Oil spills do, indeed, have physical and psychological effects on communities. Unfortunately, according to Dr. Richard Powers, Director of the Alabama Department of Mental Health, there is still a lot unknown about the natural history of the consequences due to oil spills.

Still, he knows the effects are there.

“We know that there have been 38 major spills, but few of them have any really substantial data on biomedical aspects of what happens,” Powers said.

According to Powers, most of the data that is currently available indicates that there are some health issues, especially with the people who work on the clean up of oil spills. As for the psychological aspect of the spills, one report published indicated that the psychological aftermath may be the same, if not greater, than with a natural disaster.

Powers also said that at no time has Ken Feinberg or anyone associated with the claims process contacted him to express any interest in the nature of mental health problems as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Powers said that since the beginning of the crisis, the Department of Mental Health has been particularly interested in the effects on children and families.

“Studies show that kids take this hard. If you walked a mile in the shoes of a 10-year-old kid in Baldwin County, his life is fine, he is fishing and swimming, then all of a sudden all he sees on the media is this contamination. If you look at the data, there was a dramatic change in their lifestyle. They couldn’t fish. They couldn’t swim. Add to that the economic distress that their parents are receiving, and in addition, as the children start to leave the school system because their family was economically displaced, they start losing their friends. If you are 10 years old and that is your world, think of the impact that it has on you as an individual.”

Powers said the increased number of calls going out to law enforcement due to stresses on families does not surprise experts.

Data that was received indicated to experts that there would be a psychological aftermath, but Powers said it is likely that we are not past the worst part.

“I am really concerned that our Project Rebound telephone lines are actually seeing an upswing. Last month we handled about 190 calls, and so far this month, and the month is not over, we have handled more than 500 calls.”

It appears, also, the nature of the calls coming in are changing as well. Early on, Powers said that it was mostly women calling. Now, it is men calling, which shows an increase in economic distress.

It is likely that tax season is aiding in increasing economic anxiety.

Powers said, based on the best available published data, he anticipates that the long-term psychological aftermath will last at least another year and that an increase in demand for additional mental health services will continue in the area.