Emissions of organic air toxics from open burning: a comprehensive review

The negative effects of chemical contaminants on tropical marine ecosystems are of increasing concern as human populations expand adjacent to these communities. Watershed streams and ground water carry a variety of chemicals from agricultural, industrial, and domestic activities, while winds and currents transport pollutants from atmospheric and oceanic sources to these coastal ecosystems. The implications of the limited information available on impacts of chemical stressors on mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, and coral reefs are discussed in the context of ecosystem management and ecological risk assessment. Three classes of pollutants have received attention: heavy metals, petroleum, and synthetic organics. Heavy metals have been detected in all three ecosystems, causing physiological stress, reduced reproductive success, and outright mortality in associated invertebrates and fishes. Oil spills have been responsible for the destruction of entire coastal shallow-water communities, with recovery requiring years. Herbicides are particularly detrimental to mangroves and seagrasses and adversely affect the animal-algal symbioses in corals. Pesticides interfere with chemical cues responsible for key biological processes, including reproduction and recruitment of a variety of organisms. Information is lacking with regard to long-term recovery, indicator species, and biomarkers for tropical communities. Critical areas that are beginning to be addressed include the development ofmore » appropriate benchmarks for risk assessment, baseline monitoring criteria, and effective management strategies to protect tropical marine ecosystems in the face of mounting anthropogenic disturbance.« less

https://setac.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/etc.5620160103

Ecotoxicology of tropical marine ecosystems

Crude oil and petroleum products are widespread water and soil pollutants resulting from marine and terrestrial spillages. International statistics of oil spill sizes for all incidents indicate that the majority of oil spills are small (less than 7 tonnes). The major accidents that happen in the oil industry contribute only a small fraction of the total oil which enters the environment. However, the nature of accidental releases is that they highly pollute small areas and have the potential to devastate the biota locally. There are several routes by which oil can get back to humans from accidental spills, e.g. through accumulation in fish and shellfish, through consumption of contaminated groundwater. Although advances have been made in the prevention of accidents, this does not apply in all countries, and by the random nature of oil spill events, total prevention is not feasible. Therefore, considerable world-wide effort has gone into strategies for minimising accidental spills and the design of new remedial technologies. This paper summarizes new knowledge as well as research and technology gaps essential for developing appropriate decision-making tools in actual spill scenarios. Since oil exploration is being driven into deeper waters and more remote, fragile environments, the risk of future accidents becomes much higher. The innovative safety and accident prevention approaches summarized in this paper are currently important for a range of stakeholders, including the oil industry, the scientific community and the public. Ultimately an integrated approach to prevention and remediation that accelerates an early warning protocol in the event of a spill would get the most appropriate technology selected and implemented as early as possible – the first few hours after a spill are crucial to the outcome of the remedial effort. A particular focus is made on bioremediation as environmentally harmless, cost-effective and relatively inexpensive technology. Greater penetration into the remedial technologies market depends on the harmonization of environment legislation and the application of modern laboratory techniques, e.g. ecogenomics, to improve the predictability of bioremediation.

/pdf/oil-spill-problems-and-sustainable-response-strategies-3zsltptd74.pdf

Oil spill problems and sustainable response strategies through new technologies

Emissions from the in situ burning of oil in the Gulf of Mexico after the catastrophic failure of the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform were sampled for polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/PCDF). A battery-operated instrument package was lofted into the plumes of 27 surface oil fires over a period of four days via a tethered aerostat to determine and characterize emissions of PCDD/PCDF. A single composite sample resulted in an emission factor of 2.0 ng toxic equivalency (TEQ) per kg of carbon burned, or 1.7 ng TEQ per kg of oil burned, determined by a carbon balance method. Carbon was measured as CO(2) plus particulate matter, the latter of which has an emission factor of 0.088 kg/kg carbon burned. The average plume concentration approximately 200-300 m from the fire and about 75-200 m above sea level was <0.0002 ng TEQ/m(3).

http://www.arl.noaa.gov/documents/reports/Aurell_and_Gullett_2010.pdf

Aerostat sampling of PCDD/PCDF emissions from the Gulf oil spill in situ burns.

Aliphatic hydrocarbons make up a substantial portion of organic contamination in the terrestrial environment. However, most studies have focussed on the fate and behaviour of aromatic contaminants in soil. Despite structural differences between aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons, both classes of contaminants are subject to physicochemical processes, which can affect the degree of loss, sequestration and interaction with soil microflora. Given the nature of hydrocarbon contamination of soils and the importance of bioremediation strategies, understanding the fate and behaviour of aliphatic hydrocarbons is imperative, particularly microbe-contaminant interactions. Biodegradation by microbes is the key removal process of hydrocarbons in soils, which is controlled by hydrocarbon physicochemistry, environmental conditions, bioavailability and the presence of catabolically active microbes. Therefore, the aims of this review are (i) to consider the physicochemical properties of aliphatic hydrocarbons and highlight mechanisms controlling their fate and behaviour in soil; (ii) to discuss the bioavailability and bioaccessibility of aliphatic hydrocarbons in soil, with particular attention being paid to biodegradation, and (iii) to briefly consider bioremediation techniques that may be applied to remove aliphatic hydrocarbons from soil.

Microbe-aliphatic hydrocarbon interactions in soil: implications for biodegradation and bioremediation.

During the early morning hours of March 18, 1973 the Greek tanker, Zoe Colocotronis spilled 37,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude oil into the coastal waters of southern Puerto Rico. About 24,000 bbl of oil washed ashore at Cabo Rojo, contaminating sandy beaches, turtle grass, and rocky shore communities. Within 48 hours following the spill, dead and moribund invertebrates, representing several distinct phyla were being deposited along the beach and intertidal zone. Population analysis of the affected mangrove prop root and sublittoral turtle grass (Thalassia) communities revealed a sparse and impoverished fauna. Subsequent survey trips have revealed marked increases within certain affected populations. In one area (1.0 hectare)the red (Rhizophora mangle) and black (Avicinnia nitita) mangrove trees have defoliated and died during the three years following the spill. Analysis of the sediments in this area indicates significant levels of petroleum hydrocarbon residues were present as of January 1976.

/pdf/effects-of-the-march-18-1973-oil-spill-near-cabo-rojo-puerto-3d2omu69tl.pdf

Effects of the march 18, 1973 oil spill near cabo rojo, puerto rico on tropical marine communities

Polychlorinated biphenyls in the Hudson river (Hudson Falls-Fort Edward, New York state)

A bench-scale investigation was conducted prior to on-site bioremediation of 52,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil containing weathered, structurally complex petroleum compounds from an inactive oil refinery. Addition of bulking agents was required to improve soil physical properties. A supplemental study was also conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of bio-enhancement products. Loss of n-alkanes was rapid in soil mixtures containing a high nitrogen sludge compost, but very slow in mixtures containing wood products as bulking agents. By completion of the study at day 110, the isoprenoids pristane and phytane had nearly disappeared from mixtures containing sludge compost. Clearly, pristane and phytane are inadequate biomarkers when conditions favor an advanced stage of biodegradation. Nearly half the complex branched and cyclic alkanes in the unresolved complex mixture also degraded. After 70 days, depletion of dibenzo-thiophenes and phenan-threnes was 75 and 90%, respectively. The most stable PAHs wi...

On-Site Treatment of Contaminated Soils: An Approach to Bioremediation of Weathered Petroleum Compounds

Over 35 meso-scale burns were conducted to study various aspects of diesel and crude oil burning in situ. Extensive sampling and monitoring of these burns were conducted at downwind statio...

Studies of Emissions From Oil Fires

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Response Team analyzed samples taken from Marrow Marsh, Galveston Bay, Texas, to assess the efficacy of a bioremediation effort in the marsh following the Apex barges spill on July 28, 1990. Samples from the marsh had been collected over a 96-hour period following the first application of the bioremediation agent and then 25 days after the second application, which occurred 8 days after the first. Results of sample analyses to evaluate changes in the chemical characteristics of spilled oil failed to show evidence of oil degradation during the 96 hours after the initial treatment, but did show evidence of degradation 25 days after the second treatment—although differences between samples from treated and untreated sites were not evident. Because control areas had not been maintained after the second application, contamination by the bioremediation agent of previously untreated (control) areas may have occurred, perhaps negating the possibili...

Royal J. Nadeau

Papers

Effects of the march 18, 1973 oil spill near cabo rojo, puerto rico on tropical marine communities

Polychlorinated biphenyls in the Hudson river (Hudson Falls-Fort Edward, New York state)

On-Site Treatment of Contaminated Soils: An Approach to Bioremediation of Weathered Petroleum Compounds

Studies of Emissions From Oil Fires

Monitoring for bioremediation efficacy: the marrow marsh experience