Congressman Asks FDA to Investigate Toxins in Gulf of Mexico Seafood
U.S. Representative Edward Markey (D-Mass.) has called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to respond to reports that the April 20, 2010, oil spill has contaminated the marine food chain in the Gulf of Mexico with toxins such as arsenic. In a July 13 letter to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, Markey expressed concern “that the mixture of oil, dispersants, arsenic and other toxic compounds are having effects on seafood that may not be detectable for months.”
Markey, chair of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, said researchers have uncovered droplets of oil found inside crab larvae harvested from gulf waters near Pensacola, Florida; Galveston, Texas; and Grand Isle, Louisiana. “In some areas, 100 percent of the larvae recovered contain droplets of oil hydrocarbons, a major concern given that crab is a favorite food for both humans and multiple fish species that live in the marshes,” Markey wrote. “What this means is that despite fishery closures in areas that are known to be contaminated by oil, contamination could still be spreading into the human food chain as predators eat oil-tainted species, then travel to areas that are not themselves closed to fishing.”
Markey has asked FDA to provide information that includes (i) how the agency will monitor human health risks and the long-term effects of oil, other hydrocarbons and other toxic compounds on aquatic life; (ii) how the agency plans to conduct long-term monitoring of arsenic to ensure that it will not bioaccumulate in the food chain for months or years after the oil is visibly removed; and (iii) how much arsenic in seafood can be consumed by humans per federal standards.
