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High levels of cancer-causing chemicals recorded since BP spill
Levels of some cancer-causing oil compounds rose significantly in the waters off the Louisiana coast during the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico, according to Oregon State University researchers.
"It's an incredibly huge jump in concentration in a natural environment," said Kim Anderson, an OSU environmental toxicology professor, who found a 40-fold increase in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, from May to June.
Anderson is still analyzing the results and was not prepared to say what, if any, threat the elevated levels posed to the gulf environment. "It's a huge increase that folks that deal with the more biologic side of it will have to address."
Anderson and her research team started testing for the contaminants a few weeks after the April 20 well blowout, taking water samples at four near-shore locations along the Gulf Coast. Results from early August, after the BP well was capped and stopped leaking, continued to show elevated levels in the water.
The amount of such hydrocarbons in crude oil varies, as does the toxicity of the compounds, which constitute a large class of chemicals. Some are not toxic at all, and some are carcinogenic, Anderson said. Her gulf samples included all three types.