"There will be no Chernobyl in the Mississippi Delta," Gulf Coast Research Laboratory marine biologist Joe Griffitt told AFP Friday, referring to the 1986 nuclear disaster in Ukraine that killed at least 4,000 people and contaminated over two million."But my concern is that the oil - which is a toxic substance - could have a very negative impact on shrimps, fish, oysters and crabs in the Delta. The development of the young, the juveniles - if exposed to oil - could be very strongly impacted."
Swamps and marshes in the Mississippi Delta provide 40 percent of US seafood production.
Even when there is a lower concentration of toxic products, organs can be damaged.
"If you take a fish, and oil - too much oil - finds its way into his organism, the liver is not able to detoxify the oil anymore," the biologist said. "The same goes for other organs like the brain and the gonads. The development of the young can also be damaged, and that's my main concern."
He noted that dispersants like Corexit used to halt the spread of the oil were also nefarious to sealife.
"Those products don't make the oil go away," Griffitt said. "It just falls to the sea bottom. That's where you'll find the sediments and the larvae. So the toxic effect is double."
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