Elana Schor, who’s been doing yeoman’s work on reporting about data in the BP oil disaster, published a new piece with Greenwire and the New York Times in which she reveals that OSHA and NIOSH have access to worker health data from BP and its coverup firm, CTEH, but are so far refusing to release the data.

Earlier this month, Rep. Carolyn Maloney – one of the members of Congress who fought to protect 9/11 cleanup workers, and who is continuing that advocacy for workers cleaning up BP’s oil disaster – called on OSHA to explain how it would enforce the government’s respirator guidelines. Maloney also pressed the agency in charge of worker health and safety for more details on how it’s protecting workers in the Gulf.

CTEH is the company contracted by BP to monitor air levels as they related to recovery worker safety in the Gulf of Mexico. The firm, which has a sordid history of covering up corporate environmental disasters, just released new data with BP yesterday that shows disturbing levels of toxic dispersants in 20% of offshore recovery workers and 15% of near-shore workers. But these just aren’t any toxic dispersants. It’s the same chemical blamed for chronic health problems in Exxon Valdez recovery workers that is now poisoning at least one-fifth of BP’s offshore recovery workers.

Yesterday I went to GRITtv and spoke with host Laura Flanders and Louisiana author Jordan Flahrety about BP’s exploitation of working people in the Gulf Coast. We discussed just a few of the many problems facing fishermen, recovery workers, and residents of the Gulf that are all at the mercy of BP.

From my first day in Louisiana to report on the oil disaster in May, I heard complaints from residents and workers about BP’s restrictive hiring practices. While in general it was, and still is, difficult to get work from BP, one theme was common: many people were frustrated by BP’s drug tests. I heard several unconfirmed reports that BP had fired, in separate incidents, half of a group of fishermen, and half a group of beach recovery workers, for testing positive for marijuana.

Now Mother Jones’ Mac McClelland, in her excellent report last week from Louisiana, hints at a potentially disturbing consequence of BP’s prohibition of marijuana: alcohol abuse and domestic violence.

According to BP’s records, only two workers in the oil disaster recovery effort have reported illnesses from chemical exposure while working with oil and dispersants. That’s great news! Except for Louisiana officials say that in reality, more than 70 workers have reported chemical exposure illnesses. So what’s the deal, BP?

In a typical display of ignorance and arrogance, Chris Matthews said of the lack of volunteers in the Gulf recovery effort, “I hope it’s not the unions” preventing volunteers from helping.

After two members of Congress cited OSHA’s letter citing BP’s “general systemic failure” to protect workers, OSHA did an about-face and lined up to protect BP. What’s going on?

Alabama fishermen used a half-dozen boats to prevent access to the Mississippi Sound in an early morning blockade to protest BP’s unfair hiring practices yesterday. The fishermen, who’ve been idled by the massive ban on fishing in the oiled waters of the Gulf of Mexico, say BP is hiring far more recreational boaters than commercial fishermen in its cleanup efforts.

Tom Donohue, President of the US Chamber of Commerce, thinks BP is getting a bad rap and wants the government to lay off already. That’s the ticket. The solution to a massive failure of government regulators to enforce existing regulations is to just wait, and then “figure out what happened.” But don’t do anything once you figure out what happened! Cause that’s regulation, and that’s bad.