PHOTOS: Florida law firm preserves war chest of samples from Deepwater Horizon spill
A South Florida warehouse is home to 130,000 samples of material from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. A law firm is preserving the samples for federal lawsuits against the petroleum giant.
Angela Caceres, the chief science officer at Miami's Downs Law Group, holds up a jar Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022 containing an oily cloth that was collected on a Gulf Coast shoreline as crews cleaned up beaches in the aftermath of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill. This jar is one of thousands being held in freezing temperatures to preserve them for federal lawsuits. MAX CHESNES | Times
Dylan Boigris, a partner at Miami law firm Downs Law Group, examines an oil sample Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022 at a storage facility housing more than 130,000 samples collected during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill. Boigris is seeking justice for his clients who claim in federal lawsuits that their exposure to oil during the cleanup process caused chronic diseases. MAX CHESNES | Times
Each oil sample housed at the South Florida storage facility is identified with a specific code that links to a database. Each samples’ code contains information about when, where and how they were taken during the cleanup process of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Samples, pictured here on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022, range from oily cloths to sand fouled by sludge in the aftermath of the disaster. MAX CHESNES | Times
Nearly 50 Floridians are actively suing BP for illnesses they say they developed after cleaning up the oil spill from Florida shorelines. One South Florida law firm, Downs Law Group, is housing thousands of oil samples taken from Gulf Coast beaches during the cleanup process. The samples, seen here on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022, could be used in ongoing litigation against the oil giant. MAX CHESNES | Times
One of the core arguments from the Miami-based Downs Law Group is that BP used flawed data when analyzing oil samples, seen here on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022, collected in the aftermath of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The law firm is representing nearly 50 Floridians who claim in federal lawsuits that they developed illnesses because of their exposure to oil when they were employed as cleanup workers. MAX CHESNES | Times
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Thousands of oil samples line the walls of a South Florida storage facility on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022, including soiled clothes collected from the shorelines of Gulf Coast communities. Lawyers are housing the samples in freezing temperatures as lawsuits against BP after the 2010 oil spill unfold in federal court. MAX CHESNES | Times
Rows of dirty clothes and spoiled sand line the walls of a secret storage facility in South Florida, seen here on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022, where thousands of samples from the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill cleanup are currently being housed for ongoing federal lawsuits. MAX CHESNES | Times
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/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/NZTRN6G5LBEMZFDY3LR2V7RETI.jpg "Angela Caceres, the chief science officer at Miami's Downs Law Group, holds up a jar Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022 containing an oily cloth that was collected on a Gulf Coast shoreline as crews cleaned up beaches in the aftermath of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill. This jar is one of thousands being held in freezing temperatures to preserve them for federal lawsuits.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/FKLGTV64SJBK5ASCBJVM3PT7D4.jpg "Dylan Boigris, a partner at Miami law firm Downs Law Group, examines an oil sample Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022 at a storage facility housing more than 130,000 samples collected during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill. Boigris is seeking justice for his clients who claim in federal lawsuits that their exposure to oil during the cleanup process caused chronic diseases.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/2OFPQAQLUZGPNE27Z6VUX2ZKQI.jpg "Each oil sample housed at the South Florida storage facility is identified with a specific code that links to a database. Each samples’ code contains information about when, where and how they were taken during the cleanup process of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Samples, pictured here on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022, range from oily cloths to sand fouled by sludge in the aftermath of the disaster.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/AVP2T2OWYZETBE3B4FIB2V3IOQ.jpg "Nearly 50 Floridians are actively suing BP for illnesses they say they developed after cleaning up the oil spill from Florida shorelines. One South Florida law firm, Downs Law Group, is housing thousands of oil samples taken from Gulf Coast beaches during the cleanup process. The samples, seen here on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022, could be used in ongoing litigation against the oil giant.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/UHG4ABVT4VHXZICKB4XWTR7QFU.jpg "One of the core arguments from the Miami-based Downs Law Group is that BP used flawed data when analyzing oil samples, seen here on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022, collected in the aftermath of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The law firm is representing nearly 50 Floridians who claim in federal lawsuits that they developed illnesses because of their exposure to oil when they were employed as cleanup workers.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/FLOR2Q6LENF77IPGEQJ4A3M2C4.jpg "Thousands of oil samples line the walls of a South Florida storage facility on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022, including soiled clothes collected from the shorelines of Gulf Coast communities. Lawyers are housing the samples in freezing temperatures as lawsuits against BP after the 2010 oil spill unfold in federal court.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/WGOWXTXFAVGJVKLPHWFE3CJFB4.jpg "Rows of dirty clothes and spoiled sand line the walls of a secret storage facility in South Florida, seen here on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022, where thousands of samples from the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill cleanup are currently being housed for ongoing federal lawsuits.")
/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/tbt/bfca9102-6591-4891-9560-58f0928e710c.png "Max Chesnes - Environment Reporter")
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