FloridaTreeHugger

University of Georgia scientists have written a report disputing the

estimate put out by the Joint Information Center - a collaboration

between the federal government and B-P - that only 25 percent of the

spilled oil remains in the Gulf. Marine Sciences professor Samantha

Joye says one major misconception is that the oil that has dissolved into

water is gone.

She says the amount biodegraded and the rate of biodegradation are

simply not known.

“If you use conservative numbers on what we know about how oil is

biodegraded, how fast things turn over, then you come up with 70

percent to 80 percent of the oil still being out there.”

The Washington-based nonprofit group Food and Water Watch says this

cautionary report means the government should be taking a more

deliberate approach in re-opening Gulf areas to fishing and recreation.

Marianne Cufone with Food and Water Watch says news coverage of

the government’s report claiming “all but 25 percent of the spill is gone”

may have left the public with an erroneous impression.

“They’re going to hear the number and feel like eating seafood from the

Gulf and going to the Gulf of Mexico is safe. But the government just

really has not done the testing necessary to be so overconfident.”

The Georgia scientists note that their report and the government’s arrive

at different conclusions. Joye explains that is largely because her group

estimates that the vast majority of the oil classified as “dispersed,

dissolved or residual” is still present.

“There’s oil in the water, there’s oil on sediment on the sea floor. There

are going to be impacts to the system. We have to continue monitoring

and evaluating what those impacts are.”

She says almost 2 million gallons of dispersant chemical were used in

the water, as well, and they’re not testing right now for remnants of that.

Therefore, she says, it’s not just about the oil, it’s also about the

chemicals that have been used in the gulf.

- Mark Scheerer, Florida News Connection