Fuel oil hydrocarbons in Mytilus edulis in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts USA: Comparison of data from two oil spills
2020
Farrington, John W. | Jia, Xiaoping | Tripp, Bruce W. | Livramento, Joaquim B. | Frew, Nelson M.
A small No. 2 fuel oil spill contaminated a Mytilus edulis population in the Cape Cod Canal, Massachusetts, USA during a three day period in April 1983. Retention and release of the fuel oil compounds were assessed over several days and months. Compounds analyzed included n-alkanes, pristane, phytane, C₂ -, C₃ –naphthalenes, flourene, phenanthrene, C₁-, C₂-, C₃ – phenanthrenes. Biological half-lives were calculated for the release of the compounds up to day 29 and ranged from 1.5 days to 9.9 days. Results compared favorably with similar data from a small No. 2 fuel oil spill contaminating the same population of Mytilus edulis at the same time of year, April 1978. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometer analyses of C₂-, and C₃- phenanthrenes documented changes in relative abundance within the isomer groupings after day 29. This suggests a within isomer grouping molecular structural control on release or enzymatic catalyzed alteration of these compounds.
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