The GuLF Study is a long-term (10+year) follow-up of a sensitive population of 32,608 workers who were involved with the oil spill cleanup after the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in

Social And Scientific Systems, Inc., Silver Spring MD

Investigators

Abstract

The GuLF Study is a long-term (10+year) follow-up of a sensitive population of 32,608 workers who were involved with the oil spill cleanup after the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in Apr 2010. Enrolling and maintaining the GuLF cohort has been and remains difficult in this underemployed, now somewhat scattered population which has in recent years experienced Hurricane Katrina and then Gulf Oil spill damage with concomitant loss of life, livelihood, homes, employment, and income. The project has been conducted as SP 6 (WA44 under the NIEHS Clinical Support Services contract (HHS N291 2005 55553) which ends Sep 2015. The new Clinical Support Services contract will not include GuLF. The long-term plan is for the GuLF project to transition to the new Support Services for Epidemiology contract (anticipated award Apr-Jun 2016), with an interim transition of GuLF activities to the 12-month JOFOC extension of the Support Services for Epidemiology Contract (HHS N291 2005 55546). The following 3 non-severable elements of the GuLF study are at a vulnerable stage of development: DNA extraction, Telephone follow-up, Biomedical Surveillance Clinic exam. GuLF DNA extraction, a 12-month project with a budget of $676,811, has just begun (Nov 2014 subcontract at Bioserve) after numerous delays in the selection of sources for the work, as well as complications of decision-making by NIEHS investigators requiring concurrence by GuLF study?s outside Scientific Advisory Board. With an elaborate and tightly-run program of specimen ?pulls? at the NIEHS biorepository, coupled with DNA extraction batches of 2,500 aliquots (of 500 participants) every 2 weeks, it is projected that GuLF DNA extraction will be complete in Dec 2015. GuLF Study 1st Telephone follow-up, with a budget $660,090, began in May 2014; its projected completion date is Dec 2015. As of Dec 2014, 18,300 participants (of 32,608) had completed the 1st Telephone Follow-up interviews, which include a component of Mental Health Surveillance. GuLF Study Biomedical Surveillance clinic exams, an 18-month effort with a budget of $4,317,171, got a late start owing to delays in local clinic staffing, training, and expansion of clinic visit cachement zones as requested by the GuLF outside Scientific Advisory Board. Clinic visits began in Aug 2014, rollout activities are complete and Clinic visits (including a Mental Health Surveillance component) were fully operational in Nov 2014; completion of the project is projected for Dec 2015 - Feb 2016.