from each other. they can t even see each other s reaction while they re testing, but all of these tests are only for oil compounds. turns out, no one is testing these fish for possible contamination by that controversial dispersant correctsent. i believe called one of the particularly toxic chemicals. there s no chemical test that s begun right now? there s not a chemical test for that right now. reporter: what? no test? so how can they guarantee safety be complete? we decided to dig deeper to clarify. noaa says an abundance of caution they re currently developing a chemical test for dispersants, it just isn t ready yet and can t come soon enough for the millions of people who want to eat these fish and those who make a living catching them. based on everything you know now, how long is it going to stay closed? it s going to stay closed until the well, the oil leak, is stopped. once the oil leak is stopped,
then we ll have a very aggressive and very comprehensive survey of that area for reopening. and dr. sanjay gupta joining us live now from new orleans. sanjay that is incredible to me, that they are not testing for dispersants at this point. you you have any sense having talked to anybody and investigated when that s going to start happening? reporter: they say the test is in development now. for some time, campbell, they weren t sure exactly which chemicals or which components of the dispersants they should test for. if you look at the list, there s 12 things they test for chemically, those are oil breakdown products. figuring out what to test for specifically is the first step and now developing the test. when it comes to dispersants, they don t bioaccumulate in fish. they don t build up. even if a fish is exposed to it, they say it s unlikely a human who eats that fish is going to have an exposure.
obviously, it s a concern to people, which is why they say they re going to develop a test out of an abuddens of caution, but as things stand now, there isn t a test. they re being really strict on where you can and were not fish. sanjay, those ten people taste-testing fish, wouldn t even let you put a camera on them, they are ubld are a lot of pressure right now. aren t they? reporter: especially the local tasters. these are very well-trained people. they say with 90% accuracy, campbell, through smelling uncooked fish. smelling cooked fish and eating it, they can tell if a fish is tainted in some way. detect up to 10 parts per million of chemicals. a sophisticated process. the concern, this is a huge industry out here, campbell. if there s a local tester, if somehow it comes to be known that person said the fish was tainted, that area la to stay closed in terms of fishing, they re worried about backlash. why some didn t want to be film