers.
• GuLF STUDY ("/Rhythmyx/assembler/render?sys_contentid=6846&sys_revision=1&sys_variantid=639&sys_context=0&sys_authtype=0&sys_siteid=&sys_folderid=" sys_dependentvariantid="639" sys_dependentid="6846" inlinetype="rxhyperlink" rxinlineslot="103" sys_dependentid="6846" sys_siteid="" sys_folderid="") - The NIEHS Epidemiology Program is heading the on the long-term health effects of the oil spill. On June 15, NIH Director Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D., announced an investment of $10 million to support the initial stages of the NIEHS’ launch of this important research.
• Toxicology Research - NIEHS' National Toxicology Program, working together with Federal partners ("/Rhythmyx/assembler/render?sys_contentid=6616&sys_revision=3&sys_variantid=639&sys_context=0&sys_authtype=0&sys_siteid=&sys_folderid=" sys_dependentvariantid="639" sys_dependentid="6616" inlinetype="rxhyperlink" rxinlineslot="103" sys_dependentid="6616" sys_siteid="" sys_folderid=""), is conducting studies to better understand the chemistry, biological fate, and toxicological effects of crude oil and dispersant components and breakdown products.
• Deepwater Horizon Research Consortia ("/Rhythmyx/assembler/render?sys_contentid=3984&sys_revision=4&sys_variantid=639&sys_context=0&sys_authtype=0&sys_siteid=&sys_folderid=" sys_dependentvariantid="639" sys_dependentid="3984" inlinetype="rxhyperlink" rxinlineslot="103" sys_dependentid="3984" sys_siteid="" sys_folderid="") - The NIEHS will fund grants for researcher-community partnerships to address the needs of affected communities.
• Other Grantee Research ("/Rhythmyx/assembler/render?sys_contentid=6663&sys_revision=1&sys_variantid=639&sys_context=0&sys_authtype=0&sys_siteid=&sys_folderid=" sys_dependentvariantid="639" sys_dependentid="6663" inlinetype="rxhyperlink" rxinlineslot="103" sys_dependentid="6663" sys_siteid="" sys_folderid="") - The NIEHS grants program currently supports research and outreach efforts on the health effects of exposure to oil and dispersants.
• The NIEHS has hosted a series of community forums, stakeholder visits, webinars and instructional meetings throughout the 5-state Gulf region in order to promote awareness, participation and coordination for all these programs among local residents, state and local health departments, regional universities and researchers, and federal agency partners.

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