Hydrocarbons and surfactants: Ecotoxicology in a marine pelagic food chain
Accidental spills and production lead to discharges of petroleum hydrocarbons and surface active agents to the sea. The Norwegian government has set guidelines adopted from the OSPAR commission for assessment and studies of the environmental load from these discharges. The free water masses are poorly studied compared to the benthic processes in this context and we question how oil and surfactants might bioaccumulate in a simplified marine pelagic food chain comprised of algae, crustaceans and fish. When test methods and species recommended for initial water based acute toxicity studies are to be implemented in more comprehensive studies like assessment of bioaccumulation various problems arose. An improvement of the OSPAR method for the production of Water Accommodated Fractions (WAFs) of oil is presented. Emphasis is on control of oil concentration and distribution in water, and on applicability for studies where larger volumes of WAF are required than for the demand in acute toxicity tests. Acute toxicity assessments of one oil, Blended Arabian Light topped at 150{degrees}C, and two non-ionic dispersants, hexaetoxyparanonylphenol and a sophorolipid, were conducted on OSPAR recommended species. The toxicity responses were in line with observations made by others. At a given concentration the oil particle size during WAF preparation might influence subsequent expression of toxic effects. The same applied for the presence of emulsified oil particles in the WAR where the organisms were exposed. Reasons for selecting other test organisms than those officially recommended for continued studies on bioaccumulation are presented and discussed.
- OSTI ID:
- 414711
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-960623-; TRN: 96:004555-0013
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: International conference on health, safety and environment in oil and gas exploration products, New Orleans, LA (United States), 9 Jun - 12 Sep 1996; Other Information: PBD: 1996; Related Information: Is Part Of The third international conference on health, safety & environment in oil and gas exploration and production. Proceedings - Volume 2; PB: 934 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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