There is growing concern in the Gulf of Mexico that the chemicals used by BP to disperse the leaking oil from the damaged Macondo well are, combined with the oil, creating a "toxic soup" that is even more dangerous to wildlife and human beings than the crude oil itself.
The dispersants are being employed in unprecedented quantities - more than one million gallons had been used by early June - and some marine toxicologists claim not nearly enough research has been conducted into their side effects.
One expert met a Gulf shrimper who was splashed on his bare skin by contaminated sea water and suffered muscle spasms and bleeding from the rectum, among other symptoms.
Marine toxicologist Susan Shaw first wrote of her concerns about the dispersant chemicals in an article for the New York Times. Now she has appeared on CNN (see video above) to warn about the dangers to both fish and humans.
