Acute oil spills and monitoring of the marine enviornment Stepan Boitsov*, Bjørn-Einar Grøsvik, Sonnich Meier, Henning Steen, Jarle Klungsøyr
Oil spills in the marine environment Name Source Location Year Spill, t Gulf War Oil terminal/ tankers Kuwait 1991 1,000,000 Deep Horizon Oil platform/ well Gulf of Mexico 2010 780,000 Atlantic Empress Oil tanker Tobago 1979 287,000 Braer Oil tanker Shetland 1993 85,000 Prestige Oil tanker Galicia, Spain 2002 63,000 Exxon Valdez Oil tanker Alaska, south 1989 37,000 Statfjord A Oil platform North Sea 2007 4,400 Rocknes Rock discharge vessel Near Bergen 2004 540 Server Cargo vessel Near Fedje 2007 380 Full City Cargo vessel Telemark 2009 200 Statfjord A Oil platform North Sea 2008 70
Oil spills from tankers Source: The International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Limited (ITOPF), http://www.itopf.com/
Braer oil spill, 85 000 tonnes Nr.14 on the list of tanker oil spills Largest oil spill in Scotland Gulfaks crude, light naphthenic oil cargo Easily degradable Strong storm helped disperse the oil >1500 birds dead Acute effects rapidly reduced Long-term effects to various parts of the environment, e.g. sediment pollution
Prestige oil spill, 63 000 tonnes Nr.20 on the list of tanker oil spills Largest oil spill in Spain Heavy fuel oil cargo Initial spill November 13, 2002 Ship denied access to ports Split in half on November 19 A thousand beaches polluted Total costs of cleanup $12 bln. Offshore fishing stopped for 6 months Thousands of birds dead Numerous long-term effects, e.g. PAH in marine food chain
Exxon Valdez oil spill, 37 000 tonnes Nr.35 on the list of tanker oil spills Largest oil spill in US waters until Deep Horizon Ca. 2 400 km coastline polluted 3 years direct cleanup effort Extremely ecologically vulnerable area, e.g. pink salmon spawning >250 thousand seabirds, >2 800 otters, 300 harbour seals dead Numerous long-term effects One of the best-studied oil spills Indications of effects even 20 years later
Statfjord A oil spill, 4 400 tonnes Second largest oil spill in Norway Took place on 12.12.2007 during tanking of Navion Britannia Area with large fish resources and active fishery New, smaller oil spill on 24.05.2008 (ca. 70 t oil) IMR has studied the consequences of the spill on the fish population Oil components (THC, NPD, PAH16) in water, fish filet and fish liver The metabolites (PAH-OH) and biomarkers in a selection of fish samples
Statfjord A NPD: oil-specific PAH PAH16: combustion-related PAH Elevated NPD levels in water after the spill Elevated NPD levels in liver of haddock, pollack and cod No increase in PAH16 in liver No oil components in fish filet No significant increase in PAHmetabolites No significant biomarker response in fish
Rocknes oil spill, 540 tonnes Sank on 19.01.2004 in Vatlestraumen near Bergen 18 people died 470 t heavy oil + 70 t diesel 45 km coast polluted 2000 to 3000 birds dead SINTEF and IRIS conducted aftermath investigations Elevated NPD levels found in water, aquaculture fish and mussels 7 months later negative effects still observed
Server oil spill, 380 tonnes Sank on 12.01.2007 near Hellisøy, Fedje Very poor weather conditions Oil found on the neighbouring islands (Øygarden, Fedje, Herdla and others) 3200 to 8000 birds dead IMR has studied the consequences of the spill on the marine biota Oil components (THC, NPD, PAH16) in water, fish filet and fish liver, crabs and scallops The metabolites (PAH-OH) in a selection of fish samples
Server Elevated levels of oil components in seawater Strongly elevated levels of NPD/PAH in codfish caught right afterwards (liver) Elevated levels of NPD in codfish liver 1 month later No increase in fish filet No significant increase in other biota No significant long-term effects expected Oil components in surface water Near the shipwreck Other locations PAH16 (ng/l) 16±4 2±1 NPD (ng/l) 27±10 12±9 THC (µg/l) 6±2 2±1 Oil components in fish
Full City oil spill, 200 tonnes Sank on 31.07.2009 near Såstein/Langesund in Telemark Nearby coastline strongly contaminated. Oil found as far south as Grimstad (120 km) IMR has studied the consequences of the spill on the fish population Oil components (THC, NPD, PAH16) in water, fish filet and fish liver, crabs, shrimps and mussels The metabolites (PAH-OH) in a selection of fish samples 3 samplings
Full City sampling August 2009 Near the shipwreck: Slightly elevated levels of NPD in seawater Elevated levels of NPD in fish liver and filet Elevated levels of PAH metabolites in fish In the distance: Low or no contamination in fish and crab Significant contamination in mussel tissue (PAH16 / NPD)
KLIF contamination scale Mussels Insignificant little contamination Moderate Marked Strong Very strong PAH 16 (μg/kg w.w.) <50 50-200 200-2000 2000-5000 > 5000 Benzo[a]pyrene (µg/kg w.w.) <1 1-3 3-10 10-30 >30
Full City sampling December 2009 NPD-levels in fish filet and shrimps Are low NPD-levels in mussels and cod liver Are much lower than in 08.2009 Are still higher than in the reference area Levels of PAH16/benzo[a]pyrene in mussels Are not higher than in the reference area, but Are high on KLIF scale (Class III-IV)
Full City sampling April 2010 - Only mussels
NPD levels in mussels from Full City area over time µg/kg våtvekt 14000 12000 10000 Stt. 1-5 - Oljepåvirket område Stt. 6-10 - Referanseområde aug.09 des.09 apr.10 8000 6000 4000 2000 0 st.1 Langesund bad st.2 Krogshavn st.3 Såstein st.4 Sandvika st.5 Steinvika st.6 Breivikstr. st.7 Stølsvika st.8 Havsøy. st.9 Nuen st.10 Svartnesbu
PAH16 levels in mussels from Full City area over time µg/kg våtvekt 1000 800 Stt. 1-5 - Oljepåvirket område Stt. 6-10 - Referanseområde aug.09 des.09 apr.10 600 400 200 0 st.1 Langesund bad st.2 Krogshavn st.3 Såstein st.4 Sandvika st.5 Steinvika st.6 Breivikstr. st.7 Stølsvika st.8 Havsøy. st.9 Nuen st.10 Svartnesbu
Benzo[a]pyrene in mussels from Full City area over time µg/kg våtvekt 20,0 18,0 16,0 14,0 12,0 10,0 8,0 6,0 4,0 2,0 Stt. 1-5 - Oljepåvirket område Stt. 6-10 - Referanseområde aug.09 des.09 apr.10 0,0 st.1 Langesund bad st.2 Krogshavn st.3 Såstein st.4 Sandvika st.5 Steinvika st.6 Breivikstr. st.7 Stølsvika st.8 Havsøy. st.9 Nuen st.10 Svartnesbu
April 2010 NPD and PAH16 in mussels ug/kg våtvekt 800 700 Oljepåvirket område Sum PAH16 NPD 600 500 Referanse, Telemark 400 300 Aust-Agder Vestfold 200 100 0
April 2010 - Benzo[a]pyrene in mussels ug/kg våtvekt 12,00 Referanse, Telemark 10,00 8,00 6,00 Oljepåvirket område, Telemark Aust-Agder Vestfold 4,00 2,00 0,00