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Oil in the Sea III: Inputs, Fates, and Effects (2003)

Chapter: J Methods Used To Estimate PAH Loadings to the Marine Environment

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Suggested Citation:"J Methods Used To Estimate PAH Loadings to the Marine Environment." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2003. Oil in the Sea III: Inputs, Fates, and Effects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10388.
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J
Methods Used To Estimate PAH Loadings to the Marine Environment

To understand the toxic effects of petroleum hydrocarbon releases to the coastal ocean, one has to examine the loading of the more toxic components of the hydrocarbon mixture. Since PAH are thought to be responsible for many of the biological effects of petroleum, the committee estimated PAH loads from various petroleum sources. This refinement of the 1985 National Research Council (NRC) report is a step toward a more rigorous risk assessment of petroleum releases to the coastal oceans. For many of the source types, including natural seeps, platforms (offshore andcoastal), pipelines (offshore and coastal), produced waters, vessel spills, vessel operations, aircraft dumping, two-stroke engines, vessels of less than 100 GT, and coastal facilities, PAH loadings were estimated as a fraction of the total petroleum hydrocarbon loadings, based on measured PAH content of crude oils and refined petroleum products. Environment Canada has measured the amount of a standard suite of PAH listed in Table J-1 in a variety of oils. These data were used to estimate the average total PAH amounts in five types of oils: crude oil, heavy distillates, light distillates, jet fuel, and lube oil (Table J-2). Additionally, the PAH content of gasoline was assumed to be negligible. The best estimates of petroleum hydrocarbon inputs to the sea by the sources discussed above were broken down into the six oil types (crude oil, heavy distillates, light distillates, jet fuel, lube oil, and gasoline), which were then multiplied by the appropriate fractions of PAH in the six types of oil to estimate the PAH contributions to the sea by source.

PAH loadings to North American coastal waters from the atmosphere were calculated for 21 individual PAH based on estimated PAH levels in the coastal atmosphere (Table 2-; see Chapter 3 and Appendix B for details). Because coastal waters are undersaturated with dissolved PAH relative to the overlying atmosphere, there is a significant net transfer of atmospheric PAH to the oceans. PAH loadings from land-based sources were estimated by assuming that the PAH load from each river is proportional to the estimated petroleum hydrocarbon loading (see Chapter 3 and Appendix I for details).

TABLE J-1 PAH Compounds Measured by Environment Canada

Naphthalene

C0-N

C1-N

C2-N

C3-N

C4-N

Phenanthrene

C0-P

C1-P

C2-P

C3-P

C4-P

Dibenzothiophene

C0-D

C1-D

C2-D

C3-D

Fluorene

C0-F

C1-F

C2-F

C3-F

Chrysene

C0-C

C1-C

C2-C

C3-C

Other PAH

Biphenyl

Acenaphthalene

Acenaphthene

Fluoranthene

Pyrene

Benz[a]anthracene

Benzo[b]fluoranthene

Benzo[k]fluoranthene

Benzo[e]pyrene

Benzo[a]pyrene

Perylene

Indeno[1,2,3cd]pyrene

Dibenz[a,h]nthracene

Benzo[hi]erylene

Suggested Citation:"J Methods Used To Estimate PAH Loadings to the Marine Environment." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2003. Oil in the Sea III: Inputs, Fates, and Effects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10388.
×

TABLE J-2 Oils or Refined Products Used to Calculate Amount of PAH in Different Petroleum Hydrocarbons Discussed in This Report

Oil type

References (see codes)

Estimated PAH in oil

Crude (average of heavy and light crudes)

0.013908

Heavy crudes

Alberta Sweet Mix Blend (ASMB)

a,b

 

Arabian Light

c,d,e

 

Arabian Light (Mackay)

c,d,e

 

Brent oil (British)

b

 

Granite Point, Cook Inlet

b,f,g

 

Trading Bay, Cook Inlet

b,f,g

 

Swanson River, Cook Inlet

b,f,g

 

Federated

h,i

 

Gul1faks oil (Norwegian)

b

 

Norman Wells

j,k,l

 

Nipisi oil

m

 

Northern Pipeline

b

 

Middle Pipeline

b

 

Southern Pipeline

b

 

Sahara Crude from Norway

b

 

Statfjord (Norwegian)

b

 

Prudhoe Bay from biodegradation

j,k,l

 

Osenberg

j,k,l

 

Bent Horn

j,k,l

 

Light crudes

Arabian Medium Crude

b

 

Hedrun Crude

b

 

Hibernia

j,k,l

 

Lloydminster oil

j,k,l

 

Terra Nova

j,k,l

 

Russia Komi after water correction

b

 

Heavy distillates (average of Bunker C and fuel oil marine diesel)

0.024256

Bunker C

ESD Bunker C

b,s

 

Bunker C from biodegradation

j,k,l

 

1998 Quebec spill Bunker C type

t

 

Irving Whale oil

u

 

Fuel oil marine diesel

Bunker C and diesel mixture

b,f,g

 

Motor Vessel (MV) Attona

b

 

MV Western

b

 

MV-Paean vessel reduced

b

 

MV-Paean vessel

b

 

Intermediate Fuel Oil-30 viscosity

b

 

Valery Chkalov

b

 

Light distillates

0.034441

Diesel No. 2

b,f,g

 

Diesel spill from Quebec 1998

o,p

 

Mobile burn 97 diesel

q

 

Mobile burn 98 diesel

r

 

Jet fuel

0.028373

Jet B fuel

f,g

 

Lube oil

0.000118

Lube oil

j,k,l,n

 

Reference codes: aWang et al. (1994); bWang et al. (1999a); cWang (1998b); dWang et al. (2000c); eWang et al. (in press); fWang et al. (1997a); gBlenkinsopp et al. (1997); hWang (1999); iWang et al. (2001); jWang (1994b); kWang (1994c); lWang et al. (1998a); mWang et al. (1998b); nWang (1994a); oWang (1998a); pWang et al. (2000b); qWang et al. (2000a); rWang (2000); sWang et al. (1997b); tWang et al. (1999b); uWang (1995)

Suggested Citation:"J Methods Used To Estimate PAH Loadings to the Marine Environment." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2003. Oil in the Sea III: Inputs, Fates, and Effects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10388.
×
Page 253
Suggested Citation:"J Methods Used To Estimate PAH Loadings to the Marine Environment." Transportation Research Board and National Research Council. 2003. Oil in the Sea III: Inputs, Fates, and Effects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10388.
×
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Since the early 1970s, experts have recognized that petroleum pollutants were being discharged in marine waters worldwide, from oil spills, vessel operations, and land-based sources. Public attention to oil spills has forced improvements. Still, a considerable amount of oil is discharged yearly into sensitive coastal environments.

Oil in the Sea provides the best available estimate of oil pollutant discharge into marine waters, including an evaluation of the methods for assessing petroleum load and a discussion about the concerns these loads represent. Featuring close-up looks at the Exxon Valdez spill and other notable events, the book identifies important research questions and makes recommendations for better analysis of—and more effective measures against—pollutant discharge.

The book discusses:

  • Input—where the discharges come from, including the role of two-stroke engines used on recreational craft.
  • Behavior or fate—how oil is affected by processes such as evaporation as it moves through the marine environment.
  • Effects—what we know about the effects of petroleum hydrocarbons on marine organisms and ecosystems.

Providing a needed update on a problem of international importance, this book will be of interest to energy policy makers, industry officials and managers, engineers and researchers, and advocates for the marine environment.

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