Does this mean that people should panic, avoid the Gulf area, or buy no Gulf seafood? That would be an unreasonable jump to the other extreme. What this does mean is that a much larger rate and expanse of testing and monitoring needs to be done, using both the simplest of instruments, including basic eye-nose-ear-throat observation, and the most sophisticated tests.
Then the data needs to be correlated, brought into already-developed models that can be used as a baseline, and extrapolated for what is likely to be the case tomorrow and next week and next month.
The technology is simple to use, inexpensive, and can be the basis for providing jobs as well. Some scientists have been struggling for months to get "doors" to open within the Unified Command and within BP to allow sampling techniques the EPA, CDC and other agencies, plus counterparts in other countries, have either approved or have been using for years. It is possible to do large-scale "mapping" of environmental health and safety and produce much better results than EPA tables that mean little to non-specialist civilians and that are not useful to scientists either.
The technology exists to do baseline monitoring, including the devices, software, and people-power to do things like carry hand-held instruments along beaches, in streams and ponds, in catches of shrimp and crab, in backyards, front yards, and children's bedrooms.
We need to have wide-spread monitoring and testing, including public health walk-up testing for people, if we are to avoid having a future wave of disease, immune system weakness, infections, organ failures, and a host of other medical misfortunes in degrees from mild to severe.
It is time to act and not "screw up" as Mikulski said, or we will be facing more than heartburn.
Martin Dudziak obtained his PhD in theoretical physics, progressed deeper into biophysics and nanomedical research, served on the faculty of VCU's Medical College, and also worked for Battelle, Intel and STM. He is deeply involved in chemical/biological sensing and analytics, and emergency/disaster response.(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
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