Independent Environmental Sampling

LOUISIANA ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION NETWORK AND REPRESENTING ATTORNEY STUART SMITH CREATE WEBSITE FOR PUBLIC EXAMINATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL SAMPLING DATA IN AREAS IMPACTED BY BP CATASTROPHE

http://bostonchemicaldata.com/LEAN/

For weeks, Attorney Stuart Smith and researchers Dr. William Sawyer and Marco Kaltofen have been providing evidence contrary to the federal government's assertions that the oil from the BP DEEPWATER HORIZON catastrophe is gone and that seafood from oil-impacted waters are not compromised.

Now, citizens can examine for themselves data compiled by Gulf Oil Disaster Recovery and the Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN) at a public website maintained by Dr. Kaltofen's company, Boston Chemical Data.

"We are thrilled about this new resource," said Marylee Orr, Executive Director, LEAN. "This website allows anyone interested to see what chemicals were found, where they were found, and how much was found. We feel the public has the right to this information."

The website, http://bostonchemicaldata.com/LEAN/ provides oil spill data and mapping resources. You can compare where EPA, universities and independent labs have sampled. An individual must download Google Earth in order to view the site's various downloads and maps.
"This should be useful to environmental groups and the unified command," said Mr. Smith. "We've always believed there should be more transparency in this process."

Most recently, Mr. Smith's team has documented a large oil plume offshore of northwest Florida which is killing seafood. Samples have been sent to Canada for independent assessment.

"As state and federal officials continue to open Gulf waters to fishing, we have to again point to evidence that the 'all clear' is being sounded way too early," said Mr. Smith, who represents the United Commercial Fishermen's Association, the Louisiana Environmental Action Network, public entities in the Gulf Coast, as well as private property and business owners. "One of the cautionary notes is that our experts have documented that toxic chemicals remain in the water and food chain - and pose a significant health risk. Those studies have shown that PAHs (polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons) are present in shrimp from the impacted area. And the PAHs in off-shore Florida are at levels 43 times the levels of shrimp from inland, low-impact inland areas sampled in Louisiana. In our estimation, it may take eight months before the toxic soup has had substantial enough biodegradation to announce an 'all clear' on seafood."
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
www.smithstag.com
www.gulfoildisasterrecovery.com
www.oilspillaction.com
www.leanweb.org

Dr. William Sawyer: Chief Toxicologist of Toxicology Consultants & Assessment Specialists, LLC., Sanibel, FL (Registered d/b/a 1990, Incorporated January, 1994, 2009-FL)

Marco Kaltofen, P.E.; President of Boston Chemical is a Registered Professional Engineer (Civil, Massachusetts) and an environmental scientist with more than 25 years experience in environmental, workplace and product safety investigations in North America and Eastern Europe.

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CONTACT:
S. Smith: (504) 593-9600 C. Brylski/H. Harper (504) 897-6110