Page 6 - Cleanup Work News Today

News anchor scott walker who was prevented from speaking to cleanup workers will join me in a moment. you will recall that bp is trying to stop its own cleanup workers, many of them fishermen, from wearing protective gear as the executive director of the louisiana environmental action network told us this week. >> when our folks, our fishermen folks had their respirators on they were told to take them off, that they would be fired if they used them. i think that perhaps theyre afraid theyll admi...

>> what are you hearing about whether or not workers are even wearing their protective gear, are they being encouraged to wear it by bp or not? >> no, theyre not being encouraged at all. i serve on a small community foundation that has been giving emergency grants that enable local groups to purchase respirators and protective gear that are provided at no charge to people in the gulf who are involved in the clean up. what we have been told by the folks who are involved in the cleanup work is tha...

Are they being encouraged to wear it by bp or not? >> no, theyre not being encouraged at all. i serve on a small community foundation that has been giving emergency grants that enable local groups to purchase respirators and protective gear that are provided at no charge to people in the gulf who are involved in the clean up. what we have been told by the folks who are involved in the cleanup work is that when they have come to the job site wearing their respirators and protective gear that they...

Folks who go out and theyre doing the cleanup work, they come back, they feel better, and they go back again because its a choice between feeding their family and not having any money to feed their family. and theyre willing to sacrifice their health to feed their family, and i think thats tragic. >> youre group has been distributing what protective gear you have to these workers. do we know what bps reaction has been to workers showing up with their own protective gear? >> yes, im glad that you...

Doing the cleanup work, they come back, they feel better and they go back again because its a choice between feeding their family and not having any money to feed their family, and theyre willing to sacrifice their health to feed their family and i think thats tragic. >> your group has been distributing what protective gear you have to these workers. do we know what bps reaction has been to workers showing up with their own protective gear? >> yes. im glad that you brought that up. the lower mis...

Spokesperson, were doing everything we can do. >> weve mounted the largest response ever in the world here, weve already spent over 450 million dollars. were throwing every resource required at this problem and i think, id just ask people to judge us on what were doing. were not talking about limits on liability, we are he talking about doing what needs to be donements you heard that, glenn, were doing everything that we can possibly do. is that a lie? >> i would say that they probably are doing...

>> congressman jeff miller today, keith, told the locals here in pensacola, florida, that he was going to work with the other congressmen from the gulf states and try to get bp to put up $1 billion into an escrow fund to help local and state governments do the cleanup work. weve got all our governments down here strapped for money like they are all over the country, and all of a sudden theyre going to have to foot the bill for cleanup until bp putts up some money. >> i understand that you got in...

Today, keith, told the locals here in pensacola, florida, that he was going to work with the other congressmen from the gulf states and try to get bp to put up $1 billion into an escrow fund to help local and state governments do the cleanup work. weve got all our governments down here strapped for money like they are all over the country, and all of a sudden theyre going to have to foot the bill for cleanup until bp putts up some money. >> i understand that you got into a meeting that was held ...

Chronic re-oiling, oil that washes back onto the shore. and many gulf businesses are still feeling it. even though tourism here in new orleans is vibrant, its less on the shore. tourism at alabama beaches has fallen. its flat on the florida panhandle. a better picture on the louisiana coastal parishes have workers were able to make money doing cleanup work. heres what ken it feinberg, bps man in charge of the compensation fund, said last year. >> this is not about politics. this is about helping...

Tourism at alabama beaches has fallen. its flat on the florida panhandle. a better picture on the louisiana coastal parishes have workers were able to make money doing cleanup work. heres what ken it feinberg, bps man in charge of the compensation fund, said last year. >> this is not about politics. this is about helping people in the gulf. thats what this is about. im working for you, not for bp. if you file a claim with me, and the claim is eligible, and it is corroborated, you will be paid fo...