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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Federal scientists said Friday extensive sampling of the Gulf of Mexico seafloor found oil in quantities too small to collect and in concentrations below harmful levels, except in the area surrounding the BP well.
The Coast Guard's report contrasts independent scientists who say oil from the BP spill extensively damaged the seafloor and killed coral, sea fans and many bottom-dwelling animals like tubeworms.
"We are not finding any recoverable amounts of oil" on the seafloor, Rear Adm. Paul Zukunft said. "We are dealing with barely detectable amounts of oil in the parts per billion in many places."
Ian R. MacDonald, an oceanographer at Florida State University, said a recent submarine dive found what appeared to be lots of oil and dead animals on the sea floor at a spot very close to where the government said it barely found any oil.
"We went to the same place and saw a lot of oil," MacDonald said. "In our samples, we found abundant dead animals. It points out that different people — trained scientists — can get different answers."
MacDonald estimates that an 80 square mile area of seafloor around the well has been damaged by oil