"According to some Mantuans, the oil that invaded their neighborhood brought something more nefarious than a stench and a big hassle—it brought disease. Although there is no hard evidence to support their claims, there is a growing file of anecdotage: At least 16 current and former residents link their bouts with cancer to Star's leaky holding tank. Thirteen women in the community blame the poison for birth defects in their newborn babies. Cardiologist Dr. James Lamberti treated so many Mantuans for shortness of breath that he offered a free health screening to hundreds of community residents. Around 30 percent of the patients he screened showed symptoms of asthma, a rate several times the national average.
It's all a big coincidence, according to a study performed by a research panel operating under the auspices of the Virginia Department of Health (Lamberti was excluded from participating in the study; he declined several interview requests for this story). The state-chartered study, which was released this past January, found no link between the spill and the rash of ailments among Mantuans. "There is no current or likely future public health threat from human exposure to the petroleum hydrocarbons from the plume," the researchers concluded. They went on to recommend, bizarrely, "against conducting any new health study to monitor" the impact of the spill. The recommendation hardly surprised Mantua residents, since Star paid for the study."
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/11474/crude-awakening