Oil Spill Air Pollution Possible Remedy: Portable Air Purifier

So, now on to some helpful information for Gulf Coast residents. If you have asthma, as I do, if you have children, if you are pregnant, or if you are an older person, you may be at high risk from the air born toxins brought in on the wind from the Gulf of Mexico.  Read more on the health problems at:
Crude Oil Hazards

I am experiencing more difficulty breathing since the oil spill aerosolized the toxic by products of crude oil. The EPA is monitoring air quality on the Gulf Coast and consistently reports air quality is "Good". Good according to what standard?

I am having more asthma attacks since the oil spill. Nothing else in my environment is changed, I am doing nothing differently. I think this health problem is caused by the oil spill.

A temporary alleviation to my increased respiratory problems came after researching home air purifiers. An air purifier with a HEPA filter, a carbon filter, and a CPZ filter seems to be the best bet for reducing indoor air contamination from the air born toxins due to the oil spill.

On an emergency basis, I purchased this combination air purifier - a Honeywell F113C6009-at amazon.com.

The C part is important: the CPZ filter can filter out gas and VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds.) This is not a recommendation for this particular unit. There are other manufacturers of similar portable air purifiers.

The recommendation is to stay indoors, keep all windows and doors closed, run the air purifier 24/7, and run the AC. Keep the AC filter(s) clean. I am cleaning the filters every day. By the way, residents with HVAC systems may be able to find similar filters.

I spoke with the manufacturer rep about this unit. He says that the unit has never been tested for this kind of situation. So, they do not know if it will work to filter out air born toxins from the oil spill. The rep suggested that an air purifier with a HEPA filter alone may work, as well.

The air purifier is helping. I do not know if there is any real protection from the air born toxins from the oil spill, but for now, I can literally breathe easier. While I cry.

Pensacola Gulf Coast Oil Spill

I live and breathe in Pensacola, Florida, USA.

When life got too hard, I use to be able to pack up my little bits and pieces for the beach, head out, then gather strength from the beautiful Gulf of Mexico.

Now, I dread seeing dead dolphins, pelicans, or some other doomed creature, laying awash with oil sludge, like this photo on Elmer's Island, LA from  A.J. Sisco/ The Times-Picayune:

The day the Deepwater Horizon oil well began gushing petroleum toxins into the Gulf of Mexico, I stopped going to the beach.

The shock of this unimaginable disaster is wearing off. Now I am deeply angry. How could human greed, arrogance, and stupidity be allowed to rule the day? The day that we went too far.

Just because we can think of something to do, does not mean we should go ahead and do it. So many of our most ghastly mistakes fall into this category. We will have to evolve into more cognisant creatures or we are going to kill the entire planet.