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Toxicological profile for total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH)

The West Falmouth oil spill after 20 years: Fate of fuel oil compounds and effects on animals

Study on the fate of petroleum-derived polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and the effect of chemical dispersant using an enclosed ecosystem, mesocosm.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the aquatic environment: Jerry M. Neff. Applied Science Publishers Ltd., London, 1979, 262 pp.

Polychaete worms which inhabit and ingest contaminated sediments may be exposed to a suite of sediment-sorbed xenobiotics, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) such as benzo[a]pyrene (BaP). This study compared the accumulation and metabolism of sediment-sorbed BaP among various populations of polychaetes, including Leitoscoloplos fragilis, Nereis diversicolor, and Scolecolepides (= Marenzellaria) viridis. After exposure to trace amounts of BaP in sediment, N. diversicolor and S. viridis were found to metabolize BaP extensively, but metabolism of BaP appeared to be much slower in L. fragilis. Within each species, no consistent, significant differences in extent of BaP metabolism were observed between worms collected from contaminated versus reference sites. This result suggests that metabolism of BaP was not induced in worms from contaminated sites. To examine the extent to which metabolism of BaP is inducible in these species, worms were exposed in the lab to 3-methylcholanthrene (3MC), a potent inducer of PAH metabolism in other species. Only one species, S. viridis, showed a small increase in the percent of total tissue BaP that was biotransformed after treatment with 3MC. Whether or not worms were treated with 3MC, biota-sediment accumulation factors (lipid- and organic carbon-normalized tissue to sediment ratios) were highest for L. fragilis.

Bioaccumulation and metabolism of benzo[A]pyrene in three species of polychaete worms

Investigations into the fate of petroleum compounds in the marine environment were carried out using experimental microcosms of two sizes and designs. Aromatic hydrocarbons or No. 2 fuel oil were spiked to the water of a 13 m3 continuous flow system and to a 2281 recycled flow system. The transport and alteration of this oil was traced in the sediment and benthic organisms (Glycera americana, Crepidula sp., and Nephtys incisa) of these microcosms. Measurable contamination was found in both sample types. The aromatic hydrocarbon distribution, including relative isomeric distribution (e.g., C2‐phenanthrenes) was found to be different in sediment and in organisms from that which was originally introduced to the experimental microcosm. Differences in isomer distribution between Glycera and Crepidula were also detected. Based on the experimental data: molecular weight and specific isomeric form, biochemical processes, solubility, and particle adsorption/desorption influence the fate of petroleum compounds in b...

G. Mille

Papers

Biogeochemistry of aromatic hydrocarbons in the benthos of microcosms