Oil in the Sea IV Quick Guide for Practitioners and Researchers (2023) / Chapter Skim
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Effects: What Harm Can Oil Cause?
Effects: What Harm Can Oil Cause?
Pages 45-60
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From page 45... ...
The most serious effects of marine oil spills usually occur at the sea surface or on oiled shorelines. Oil discharged at sea is largely confined to two dimensions, forming surface slicks that present contact or ingestion hazards to seabirds, turtles, marine mammals, and other animals or plants that routinely inhabit or traverse the sea surface.
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From page 46... ...
This is primarily because most components of oil do not readily dissolve into water, and those components that do dissolve usually are rapidly diluted to concentrations below acute toxicity thresholds. This rapid dilution results from dissolution of oil components from oil slicks that are typically less than 1 millimeter thick, into mixed water column layers that are typically tens of meters or more in thickness, indicating dilution factors on the order of 10,000 or more that are attained relatively rapidly.
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From page 47... ...
SOURCE: With permission from Paul Schuler, Oil Spill Response Limited. Effects: What Harm Can Oil Cause?
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From page 48... ...
. Oil can cause harm to living things through physical contact and from poisoning by the toxic compounds derived from oil.
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From page 49... ...
This could result in • Reduced ability to evade predators, • Late arrival at breeding grounds, • Hypothermia and reduced body mass because of the increased energy expended to fly. Impaired Seabirds, marine As oil coats the fur or feathers of seabirds thermoregulation mammals or marine mammals, it can penetrate the insulating air layer next to the skin, causing heat loss.
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From page 50... ...
Damage to the Birds, marine Ingesting oil can cause gastrointestinal tract mammals, fish • Significant alterations to gastrointestinal function, • Elimination of gastric microbiota, • Direct damage to the tissues of the gastrointestinal tract. Liver toxicity Birds, marine The liver removes ingested oil from the body, mammals, fish but the metabolic pathways activated can produce toxic and carcinogenic compounds that cause significant liver damage.
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From page 51... ...
Immune system Birds, marine Oil exposure has been linked to changes in impairment mammals white blood cell presence and composition, thus reducing immune function. An impaired immune system can result in an inability to combat bacterial, fungal, viral, or parasitic infections.
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From page 52... ...
This has been observed for oil and gas extraction workers, who have accidentally inhaled the vapors. Respiratory system Seabirds, marine damage mammals, humans Mode of exposure: Toxicity from absorption Oil components that dissolve into the water column may be absorbed through the skin and gastrointestinal tract, or respiratory surfaces of aquatic organisms.
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From page 53... ...
ADVANCES IN MODELING TO PREDICT EFFECTS Integrated trajectory, fate, and effects models show the evolution of oil spills, including oil component concentrations, and can be used for planning response options. Since the publication of Oil in the Sea III, new models have been developed, and existing ones have been updated and refined based on new knowledge.
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From page 54... ...
This would impair their ability to find and capture food or avoid predators, but may not cause death for months after exposure, leading to underestimates of population losses. UNDERSTUDIED EFFECTS OF OIL EXPOSURE, SUCH AS THOSE ON TROPHIC INTERACTIONS AND FOOD WEBS Mounting evidence suggests that widespread adverse effects on species that are endangered or are major components of marine food webs, such as seabirds and marine mammals, may have substantial repercussions on other species, operating through strong trophic linkages or cascades.
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From page 55... ...
ENHANCED GUIDELINES AND DEVELOPMENTS IN TOXICITY STUDIES AND MODELS Traditionally, laboratory toxicity tests have been used to try to mimic or replicate field conditions during a spill, which is not feasible; however, they have been useful in establishing toxicity thresholds Effects: What Harm Can Oil Cause?
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From page 56... ...
These data have been used to develop and validate various biological effects and toxicity models that predict toxicity (especially to new and understudied species) and have been of use both in the National Resource Damage Assessment process and in oil spill decision making to determine the best response option.
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From page 57... ...
One of the largest prospective cancer studies of workers exposed to crude oil is the Norwegian Offshore Petroleum Workers cohort. It began in 1998 based on questionnaires returned by 27,917 workers, about 10 percent of whom were females.
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From page 58... ...
REPRODUCTIVE AND DEVELOPMENTAL EFFECTS Toxicological evidence suggests the possibility of reproductive and developmental toxicity from crude oil components, particularly PAHs, but epidemiological studies of this relationship to birth defects have not been conclusive. For example, case-control studies using the National Birth Defects Prevention Database to investigate neural or cardiac birth defects in babies whose mothers had been occupationally exposed to PAHs found some evidence of an association of PAH exposure with spina bifida but not with other neural tube defects, or with congenital heart disease.
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From page 59... ...
For example, studies of Alaskan coastal communities affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill provided significant evidence that community disruption affected the mental and behavioral effects of individual community members. Other studies have shown additive effects of exposure to multiple disasters, including exposure to both Hurricane Katrina and the DWH spill, particularly in children and teenagers.
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From page 60... ...
(The committee notes that further research to narrow uncertainties could provide the scientific basis to make the criteria more or less stringent.) EXPANDED EFFORTS TO ADDRESS HUMAN HEALTH AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE FOLLOWING OIL SPILLS Giving greater prominence to preventing mental and behavioral effects during oil spill response could help boost community resilience to oil spills.
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