You are here:
Comparative Toxicity of Oil Spill Response Agents and Crude Oils to Five Aquatic Test Species
Citation:
Barron, M., A. Bejarano, R. Conmy, D. Sundaravadivelu, AND P. Meyer. Comparative Toxicity of Oil Spill Response Agents and Crude Oils to Five Aquatic Test Species. International Oil Spill Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, May 11 - 14, 2020.
Impact/Purpose:
The purpose of this invited presentation is to summarize EPA's new oil toxicology research at the International Oil Spill Conference (IOSC) in New Orleans, LA. The presentation is impactful because IOSC is attended by and this presentation will be heard by spill responders, oil spill scientists, and risk managers from around the globe. Communication of the research is impactful because it provides the oil science community with new information on the relative toxicity of different crude oils and spill response agents. The information will be useful to decision makers and the public because the relative hazards of different agents can be more fully assessed both prior to an oil spill and in post spill assessments.
Description:
The vast majority of the aquatic toxicity studies on oil products have been limited to a few intensively studied crude oils and Corexit chemical dispersants, and toxicity testing has largely been focused on acute lethality in two standard saltwater test species: mysids (Americamysis bahia) and inland silversides (Menidia berylina). The acute toxicity of three chemical dispersants (Corexit EC9500A®, Finasol OSR 52®, Accell Clean DWD®), a surface washing agent (CytoSol®), a solidifier (Gelco 200®), and three crude oils (Dorado, Endicott, Alaska North Slope (ANSCO)) was tested in mysids and silversides, and the results were compared to toxicity data in the U.S. National Contingency Plan Product Schedule (NCPPS). The three dispersants were also tested for sublethal toxicity in mysids, silversides, and the purple sea urchin (Arbacia punctulata) to assess chronic toxicity in three taxa of saltwater organisms. The surface washing agent and solidifier were also tested in two freshwater species, the zooplankton Ceriodaphnia dubia and fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas), because of potential for these agents to be applied in freshwater oil spills. Consistent with general trends in the NCPPS, these spill response agents were less toxic than the test oils alone, and mysids were more sensitive than inland silversides. Trends in agent toxicity were also consistent with data in the NCPPS showing that dispersants were generally more acutely toxic than surface washing agents or solidifiers. Ratios of acute to chronic toxicity measured for the three dispersants ranged from 1.1 to 15.9 in mysids and silversides, and sea urchins showed similar sensitivity as these two standard test species. Overall, the results showed only limited differences in the toxicity of the three dispersants, and similar acute toxicity of the herding and surface washing agents in the four freshwater and saltwater species tested.
URLs/Downloads:
https://www.ipieca.org/news/international-oil-spill-conference-2020-call-for-papers-and-posters-now-open/