New threat to oil spill workers? Deadly snakes...

[one_voice]

Thousands of spill workers flocking to Louisiana to help clean up the soiled coastline might have more to contend with than just oil slicks and tarballs, health officials say.

There are also the snakes.

Water moccasins, copperheads, coral snakes and at least three kinds of rattlesnakes could pose threats to the unwary out-of-towners now stomping through the swamps, marshes and other coastal areas of the Pelican State, said Dr. Mark Ryan, managing director of the Louisiana Poison Center in Shreveport, La.

“We’re seeing a huge number of people who are not accustomed to it,” said Ryan, who included the warning in a health advisory this week.

So far, no oil workers have been bitten, but Ryan fears the worst in a state that sees 225 snakebites even in a normal year. Overall in the U.S., between 5,000 and 8,000 people are bitten by snakes and about a dozen die from their injuries.

*snip*

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37576973/ns/disaster_in_the_gulf/?gt1=43001




Coral snakes, water moccasins and other snakes may pose risks to oil spill workers in the swamps and marshes of Louisiana. Here, Greenpeace staff member Lindsey Allen takes a sample of water in a heavily oiled marsh near South Pass, La.

[Arctic Dave]

1. GET THESE M*THERF&CKIN SNAKES, OUT OF MY M$THERF*CKIN OIL SPILL!

Sorry, had to be done.

[GrantDem]

2. +1

[doc03]

3. That has to be one hell of a job with 90º temperatures

unbearable humidity, poisonous snakes and to top it off wearing one of those Tyvek hazmat suits.

[RZM]

5. Not to be a stickler here . . .

But the correct term would be 'venomous'. Venom is injected, while poison is secreted -- so snakes are venomous, while stuff like plants and tree frogs are poisonous. I say this with no ill will or condescension, but I can't help point but point it out (I have the same reaction when people refer to apes as 'monkeys'). :)

[Scuba]

4. More than ever, I now want Tony Hayward to help with the cleanup.