Gulf of Mexico's poor water quality sparks cancer fears

The poor water quality off the Gulf of Mexico has sparked widespread concern that the chemicals released could cause cancer.

Researchers have been testing the waters off the coast of Louisiana in southern US and have found there are a large number of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

The scientists from Oregon State University said that the high levels of chemicals - which include cancer-causing carcinogens - are likely to be the result of the explosion of the oil tank BP was operating on that occurred in the region in April 2010.

These toxins were recorded as being 40 times higher than before the incident, which caused millions of barrels of oil to leak into the sea, reducing the water quality of the region.

Oregon State toxicologist Kim Anderson said that this "40-fold increase is huge", adding that "we don't usually see that at other contamination sites".

Last week, BP and the Gulf of Mexico Alliance revealed their $500 million (£316 million) Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, which will report the effects of the oil explosion and its environmental impact and consequences for public health.

Posted by Joseph Hutton