BP gusher left deep sea toxic for a time, study finds, ScienceNews Magazine Web Edition, November 1, 2010:
Explains [Biological oceanographer Steven Lohrenz of the University of Southern Mississippi at the Stennis Space Center], “190 [ppb of total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)] is considered pretty toxic”...
Although the university scientists had known the BP oil would contain the PAHs, “we weren’t sure, quite honestly, that we would see anything substantial,” Lohrenz concedes. In fact, his team uncovered a PAH bonanza — both in terms of the pollutants’ concentrations and their persistence over time and space.
Lohrenz also noted:
"PAHs were going to be critical to understanding the ecological impacts of this event... These are some of the most toxic components in oil.”
- ‘Project Deep Spill’: Feds had deep water ‘blowout’ 10 years ago — Found rising oil ‘strips’ out some of most toxic compounds which remain in water column (PHOTOS & VIDEO)
- Scientists: Acceptable levels of toxic PAH in the Gulf raised simply for the BP disaster
- Toxic PAHs “have a shelf life of up to 50 YEARS”
- “Largest PAH change I’ve seen” in career — Almost all of most toxic compounds showed a 4000% increase “of what would enter into an organism”
- OPAHs form when PAHs degrade — Scientists have “GREAT CONCERN” because “PERSISTENT” and “more mobile”… Dispersant + UV rays in Gulf = risk of even more OPAHs
- ALL NINE Florida shrimp samples show @ 28 to 31 ppm PAHs, about 30 TIMES more than samples from other from Gulf — FDA officials “NOT concerned”
- “A failed year classes” of shrimp or menhaden “could be catastrophic” — 1 ppb of PAHs damaged fish eggs
- THREE different doctors find PAHs, heavy metals, arsenic in BLOOD of Gulf Coast residents, some are “REALLY INLAND” (AUDIO)
- FDA admits NO testing for MORE TOXIC bioaccumulating metabolites of PAHs in food supply (VIDEO)
Alaska
“They found bad things happening to salmon & herring at 1 ppb of PAH” … “At 19 ppb, They found you would kill half of the exposed population.”