Scientists are challenging the optimistic scenario presented by a government oil leak report. Three reports cast serious doubt on the conclusion by National Incident Command that nearly 3 quarters of the oil had been collected, burned or evaporated . Shrimpers were given the green light. The President and his family swam within the gulf and ate seafood last week. But a University of Georgia (UGA) study estimates that 3 quarters of the oil hasn’t been recovered and remains a long-term threat to the ecosystem. On the sea floor, a huge toxic oil plume was detected by University of South Florida (USF) scientists. The oil leak is a long-term threat to human health and gulf seafood safety in a study released by the American Medical Association (AMA).
Impact is minimal in government oil spill report
Official statements released by the administration declare that the majority of the BP oil leak has been dispersed to safe levels. The Wall Street Journal reports the federal National Incident Command said earlier this month that half of the 4.9 million gallons of oil spilled had been burned off or skimmed. An additional 25 percent had either dissolved or evaporated. Up to 79 percent of the oil and its toxic byproducts remain under the sea, said UGA researchers at the forefront of investigating underwater oil plumes created by the oil spill. It could be years, they concluded, before the petrochemicals break down. The obvious fact that oil beneath the surface can’t evaporate was pointed out by the scientists. Throughout the spill area, large oil plumes are trapped within the depths.
Deepwater canyon holds massive oil plume
Further east than previously thought, the USF team concluded that a major portion of the BP oil leak has sunk to the sea floor. CNN reports that original findings from USF conclude that dispersants may have sent droplets of crude to the ocean floor, where it hovers near the bottom of an undersea canyon within 40 miles of the Florida Panhandle. Organisms such as plankton at the bottom of the food chain are reacting strongly to the toxic chemicals within the oil. It is possible the oil could return to the surface. A UGA scientist told CNN that methane and other gases-about a third of the total hydrocarbons within the spill, remain in the water and weren’t documented in the government report.
Gulf seafood safety faces long term threat
The AMA insists that gulf seafood safety could be affected for years by the BP oil leak. In the short term, the Sacramento Bee reports that gulf shellfish will retain dangerous petrochemicals likened to cigarette smoke and soot. Longer term, mercury consumed by fish lower in the food chain will concentrate in big game fish for instance tuna, swordfish and mackerel. The report said that over time pregnant women and kids may be warned by their doctors to stay away from gulf seafood.
Wall Street Journal
online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704868604575434074237252604.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLETopStories
CNN
cnn.com/2010/US/08/17/gulf.oil.disaster/index.html?npt=NP1
Sacramento Bee
sacbee.com/2010/08/17/2963788/gulf-oil-spill-still-a-threat.html
