Contaminant Levels in Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill As Measured by a Fishermen-Led Testing Program.
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| Title: | Contaminant Levels in Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill As Measured by a Fishermen-Led Testing Program. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Fitzgerald, Timothy P.1 tfitzgerald@edf.org, Gohlke, Julia M.2 |
| Source: | Environmental Science & Technology. 2/4/2014, Vol. 48 Issue 3, p1993-2000. 8p. |
| Subjects: | Seafood industry, Invertebrates, Oil spills, Water quality, BP Deepwater Horizon Explosion & Oil Spill, 2010 |
| Geographic Terms: | United States |
| Abstract: | The BP oil disaster posed a significant threat to the U.S. seafood industry. Invertebrates (shrimp, oyster, crab) and other nearshore species comprised the majority of postspill testing by federal and state agencies. Deeper water finfish were sampled less frequently, despite population ranges that overlapped with affected waters. We report on a voluntary testing program with Gulf of Mexico commercial fishermen to ensure the safety of their catch. Seven species of reef fish were tested for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, several metals, and a constituent of Corexit 9500A and 9527A dispersants. Only two of 92 samples had detectable levels of benzo(a)pyrene-equivalents (a combined measure of carcinogenic potency across 7 different PAHs), which were still below federal safety thresholds. PAH ratios for these samples suggest pyrogenic (not petrogenic) contamination - indicating potential sources other than Deepwater Horizon. Metals were largely absent (cadmium, lead) or consistent with levels previously reported (mercury, arsenic). One notable exception was tilefish, which showed mercury concentrations lower than expected. We did not detect dispersant in any of our samples, indicating that it was not present in these species during the study period. Our findings suggest minimal risk to public health from these seafoods as a result of the disaster; however, the most contaminated areas were not sampled through this program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Environmental Science & Technology is the property of American Chemical Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 95071701 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Contaminant Levels in Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill As Measured by a Fishermen-Led Testing Program. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Fitzgerald%2C+Timothy+P%2E%22">Fitzgerald, Timothy P.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> tfitzgerald@edf.org</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gohlke%2C+Julia+M%2E%22">Gohlke, Julia M.</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Environmental+Science+%26+Technology%22">Environmental Science & Technology</searchLink>. 2/4/2014, Vol. 48 Issue 3, p1993-2000. 8p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Seafood+industry%22">Seafood industry</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Invertebrates%22">Invertebrates</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Oil+spills%22">Oil spills</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Water+quality%22">Water quality</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22BP+Deepwater+Horizon+Explosion+%26+Oil+Spill%2C+2010%22">BP Deepwater Horizon Explosion & Oil Spill, 2010</searchLink> – Name: SubjectGeographic Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+States%22">United States</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: The BP oil disaster posed a significant threat to the U.S. seafood industry. Invertebrates (shrimp, oyster, crab) and other nearshore species comprised the majority of postspill testing by federal and state agencies. Deeper water finfish were sampled less frequently, despite population ranges that overlapped with affected waters. We report on a voluntary testing program with Gulf of Mexico commercial fishermen to ensure the safety of their catch. Seven species of reef fish were tested for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, several metals, and a constituent of Corexit 9500A and 9527A dispersants. Only two of 92 samples had detectable levels of benzo(a)pyrene-equivalents (a combined measure of carcinogenic potency across 7 different PAHs), which were still below federal safety thresholds. PAH ratios for these samples suggest pyrogenic (not petrogenic) contamination - indicating potential sources other than Deepwater Horizon. Metals were largely absent (cadmium, lead) or consistent with levels previously reported (mercury, arsenic). One notable exception was tilefish, which showed mercury concentrations lower than expected. We did not detect dispersant in any of our samples, indicating that it was not present in these species during the study period. Our findings suggest minimal risk to public health from these seafoods as a result of the disaster; however, the most contaminated areas were not sampled through this program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Environmental Science & Technology is the property of American Chemical Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1021/es4051555 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 8 StartPage: 1993 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Seafood industry Type: general – SubjectFull: Invertebrates Type: general – SubjectFull: Oil spills Type: general – SubjectFull: Water quality Type: general – SubjectFull: BP Deepwater Horizon Explosion & Oil Spill, 2010 Type: general – SubjectFull: United States Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Contaminant Levels in Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill As Measured by a Fishermen-Led Testing Program. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Fitzgerald, Timothy P. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Gohlke, Julia M. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 04 M: 02 Text: 2/4/2014 Type: published Y: 2014 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 0013936X Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 48 – Type: issue Value: 3 Titles: – TitleFull: Environmental Science & Technology Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
