Gulf Seafood Gets Chemically Tested for Oil, Not Dispersant

[ensho]

http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/gulf-seafood-gets-chemically-tested-for-oil-not-dispersant


NOAA, the FDA and the Gulf states have been rigorously testing <1> Gulf seafood for oil—doing smell tests <2> with teams of human sniffers, and performing chemical tests for the harmful polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, found naturally in crude oil.

But they’re not chemically testing—at least, not yet—for the presence of oil dispersant. BP has thus far applied more than 1.7 million gallons <3> of one chemical dispersant, Corexit, to the Gulf. (The lack of dispersant testing for seafood has been mentioned by The Palm Beach Post <4> and CNN <5>, but we first noticed toward the end of this Los Angeles Times piece <6>.)

Both the FDA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say that dispersant in seafood isn’t the primary concern—it’s oil, because the oil is more likely to be found in the flesh of the fish. Teams of scientists--whose noses are believed to be sensitive enough to sniff out oil--are also trained to detect the smell of dispersant, but the chemical testing is limited to crude oil hydrocarbons.

“There is, however, work being done here to develop testing for dispersant. That’s ongoing,” said Monica Allen, a spokeswoman with the National Marine Fisheries Service, a division of NOAA.
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is this still 2010? the best we can do is a nose? and "ongoing". how long is ongoing? our scientists can't think fast?

is any of this believable?

and why the hell isn't the govt. advising pregnant women and children to leave the toxic areas?

[FirstLight]

1. just WRONG...

there's no excuse for the lack of real testing and health safety measures...


I fear we will be seeing the ramifications for decades to come (if we last that long)

[ensho]

2. if we last it will be without eating anything that comes out of the Gulf

nobody wants me to say that but what is, is.

the dispersements have made small bits of oil go everywhere. spread out everywhere.

[FirstLight]

3. wish i could K&R +10000!

WHERE is the real reporting? and true, why are there not being warnings issued for elderly, children and pregnant women?

...and how do we know where something is fished from? Honestly, I was never a big seafood eater, but that's IT for me. I used to love shrimp too, but don;t trust it now, even if it is Gorton's frozen crap. nope.

I guess I can trust a trout I pull out of the Lake myself up here in the Sierras...but wait, did you know the higs sierras fish have been tested and found HIGHER levels of mercury? But there's no Fish & Game notice to warn us....

[Johonny]

4. That's a rather nice sourced article

all your questions are basically answered in the links within it. I enjoy the last line best.

that said, there’s no need for hysteria but it’s good to be aware of unanswered questions

[ensho]

5. I'm bringing this thread back to pg. 1 as I'm still outraged at the nose test

I wish some background info could be brought up on all this.

how many inspectors have been taught the nose test?

how long in minutes can a nose do this work before it breaks down? we know dogs noses need a rest.

where are these seafood checking stations? how many are there?

who OKed the nose test?

this all sounds like a big scam and its the Gulf seafood eaters that get the short end of the stick and the illness and possible death.

and back to the pregnant women and children warning. where is the govt. on this? pregnant women and children should not be living in this toxic mess and hope to stay well.

[rucky]

6. I was at a Japanese restaurant the other day, and on the menu...

all the shrimp dishes were described as "Gulf Shrimp". I made a comment on it, then my mother in law asked the waitress if the shrimp still came from the Gulf and if it was okay to eat. The waitress said it was "supplier certified" and acted like it was the most ridiculous thing she ever heard of to even ask that question. Needless to say, nobody ordered the shrimp.

A few minutes later we hear another table ask the same question, and the waitress had the same reaction.

WTF is up with people acting so arrogantly when people bring up legitimate concerns? I guess the restaurant learned a few PR tricks from BP and Apple.