Cherokee CRC is doing its part in helping to clean up the worst oil spill in American history, currently happening in the Gulf of Mexico.

About 75 Cherokee citizens have been trained and certified as safety monitors and 13 have been supervising workers on small boats laying oil booms, which are in place to keep oil from coming ashore.

“Cherokee CRC has been in the environmental and consulting business for 22 years, and this is one of the most important projects we’ve ever worked on,” said Cheryl Cohenour, President of Cherokee CRC, a Tulsa-based environmental company owned by the Cherokee Nation. “Containing a disaster of this proportion is going to require a tremendous amount of time from a lot of very skilled individuals, and we’re honored to be a part of that process.”

Workers will be assigned 12 hour shifts around the clock, seven days a week to help contain the oil leaking from the sunken Deepwater Horizon oil rig. Only about 500 workers were initially needed for the cleanup job, but that number has now risen to four or five thousand. Cherokee CRC employees have been deployed to areas on the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

“The working area can be dangerous, so all of our employees have received extensive training in safety and environmental risks,” said Dwayne Beavers, Vice President of Operations. “It’s a big job and I expect we will be working in the Gulf of Mexico for many months to come.”