The scientists chosen for this team are specially qualified and are able to detect oil diluted to one part per million. "Each day, [the] team of seven sensory experts dip their noses into large Pyrex bowls of snapper, tuna, and other raw seafood." The test "is more sensitive than scientists can explain." Previously, "the team caught a faint scent in a red snapper that chemists and toxicologists could not confirm despite three days of testing" at a NOAA lab.
Seafood that passes the "smell test" also undergoes chemical testing at a NOAA lab in Seattle for traces of hydrocarbons from the crude oil, according to the Washington Post. Scientists can conduct the "smell" test much quicker than chemical testing, however. Chemical testing can take three to five days while the team of "smell" testers "can sift through as many as 36 samples each day."
The team of scientists tests seafood from open waters to determine whether it is safe for consumption. According to NOAA, no contaminated seafood has been found in those areas. Eventually, the team will help determine when closed waters can be reopened to commercial fishing.
Around 34 percent of the Gulf of Mexico has been closed to commercial fishing and Louisiana has closed 76 percent of the state's oyster harvesting waters thus far.
To read the LA Times story, click here.
To read the Washington Post story, click here.
Posted: 07/20/2010
