BP Complaints

 
WHAT:             Credentialed media are invited to accompany teams surveying the near shore and inshore waters to detect for the presence of oil beneath the water’s surface.       
 
WHERE:           650 Lemoyne Dr., Dauphin Island, Ala., 36528
 
WHEN:            Thursday, August 26, 2010 at 9 a.m. CDT (Tour duration is 4 to 5 hours.)
 
WHY:               ICP Mobile continues to systematically survey the near shore and inshore waters off the coasts of Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida panhandle to detect whether oil is present beneath the water’s surface. This includes various sampling methods and techniques such as snares, sorbent pads, fluorometers and water and sediment sampling.        
 
WHO:              U.S. Coast Guard Chief Mark Boivin, On-Water Deputy Director and Gary Petrae, NOAA Deputy, Scientific Support Coordinator 
 
CONTACT:        Reservations are required.  For reservations or questions, please contact the Joint Information Center at ICP Mobile:  (251) 445-8965
 
REQUIREMENTS:   For safety reasons, participants must wear long trousers, shirts with sleeves and closed-toed shoes.  
 
For more on the response effort, visit:        www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com or www.restorethegulf.gov
 

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WHAT: This is an opportunity to observe wildlife rehabilitation in progress as well as interact with biologists and personnel engaged in other activities related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Learn about the various stages of wildlife rehabilitation from rescue to release.

WHO:  Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research, Inc.; Theodore Oiled Wildlife Rehabilitation Center staff; and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

WHEN: Thursday, August 26, 2010, 1:00 p.m. CDT

WHERE: Theodore Oiled Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, 5400 Willis Road, Theodore, Ala.,  36582

For information about the response effort, visit www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com or www.restorethegulf.gov.

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NEW ORLEANS – In order to promote accurate information about the safety of Gulf seafood from waters open to fishing, the Obama administration today announced the deployment of senior officials to the Gulf Coast to participate in a series of eight dockside “chats” in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida Panhandle communities –  in coordination with state governments – designed to engage fishers, shrimpers, oystermen and crabbers, as well as local officials in discussions about steps being taken to verify the safety of Gulf seafood. 

The Obama administration is engaged in an aggressive, comprehensive, coordinated, multi-agency program to ensure the safety of Gulf seafood – working across federal agencies and with state and local officials, and the seafood industry, to closely monitor the effects of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill and its potential impact on seafood safety.

“Federal and state officials recognize the importance of ensuring that seafood caught from the Gulf of Mexico is safe to eat,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg. “We have worked diligently over the past several months to develop criteria that must be met and tests that must be successfully passed to make sure that seafood from open harvest waters is free from harmful oil residues. We hope these chats will answer any questions that fisherpersons may have so they can resume harvesting with confidence in the safety of their catch.”

“This administration continues to stand shoulder to shoulder with Gulf Coast fishers and their families during these challenging times,” said NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco. “We are committed to making sure that Gulf seafood is the safest in the world, and to reassuring consumers that Gulf seafood is safe to eat.”

“This administration’s extensive monitoring provides a wealth of information to our federal, state and local partners about water quality in the Gulf,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson.  “EPA alone has collected more than 4,000 air, water, sediment and waste material samples since the beginning of the BP oil spill.  We have an extraordinary range of up-to-date information to guide us in determining if there are any risks to human health.”

The team will visit dockside locations where fishers work to clearly address the issues of seafood safety and toxicity – answering questions, correcting misinformation, and providing details about the rigorous actions undertaken by the federal and state governments to ensure that Gulf seafood from areas that are open to fishing following the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill is safe to eat.

The “chats” are being hosted and coordinated by local officials and fisherpersons on the ground in each community. Each of the participating state and federal agencies plays a vital role in the government-wide effort to manage fisheries, test and monitor seafood, regulate the seafood industry and test environmental factors related to seafood, such as water and air. 

Each of the participating state and federal agencies plays a vital role in the government-wide effort to manage fisheries, test and monitor seafood, regulate the seafood industry and test environmental factors related to seafood, such as water and air. 

Visit www.NOAA.gov or www.FDA.gov for more information about the federal government’s seafood sampling programs. Some frequently asked questions can be answered here. Call 1-888-INFO-FDA with questions or concerns about seafood or to report any seafood that you suspect of being contaminated. 

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NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Unified Area Command continues to expand techniques and programs, as part of its aggressive monitoring efforts, to determine the presence of sub-surface oil in the coastal waters of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. 

“As we continue to expand the scope and resources dedicated to detect, monitor and sample for sub-surface oil and dispersants in the Gulf of Mexico, we continue to leverage a variety of techniques to help us better understand the impacts of the oil spill at all depths,” said Federal On-Scene Coordinator Admiral Paul Zukunft. “We are aggressively monitoring the fate of the oil in the Gulf, and these techniques will help to provide additional information as the full picture becomes clearer.”

Techniques and methods currently employed in near-shore waters include:

• Placement of snare sentinels – innovative strings of absorbent materials, deployed in shallow waters – at a variety of depths to gauge any presence of oil. If oil is detected, qualified sampling personnel are dispatched to obtain water samples which are sent for laboratory tests.
• Sampling with equipment that scoops sediment from areas where the shoreline continues to be impacted. If anomalies are noted or oil is suspected, the sample is sent for testing.
• Trawling for floating tar balls or oiled-debris with specially-equipped, large shrimp boats off the coast. If the presence of oil is detected in an area, qualified sampling personnel obtain water samples which are sent for laboratory tests.
• In coastal and offshore waters, “flourometers” – devices that shine fluorescent light through the water measure the light reflected and refracted back for indications that oil is present – are utilized by responders to screen for oil.
• If the presence of oil is detected in the water column, then qualified sampling personnel obtain water samples which are sent for laboratory tests.  Sediment samples are also taken at designated locations.  If anomalies are noted or oil is suspected, the sample is sent for testing.
• Farther offshore, vessels are outfitted with sampling platforms – called rosettes – that have niskin bottles on them to take water samples to check for sub-surface oil offshore. These samples undergo chemical analysis at off-site locations for concentrations of oil, oil remnants and other compounds.

“A wide variety of U.S. government, private sector, university and other independent vessels are working offshore as part of our aggressive efforts to monitor for any sub-surface oil,” said NOAA Captain Barry Choy, who heads the Sub-Surface Monitoring Unit at ICP Houma. “Together these efforts ensure transparency in our assessment procedures.”

Several Vessels of Opportunity are participating in the sub-surface monitoring effort – transporting personnel and equipment and conduct surveys.

Survey and test data will be evaluated to determine if additional monitoring, sampling and testing are required. Representatives from federal, state and local agencies, the scientific community, industry and academia are working collaboratively in this survey and assessment over the next several weeks.    

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