Mussels document loss of bioavailable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and the return to baseline conditions for oiled shorelines in Prince William Sound, Alaska

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were measured in mussels ( Mytilus trossulus) collected between 1990 and 2002 from 11 sites on the shores of Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska, that were heavily oiled by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS). This study, utilizing the methods of the NOAA Sta...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine environmental research 2005-10, Vol.60 (4), p.422-436
Main Authors: Page, David S., Boehm, Paul D., Brown, John S., Neff, Jerry M., Burns, William. A., Bence, A. Edward
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accidents
Alaska
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Bioavailability
Biological and medical sciences
Biological Availability
Bivalvia - chemistry
Environmental Monitoring
Exxon Valdez
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Geologic Sediments - chemistry
Half-Life
Invertebrates
Kinetics
Marine
Mollusca
Mussels
Mytilus trossulus
PAH
Petroleum
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons - analysis
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons - pharmacokinetics
Sea water ecosystems
Ships
Synecology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were measured in mussels ( Mytilus trossulus) collected between 1990 and 2002 from 11 sites on the shores of Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska, that were heavily oiled by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS). This study, utilizing the methods of the NOAA Status and Trends Mussel Watch Program, found that concentrations of PAH released from spill remnants have decreased dramatically with time and by 2002 were at or near the range of total PAH (TPAH) of 3–355 ng/g dry weight obtained for mussels from unoiled reference sites in PWS. Time-series TPAH data indicate a mean TPAH half-life in mussel tissues of 2.4 years with a range from 1.4 to 5.3, yielding an annual mean loss of bioaccumulated TPAH of 25%. The petroleum-derived TPAH fraction in mussel tissues has decreased with time, reflecting the decreasing release of EVOS residues in shoreline sediments. These results show that PAH from EVOS residues that remain buried in shoreline sediments after the early 1990s are in a form and at locations that have a low accessibility to mussels living in the intertidal zone.
ISSN:0141-1136
1879-0291
DOI:10.1016/j.marenvres.2005.01.002