Scientists are challenging the optimistic scenario presented by a government oil spill report. A conclusion by National Event Command that most of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico had been burned, collected or vaporized has been cast into doubt by three scientific studies . Shrimpers were given the green light. Last week President Obama swam within the gulf and ate seafood with his family. 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. A study published by the American Medical Association (AMA) reports the oil spill is a long-term threat to human health and gulf seafood safety.
Government oil spill report said crisis is over
The majority of the oil leak within the Gulf of Mexico 2010 has been safely dispersed, according to government statements. The Wall Street Journal reports that the federal National Event Command said earlier this month that half of the 4.9 million gallons of oil spilled had been burned off or skimmed. Evaporation and dissolution handled an additional 25 percent. 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 might be years, they concluded, before the petrochemicals break down. The group said it was extremely hard for dissolved oil to evaporate because only oil at the surface can evaporate. Large plumes of oil are trapped in deep water.
Toxic oil plume lurks in undersea canyon
The USF team concluded that further east than previously thought a large portion of the BP oil leak has settled to the bottom of the gulf. CNN reports the USF study discovered that dispersants apparently have sent droplets of oil to the depths, where it is suspended in an undersea canyon about 40 miles offshore from the Florida panhandle. The toxic chemicals within the crude are having a profound effect on plankton and other organisms at the base of the food chain. The oil could resurface later. A UGA researcher told CNN that a third of the hydrocarbons in the form of methane and other gas emissions that remain within the water weren’t measured by the government.
Gulf seafood safety faces long term threat
The BP oil leak will affect gulf seafood safety for years as outlined by the AMA. The Sacramento Bee reports that in the short term dangerous petrochemicals resembling cigarette smoke and soot will remain within the systems of gulf shellfish. By consuming fish lower in the food chain, large game fish for instance tuna, swordfish and mackerel will accumulate high concentrations of mercury in the long term. The report said that over time pregnant women and kids may be warned by their doctors to avoid gulf seafood.
Further reading
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
