Audio file not found.
Once praised, settlement to help sickened BP oil spill workers leaves most with nearly nothing
![Gerald Herbert Paul Loup IV poses for a photo in his home with his wife Sallie Loup in Hurley, Miss., Monday, Jan. 29, 2024. Thousands of ordinary people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick, including Loup, the former beach cleanup worker. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)](https://mapi.associatedpress.com/v2/items/c9e9cf8c497443548e64b849ae853140/preview/preview.jpg?s=680x)
Paul Loup IV poses for a photo in his home with his wife Sallie Loup in Hurley, Miss., Monday, Jan. 29, 2024. Thousands of ordinary people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick, including Loup, the former beach cleanup worker. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
![George Walker Iv Former boat captain John Maas poses for a portrait on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Thousands of people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick, including Maas. Attorneys familiar with the issue say he's the only one who has received a settlement after suing. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)](https://mapi.associatedpress.com/v2/items/cbe2cbcd194a4621b7a75d4110a62839/preview/preview.jpg?s=680x)
Former boat captain John Maas poses for a portrait on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Thousands of people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick, including Maas. Attorneys familiar with the issue say he's the only one who has received a settlement after suing. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
![George Walker Iv John Maas poses for a portrait on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Thousands of people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick, including Maas. Attorneys familiar with the issue say he's the only one who has received a settlement after suing. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)](https://mapi.associatedpress.com/v2/items/c89f925fc930430e9d57ef0fab0e2e40/preview/preview.jpg?s=680x)
John Maas poses for a portrait on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Thousands of people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick, including Maas. Attorneys familiar with the issue say he's the only one who has received a settlement after suing. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
![Gerald Herbert FILE - A cleanup worker picks up blobs of oil in absorbent snare on Queen Bess Island at the mouth of Barataria Bay near the Gulf of Mexico in Plaquemines Parish, La., June 4, 2010. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)](https://mapi.associatedpress.com/v2/items/b1a37806d5944d78b662fd43ae5922e4/preview/preview.jpg?s=680x)
FILE - A cleanup worker picks up blobs of oil in absorbent snare on Queen Bess Island at the mouth of Barataria Bay near the Gulf of Mexico in Plaquemines Parish, La., June 4, 2010. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
![Eric Gay FILE - Workers use absorbent pads to remove oil that has washed ashore from the Deepwater Horizon spill, June 6, 2010, in Grand Isle, La. When a deadly explosion destroyed BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, tens of thousands of ordinary people were hired to help clean up the environmental devastation. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)](https://mapi.associatedpress.com/v2/items/ec26d424d76745cc8f96e634b2ad4ed9/preview/preview.jpg?s=680x)
FILE - Workers use absorbent pads to remove oil that has washed ashore from the Deepwater Horizon spill, June 6, 2010, in Grand Isle, La. When a deadly explosion destroyed BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, tens of thousands of ordinary people were hired to help clean up the environmental devastation. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
![Gerald Herbert FILE - Oil leaks in the Gulf of Mexico southeast of Venice on Louisiana's tip, as the Deepwater Horizon oil rig burns on April 21, 2010. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)](https://mapi.associatedpress.com/v2/items/c9f0d9b02914475b850268f96d74ab29/preview/preview.jpg?s=680x)
FILE - Oil leaks in the Gulf of Mexico southeast of Venice on Louisiana's tip, as the Deepwater Horizon oil rig burns on April 21, 2010. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
![Patrick Semansky FILE - A worker shovels oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill off Fourchon Beach in Port Fourchon, La., May 24, 2010. When a deadly explosion destroyed BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, tens of thousands of ordinary people were hired to help clean up the environmental devastation. These workers were exposed to crude oil and the chemical dispersant Corexit while picking up tar balls along the shoreline, laying booms from fishing boats to soak up slicks and rescuing oil-covered birds. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)](https://mapi.associatedpress.com/v2/items/a4a600d35a1d4a9ba92ee690dc34958a/preview/preview.jpg?s=680x)
FILE - A worker shovels oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill off Fourchon Beach in Port Fourchon, La., May 24, 2010. When a deadly explosion destroyed BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, tens of thousands of ordinary people were hired to help clean up the environmental devastation. These workers were exposed to crude oil and the chemical dispersant Corexit while picking up tar balls along the shoreline, laying booms from fishing boats to soak up slicks and rescuing oil-covered birds. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
![Gerald Herbert FILE - A crew member looks at the oil slick in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig collapse, Thursday, May 6, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)](https://mapi.associatedpress.com/v2/items/ff88a1d9e86a4926a6e463c25ceda6b7/preview/preview.jpg?s=680x)
FILE - A crew member looks at the oil slick in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig collapse, Thursday, May 6, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
![Dave Martin FILE - A worker walks through the water as a berm system is constructed in the aftermath of the gulf oil spill on the northern end of the Chandeleur Islands, La., July 15, 2010. When a deadly explosion destroyed BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, tens of thousands of ordinary people were hired to help clean up the environmental devastation. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)](https://mapi.associatedpress.com/v2/items/f38501d820374934a0005706d08d753e/preview/preview.jpg?s=680x)
FILE - A worker walks through the water as a berm system is constructed in the aftermath of the gulf oil spill on the northern end of the Chandeleur Islands, La., July 15, 2010. When a deadly explosion destroyed BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, tens of thousands of ordinary people were hired to help clean up the environmental devastation. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)
![Jae C. Hong FILE - Workers head to the beach to clean up oil residue in Grand Isle, La., May 30, 2010. When a deadly explosion destroyed BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, tens of thousands of ordinary people were hired to help clean up the environmental devastation. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)](https://mapi.associatedpress.com/v2/items/81200fc45d254d999fa5e762bc605159/preview/preview.jpg?s=680x)
FILE - Workers head to the beach to clean up oil residue in Grand Isle, La., May 30, 2010. When a deadly explosion destroyed BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, tens of thousands of ordinary people were hired to help clean up the environmental devastation. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
![Patrick Semansky FILE - Workers shovel oil that washed up from the deadly explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig on Fourchon Beach in Port Fourchon, La., May 24, 2010. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)](https://mapi.associatedpress.com/v2/items/e414ac75005246cc9de0edf18a9339d2/preview/preview.jpg?s=680x)
FILE - Workers shovel oil that washed up from the deadly explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig on Fourchon Beach in Port Fourchon, La., May 24, 2010. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
![Patrick Semansky FILE - A plane drops chemicals to help disperse oil from a leaking pipeline that resulted from an explosion and collapse of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico near the coast of Louisiana, April 27, 2010. When a deadly explosion destroyed BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, tens of thousands of ordinary people were hired to help clean up the environmental devastation. These workers were exposed to crude oil and the chemical dispersant Corexit while picking up tar balls along the shoreline, laying booms from fishing boats to soak up slicks and rescuing oil-covered birds. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)](https://mapi.associatedpress.com/v2/items/236fdc5b79b9470693290a802cb01f77/preview/preview.jpg?s=680x)
FILE - A plane drops chemicals to help disperse oil from a leaking pipeline that resulted from an explosion and collapse of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico near the coast of Louisiana, April 27, 2010. When a deadly explosion destroyed BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, tens of thousands of ordinary people were hired to help clean up the environmental devastation. These workers were exposed to crude oil and the chemical dispersant Corexit while picking up tar balls along the shoreline, laying booms from fishing boats to soak up slicks and rescuing oil-covered birds. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
![Charlie Riedel FILE - A brown pelican is covered in oil on the beach in the aftermath of an oil spill at East Grand Terre Island along the Louisiana coast on June 3, 2010. When a deadly explosion destroyed BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, tens of thousands of ordinary people were hired to help clean up the environmental devastation. These workers were exposed to crude oil and the chemical dispersant Corexit while picking up tar balls along the shoreline, laying booms from fishing boats to soak up slicks and rescuing oil-covered birds. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)](https://mapi.associatedpress.com/v2/items/bf3013e88d824226b6abe80a4b7b584e/preview/preview.jpg?s=680x)
FILE - A brown pelican is covered in oil on the beach in the aftermath of an oil spill at East Grand Terre Island along the Louisiana coast on June 3, 2010. When a deadly explosion destroyed BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, tens of thousands of ordinary people were hired to help clean up the environmental devastation. These workers were exposed to crude oil and the chemical dispersant Corexit while picking up tar balls along the shoreline, laying booms from fishing boats to soak up slicks and rescuing oil-covered birds. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)