Toxic Waste : Final Tally

by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

(Page 3 of 3)

Biello remembered that the radiation safety specialists monitored everything as it came on board. "We were aware of the radiation factor but not afraid of it. We decided that we would just have to deal with it in the appropriate manner," he said.

Every member of the expedition was required to wear radiation detection badges. They had also been drilled in the proper safety procedures should either radioactive materials or explosives be brought up.

William Bell, a radiation scientist with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, was one of several such experts assigned to monitor the fleet. In his 15 years with the state it was his third trip to the dump site. "I was one of a few people who had been there before and, although there was some concern, people felt good that we were on board," he said.

About the anchor contamination, Bell remarked, "It was interesting, detectable but not a threat. Still, we used all the precautions, wore gloves and used plastic bags for the samples."

On the afternoon of June 2, 1992, after a successful final effort on welcome calm seas, the staff held their last gathering, swapped stories, compared notes, accounted for equipment, made sure everything was straightened away, and prepared to go home. Saben, Biello, and the other FDAers bid goodbye to the boat crews and watched them sail away.

The people from the other agencies followed the same routine, ending the earlier phases of the project. As they headed back to their homes and offices, almost a ton of seafood samples were being processed and sent to laboratory facilities throughout the country. The long waiting game for the real results of their labors had begun.

Final Tally

Eventually, after being scattered across the nation for analysis at various agency laboratories, the results of the testing on the seafood samples taken from the cold New England waters made their way to the desk of Gregory Cramer, Ph.D., in FDA's Office of Seafood in Washington, D.C. It was something Cramer had been waiting for since helping to collect the samples months earlier.

"The test results were, in some respects, surprising. No hazardous levels that might be harmful to consumers were observed, even though we collected nearly a ton of seafood adjacent to a site used for over several decades for dumping a variety of toxic chemicals," Cramer said.

He explained that pesticide residues were not detectable in 41 of the 43 samples of fin fish tested, while the remaining two samples had only trace amounts (levels too low to be accurately characterized). It was much the same for lobster and shellfish, none of which had more than trace amounts of pesticide residue.

Testing of 55 samples of fin fish, lobster and shellfish indicated that almost half had no detectable levels of polychlorinated biphenyls while another 25 had trace amounts. The remaining five samples did have levels above trace amounts but still well below FDA acceptable levels.

The levels of the trace metals cadmium, arsenic, lead, and mercury were found to occur within normal ranges, none exceeding FDA limits. Cramer explained that radiation contamination, in the form of plutonium-239, showed up in trace levels in a few of the samples. He attributed the residue more to atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons in the 1960s than to the dumping of nuclear wastes in Massachusetts coastal waters.

Scientists tested for polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), but only low or barely detectable levels were found in fin fish samples. However, lobster and scallop samples indicated measurable levels of PAHs, generally around the few parts per billion range. Still, these levels were consistent with other studies, and not considered unusual.

Cramer explained, "Consumers of lobsters and scallops from Massachusetts Bay should not be concerned about possible dietary exposure to carcinogenic PAHs. They are ubiquitous in the environment as components of petroleum, byproducts of combustion, and are routinely found on smoked and grilled foods, as well as on fruits and vegetables. As a consequence, many food products may contribute to dietary exposure to PAHs."

"This was the largest single study of chemical contaminants in seafood harvested from Massachusetts Bay. The large variety and quantities of bottom-dwelling seafood that were analyzed for a host of chemical contaminants provides a valuable profile of seafood from the area," he said.

The long history of industrial discharge into the ocean off Massachusetts will always be a concern to consumers and the government, often complicated by many variables. "This study does, however, go a long way toward addressing the present public health significance of this dumping on seafood," said Cramer. "This snapshot concludes that the overall residues are low and the seafood from Massachusetts Bay is safe to eat."

About the Author

www.fda.gov
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.