Toxic Waste : Uncooperative Lobsters, Radiation and Rough Seas

by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

(Page 2 of 3)

Uncooperative Lobsters

FDA survey efforts were directed towards collecting important bottom-dwelling seafood. Setting traps for lobsters within the dump site for bottom-feeding lobsters was an important facet of the operation. The crew and staff of the Ferrel placed traps at several sites in the northern part of the Massachusetts Bay Industrial Waste Site. Their efforts proved rather disappointing.

John Biello, a 29-year FDA veteran out of the Providence, R.I., resident post, who was on board the Ferrel at the time, said, "There was a lack of lobsters, but like hunting or fishing you take what you get."

After the first 48 hours, they had only come up with two lobsters.

"Everybody was kind of disappointed — we thought there might not be any lobsters down there," Saben added. "By the third and fourth day, several members of the crew started to do the lobster dance as the traps were lowered into and raised from the water. It was a lively step in which the participants would dance around in a circle on the rolling deck holding their hands out making claw-like movements. The dance didn't work either. We really expected more than we got."

Lobster experts from NOAA felt something was eating the bait well before the lobsters got to the traps, accounting for the lack of lobsters.

EPA's Tomey agreed. "I was on the Ferrel for two days putting out lobster traps — of course we were all hoping to get a lot more catch per trap than we did. We were surprised the traps didn't do that well with all the dumping and contamination in that region, it was really a perfect habitat for lobsters. But the ones we did take in looked fairly normal."

In the end, only 25 lobsters were caught by trap. Fortunately, trawling efforts conducted off the Gloria Michelle were far more successful, yielding an additional 18 lobsters.

Radiation and Rough Seas

For Biello, the excitement dulled a bit when the weather turned foul. "Anybody who said this was good duty should have been there on June 1 when the Ferrel went out to deploy and recover lobster traps," he said. "It was very rough seas with 9- foot waves, 35-mile-an-hour winds, and rain."

"Finally, the Ferrel's captain, John Trokar, decided not to stay out. I didn't get seasick but I've felt better in my life. I'll admit I supported his decision to return to dock," Biello added.

As the seas got rougher, the captain of the Gloria Michelle, Dave Mattens, also cut short their trawl and returned to port in Gloucester, Mass. He explained to Saben that there had been a very real possibility that the net could have gotten caught on the bottom, causing the 72-foot-long ship to sink.

Rough seas were not the only problem confronting the small fleet during its seven days at sea. The Gloria Michelle, with her huge net, was assigned to trawl the eight designated sites. On one sweep the net caught on submerged debris, ripping the bottom out of that expensive piece of equipment. Still, with a replacement net the crew completed the mission, bringing in nearly a ton of cod, flounder, skate, lobster, redfish, and ocean trout.

Saben recalled that, "each catch brought a new wave of excitement" as they watched the big nets thump down on the Gloria Michelle's deck spilling out all types of fish. Saben knew that they were getting almost all of the samples they needed.

NOAA workers experienced in species identification helped sort out the fish after each catch. "We relied a great deal on them," Saben said. "Without their expertise and commitment to the project we would not have had the success we did." Samples were sorted, weighed, measured, and placed into iced coolers, while fish not needed were tossed over the side. All the while, Saben stood by with her clipboard, keeping tally.

The refrigerated catch was taken from the boats and quickly transported to FDA's Winchester Engineering and Analytical Center in Winchester, Mass. (There the edible portions would be removed and ground together into a mixture making a uniform composite sample, with separate portions analyzed at different FDA laboratories and results sent to FDA's Office of Seafood for a complete evaluation.)

Unexpected Company

Surprisingly, the government fishers were not alone gathering sea life, despite a government advisory warning not to harvest bottom-dwelling species from the area, which was already legally closed to shellfish or quahog harvesting. On several occasions, commercial fishing boats swept into the operational area and pulled alongside the NOAA research vessels.

According to Saben, the crews were concerned, even angry, that the government would disturb their activities in the contaminated regions. "I couldn't believe that they would actually be fishing out there," said Saben. "Essentially, these men were fishing in a dump that happens to be covered by water."

The excitement of the catch was tempered when, on May 30, FDA's attention became focused on the anchor of the Gloria Michelle. She had been operating a remote-controlled underwater camera in support of the Johnson Sea Link's dives at the northern end of the Massachusetts Bay Industrial Waste Site. That area had been used for the disposal of low-level radioactive material from 1953 until 1959, and the Gloria Michelle dropped anchor onto the sea floor during operations. When the anchor was hauled up on board, sensing devices detected radiation.

About the Author

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FDA is A United States government body that oversees medical devices, including contact lenses, intraocular lenses, excimer lasers and eyedrops. In the US, these products must be approved by the FDA before they can be marketed.