The government opened fishing grounds in the Gulf on Friday saying the fish passed the "smell test" but did not do any actual chemical testing on the fish according to this report in the Tribune:
Louisiana wildlife regulators on Friday reopened state-controlled waters east of the Mississippi to harvesting of shrimp and "fin fish" such as redfish, mullet and trout. Smell tests on dozens of specimens from the area revealed barely traceable amounts of toxins, the federal Food and Drug Administration said.
The tests were done not by chemical analysis, but by scientists trained to detect the smell of oil and dispersant.
Sure doesn't pass this NIMBY's smell test. How about the officials with the professional sniffers or better yet the officials that approved drilling in the first place try the oil marinated shrimp and fish with a side of dispersant and then we can decide if the catch is safe?
Photo credit: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com @ Flicker.com
This article appears in Jul 29 – Aug 4, 2010.