Presentation Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine environmental effects-based concentrations of total petroleum hydrocarbons for assessing the impacts of fresh gasoline and fresh or weathered diesel in the freshwater and marine environments. The study was conducted by the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) and Nautilus Environmental to determine the NOEC and LOEC of gasoline, diesel and weathered diesel, in addition to IC25 and IC50 endpoints, using aquatic toxicity bioassays. In separate experiments, hydrocarbons within either the diesel or gasoline range were spiked into toxicity test solutions and weathered diesel in contaminated groundwater was obtained from a well-characterised site in Washington State. Freshwater organisms used were the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) and a cladoceran (Ceriodaphnia dubia). Topsmelt (Atherinops affinis) and the echinoderm, purple sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) were the marine species tested. Tests were conducted according to US EPA test methods and Ecology’s whole effluent toxicity (WET) guidance document. Toxicity tests were conducted at Nautilus Environmental in Burnaby, BC. Hydrocarbon concentrations in test solutions were determined at the Manchester Environmental Laboratory, Port Orchard, WA. Gasoline caused similar toxicity between topsmelt, fathead minnow and Ceriodaphnia, which were more sensitive than the echinoderm. Diesel was generally more toxic than gasoline to all test organisms. With weathered diesel tests, this pattern changed and fish became the more sensitive organisms. All test organisms were generally less sensitive to the weathered diesel compared with fresh diesel. Compounds present in the fresh diesel that have been transformed or removed from weathered diesel may be responsible for greater toxicity to the invertebrates in particular.
Session Title
Track: Data Analysis, Modeling & Decision Making – Posters
Conference Track
Data Analysis, Modeling & Decision Making
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2020 : Online)
Document Type
Event
SSEC Identifier
2020_abstractID_4533
Start Date
21-4-2020 9:00 AM
End Date
22-4-2020 4:45 PM
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events); posters
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Water--Pollution--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Gasoline--Toxicity--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Oil pollution of water--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Diesel fuels--Toxicity--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Marine organisms--Effect of pollution on
Subjects – Names (LCNAF)
Washington State. Department of Ecology
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Rights
Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author's written permission.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Included in
Fresh Water Studies Commons, Marine Biology Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons
Toxicity of Gasoline, Diesel and Weathered Diesel Related Petroleum Hydrocarbons to Freshwater and Marine Organisms
The purpose of this study was to determine environmental effects-based concentrations of total petroleum hydrocarbons for assessing the impacts of fresh gasoline and fresh or weathered diesel in the freshwater and marine environments. The study was conducted by the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) and Nautilus Environmental to determine the NOEC and LOEC of gasoline, diesel and weathered diesel, in addition to IC25 and IC50 endpoints, using aquatic toxicity bioassays. In separate experiments, hydrocarbons within either the diesel or gasoline range were spiked into toxicity test solutions and weathered diesel in contaminated groundwater was obtained from a well-characterised site in Washington State. Freshwater organisms used were the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) and a cladoceran (Ceriodaphnia dubia). Topsmelt (Atherinops affinis) and the echinoderm, purple sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) were the marine species tested. Tests were conducted according to US EPA test methods and Ecology’s whole effluent toxicity (WET) guidance document. Toxicity tests were conducted at Nautilus Environmental in Burnaby, BC. Hydrocarbon concentrations in test solutions were determined at the Manchester Environmental Laboratory, Port Orchard, WA. Gasoline caused similar toxicity between topsmelt, fathead minnow and Ceriodaphnia, which were more sensitive than the echinoderm. Diesel was generally more toxic than gasoline to all test organisms. With weathered diesel tests, this pattern changed and fish became the more sensitive organisms. All test organisms were generally less sensitive to the weathered diesel compared with fresh diesel. Compounds present in the fresh diesel that have been transformed or removed from weathered diesel may be responsible for greater toxicity to the invertebrates in particular.
