Toxicity evaluation of Louisiana nearshore marsh sediments following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Abstract

A crucial step towards understanding potential impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to marsh ecosystems was to quantitatively determine the toxicity of oil remaining in the sediment. The objective of this study was to assess the potential injury to benthic species using standardized toxicity bioassays. Sediments were collected from locations with differing degrees of oiling based on previous assessments. Less than 13% of the 315 toxicity tests resulted in toxicity to amphipods, mysid shrimp, or sea urchins. There was no relationship among toxicity test results, oiling category or measured total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Equilibrium partitioning sediment benchmarks and additive toxic units (ESBTUs) were applied as an additional line of evidence to evaluate the potential adverse effects based on PAH concentrations in field sediments. The ∑ESBTUs based on 34 PAHs at the 64 nearshore sampling locations were <1, indicating PAHs in sediments were unlikely to cause adverse impacts.

Keywords: Deepwater Horizon oil spill; Equilibrium sediment benchmarks; Nearshore; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Sediment; Toxicity.