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Title: Oil residues in Baltic sediment, mussel and fish. II. Study of the Finnish Archipelago 1979-81

Journal Article · · Chemosphere; (United States)
OSTI ID:6576791

Aliphatic hydrocarbons and non-polar aromatic compounds have been analyzed after a spill of crude oil at Baltic Sea 1979 from drifting weathered oil glumps, sediment and sediment trap samples and bivalves at five areas of the Finnish Archipelago Sea. Mytilus and flounder muscles and flounder livers were analyzed 1980 and 1981 from three of the previous five areas. The glumps were shown to be weathered crude oil. Sediment trap samples on the visibly contaminated area contained higher amounts of oil residues and in different ratios than the bottom sediments at the same areas. Extra local aliphatic hydrocarbon pollution was detected from the sediment traps at the reference area. Bivalves contained high amounts of oil residues at visibly polluted but in some visibly non-polluted areas also 1979. Any significant decontamination was not detected at summer 1979 but next year the Mytilus samples contained only traces if any and 1981 no detectable levels of aromatic oil residues. Aliphatic hydrocarbon residues in flounders showed no regional differences and no significant change of levels between 1980 and 1981. In contrary, the aromatic oil residues decreased to the non-detectable level in flounder muscles and to a significantly lower level in flounder livers 1981 related to 1980. Linear correlations of the analysis results are discussed.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Jyvaskyla, Finland
OSTI ID:
6576791
Journal Information:
Chemosphere; (United States), Vol. 11:8
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English