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Relative Sensitivity of Arctic Species to Physically and Chemically Dispersed Oil Determined from Three Hydrocarbon Measures of Aquatic Toxicity
Citation:
Bejarano, A., W. Gardiner, M. Barron, AND J. Word. Relative Sensitivity of Arctic Species to Physically and Chemically Dispersed Oil Determined from Three Hydrocarbon Measures of Aquatic Toxicity. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, 122(1):316-322, (2017).
Impact/Purpose:
This paper evaluates the sensitivity of Arctic aquatic species to dispersed oil relative to temperate species using data from the literature. The work is important because: 1) the sensitivity of polar species to petroleum is an emerging issue as the risks of oil spills in the Arctic will increase, 2) it establishes EPA's expertise in oil ecotoxicology, which will be useful to the Agency in future spills and oil related regulation.
Description:
The risks to Arctic species from oil releases is a global concern, but their sensitivity to chemically dispersed oil has not been assessed using a curated and standardized dataset from spiked declining tests. Species sensitivity to dispersed oil was determined by their position within species sensitivity distributions (SSDs) using three measures of hydrocarbon toxicity: total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs), and naphthalenes. Comparisons of SSDs with Arctic/sub-Arctic versus non-Arctic species, and across SSDs of compositionally similar oils, showed that Arctic and non-Arctic species have comparable sensitivities even with the variability introduced by combining data across studies and oils. Regardless of hydrocarbon measure, hazard concentrations across SSDs were protective of sensitive Arctic species. While the sensitivities of Arctic species to oil exposures resemble those of commonly tested species, PAH-based toxicity data are needed for a greater species diversity including sensitive Arctic species.
