Federal scientists say the Gulf Coast oil spill won’t contaminate Maryland’s shores or seafood — at least for now — though long-term questions linger regarding the damage done by “dispersants” pumped into ocean waters.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski and other members of Maryland’s congressional delegation on Thursday questioned scientists from the Food and Drug Administration and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration about the government’s efforts to protect Marylanders from the oil spill.
“Twenty percent of the seafood consumed in Maryland comes from the Gulf,” Mikulski said, specifically mentioning crabs and oysters. “We need to know, is that seafood safe?”
Josh Sharfstein, a scientist at the FDA, said his agency was taking a number of steps to protect all Americans from toxic seafood resulting from the Gulf Coast spill.
Sharfstein said those measures include closing off all contaminated waters to fishermen, and inspecting fish both in the ocean and in the marketplace.
“We don’t know of any food, even in the Gulf, that is being sold to people that is a problem right now,” Sharfstein said.
Scientists from NOAA agreed.
“I’m supremely confident in our ability to monitor and manage what is in the marketplace,” said Eric Schwaab, NOAA’s assistant administrator of fisheries.
The scientists were also adamant that only a “highly improbable” event would push large amounts of oil into Maryland’s coastline.
Steve Murawski, chief science adviser for NOAA Fisheries, said it was unlikely that “liquid oil” would reach Maryland’s shores. He said oil could wash up on local beaches as tar balls — largely harmless lumps of deteriorated oil.
But federal experts were unable to satisfy Mikulski’s questions about the dangers of oil “dispersants” — hundreds of thousands of gallons of chemicals that British Petroleum has pumped into the Gulf to break apart the oil.
“There is very little known about dispersants at this volume,” Mikulski said, to which the scientists agreed.
Questions surrounding the ways dispersants could damage delicate ocean ecosystems, and consequently contaminate or kill fish and other animals, remain unanswered, Murawski explained.
Mikulski is scheduled to hold a hearing on dispersants next month.
