Assessing phototoxicity of petroleum using the bivalve Mulinia lateralis and the mysid Mysidopsis bahia
- Environmental Protection Agency, Narragansett, RI (United States). Environmental Research Lab.
One of the major inputs of PAHs in the marine environment is petroleum products. A large and often catastrophic source of petroleum is an oil spill, which releases concentrated quantities of PAHs into the water column. Intermediate molecular weight compounds remain in the water column for a relatively extended length of time. These compounds include phototoxic PAHs such as anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, and their substituted derivatives. Assessments of the environmental impact of marine oil spills have not included phototoxicity tests using pelagic larvae of benthic invertebrates. In this study, the photoreactive toxicity of individual PAHs, including anthracene, pyrene, and fluoranthene, were determined using the bivalve, Mulinia lateralis and the mysid, Mysidopsis bahia. Ultraviolet light exposures increased toxicity relative to fluorescent light for both species but a particularly dramatic response was seen using M. lateralis embryos. This species was relatively insensitive when exposed under fluorescent lights, but exhibited up to a 4,000 fold increase in toxicity under ultraviolet lights. Exposures with different types of petroleum (e.g., fuel oil {number_sign}2 and crude oil) under fluorescent and ultraviolet light will demonstrate the utility of this bivalve and mysid for assessing oil spill-related acute and sublethal toxicity in the marine environment.
- OSTI ID:
- 367432
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9511137--; ISBN 1-880611-03-1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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