Purdy says he and his co-workers found the couple trying to clean up when they arrived that morning to inspect the business. But there wasn't too much to inspect. The cinderblock and tin building that had housed the family's seafood business was gone-destroyed by the storm. We just told people the National Guard and Red Cross would be coming soon to help. Though some of the emergency situations FDA has been involved in are well known, others have received little publicity, possibly because the agency helped head off a disaster.
Arsenic trioxide is extremely poisonous.
After several days of searching, the U.S. Coast Guard, using a helicopter with sonar, located three containers in waters 120 feet deep. Commercial fishing resumed Aug. 11, 1992. Because this form of arsenic dissolves slowly in cold water, the leaking containers posed no immediate danger to swimmers or consumers. However, it was theoretically possible for the chemicals to contaminate area clam, oyster and scallop beds as well as other marine life such as shrimp, crabs and fish. May shellfish harvesters to find out where they had fished after the accident.