Potential damage of oil wastes in coastal estuary sediments1

TLDR: Bayou Casotte, Mississippi, an estuarine waterway near the eastern end of Mississippi Sound, has been altered to accommodate an extensive industrial complex including a large oil refinery as mentioned in this paper.

Abstract: Bayou Casotte, Mississippi, an estuarine waterway near the eastern end of Mississippi Sound, has been altered to accommodate an extensive industrial complex including a large oil refinery Several small oil spill accidents recently occurred in the bayou; the most serious, on June 13, 1981, involved 600 barrels of asphaltic crude The ecological effects of continued exposure to low level oily wastes were estimated by examining pollution levels in sediments both in 10-foot cores and surface samples Petroleum hydrocarbons (PHC) and other hydrocarbons occur at levels as high as 12,300 micrograms per gram (µg/g or ppm to total hydrocarbons, dry weight) in surficial sediments and 1,000 µg/g at 120 centimeter sediment depths Dredging operations have removed most polluted sediments very near the refinery site in the bayou, but dispersal of petroleum wastes has caused PHCs to be dominant pollutants in other regions where no dredging has occurred and where care is required if any dredging is permitted T