Rapid screening of shellfish tainting from oil spills using an antibody-based biosensor

Tainting of shellfish by polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) following an oil spill poses possible health risks as well as socioeconomic impacts. Traditional screening approaches for evaluating PAH contamination have limitations that can prevent timely, objective spill response decisions. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between PAH concentrations measured in the oyster, Crassostrea virginica, interstitial fluid using a rapid antibody-based biosensor method, with PAH concentrations in oyster tissues determined using conventional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. To accomplish this objective, bioconcentration tests were performed to simulate oil spill exposures using a crude and heavy fuel oil containing different PAH compositions. This design allowed both the PAH concentration and composition in water and, subsequently, accumulated by oysters to be varied over time. Oysters sampled during uptake and depuration phases were analyzed using biosensor and conventional analysis methods to generate comparative data. Results indicated that biosensor measurements of oysters captured the kinetics of PAH accumulation during uptake and depuration phases. Further, significant positive correlations were observed between biosensor interstitial fluid and lipid-normalized PAH tissue concentrations. However, quantitative predictions appear to be modulated by the contamination source and target analyte list for tissue analysis. Thus, the biosensor can be applied for rapidly evaluating relative PAH contamination between biota samples and offers a promising new analytical tool for oil spill monitoring and fisheries management contexts. A generic model was also developed from study and literature data to predict PAH half-lives from bivalve tissues. These predictions can help inform field monitoring of shellfish and estimate recovery times required to achieve pre-spill conditions.

Bioaccumulation and toxicokinetics of polycyclic aromatic compounds and metals in giant floater mussels (Pyganodon grandis) exposed to a simulated diluted bitumen spill

Oil spills constitute a major risk to the environment and the bioaccumulation potential of the derived oil constituents will influence their impact on aquatic biota. Here we determined the bioaccumulation potential and toxicokinetic parameters of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) and various selected metals in the giant floater mussels (Pyganodon grandis) following experimental oil spills in a freshwater lake. Specifically, these mussels were exposed ex situ for 25 days to water contaminated with naturally weathered diluted bitumen (dilbit), a form of oil commonly transported through pipelines. We detected greater concentrations of total PAC in mussels (∑PAC₄₄) exposed to dilbit-contaminated water (25.92-27.79 μg g^-1 lipid, n = 9, at day 25 of the uptake phase) compared to mussels from a control with no exposure to dilbit (average of 2.62 ± 1.95 μg g^-1 lipid; ±SD, n = 17). This study demonstrates the importance of including alkylated PACs when assessing the impacts of an oil spill as the concentration of alkylated PACs in mussel tissue were an order of magnitude higher than their parent counterparts. However, metal accumulation in dilbit-exposed mussels did not exceed the unexposed controls, suggesting no excess metal accumulation by mussels from a 25-day dilbit exposure. From first-order one-compartment models, mean uptake rate constants (0.78-18.11 L g^-1 day^-1, n = 29) and bioconcentration factors (log values from 4.02 to 5.92 L kg^-1, n = 87) for the 29 individual PACs that accumulated in mussels demonstrated that some alkylated PACs had greater bioaccumulation potential compared to their parent PAC counterpart but for the most part, alkylated and parent PACs had comparable BCF values. Results from this study also demonstrated that giant floater mussels could be used to biomonitor PAC contamination following oil spills as PACs accumulated in mussel tissue and some were still detectable following the 16-day depuration phase. This study provides the largest, most comprehensive set of toxicokinetic and bioaccumulation parameters for PACs and their alkylated counterparts (44 analytes) in freshwater mussels obtained to date.

Blue mussels (Mytilus edulis spp.) as sentinel organisms in coastal pollution monitoring: A review

The blue mussel (Mytilus spp.) is widely used as a bioindicator for monitoring of coastal water pollution (mussel watch programs). Herein we provide a review of this study field with emphasis on: the suitability of Mytilus spp. as environmental sentinels; uptake and bioaccumulation patterns of key pollutant classes; the use of Mytilus spp. in mussel watch programs; recent trends in Norwegian mussel monitoring; environmental quality standards and background concentrations of key contaminants; pollutant effect biomarkers; confounding factors; particulate contaminants (microplastics, engineered nanomaterials); climate change; harmonization of monitoring procedures; and the use of deployed mussels (transplant caging) in pollution monitoring. Lastly, the overall state of the art of blue mussel pollution monitoring is discussed and some important issues for future research and development are highlighted.

The effect of crude oil on arsenate adsorption on goethite

This study reports the adsorption of arsenate, As(V), on goethite (α-FeO(OH)) and oil-coated goethite at experimental conditions chosen to mimic settings of wastewater from oil fields being released into marine and freshwater bodies. Similarities are evident between the As(V)-goethite and As(V)-oil-goethite systems: i) Adsorption is fast and saturation is achieved within 180 min, ii) Reaction rates approximate to a pseudo second order rate expression and range between 6.5 and 52.3 × 10(-4)g/μmol/min, iii) Adsorption mechanisms are best described with a Langmuir model, and iv) Adsorption capacity rises with decreasing pH reflecting the increase of positive charges on the goethite surface. A difference is discernable in that the adsorption of As(V) is reduced significantly when the goethite is coated with oil. The similar experimental macroscopic observations for both systems, i.e., Langmuir model fits, reaction rates, and the effect of pH and ionic strength (I), suggest that the oil reduces the effective and/or reactive surface area. The zeta potential (ζ) indicates that the oil coating also changes the surface charge of the goethite, shifting the pH point of zero charge from 9.8 to about 3, thus contributing to the reduced As(V) adsorption. FTIR spectra show that As(V) interacts with the carbonyl functional groups of the oil. Our results suggest that oil-covered goethite significantly reduces the adsorption of As(V) and this points to a potentially significant indirect effect of oil on the cycling of As(V) and other oxyanions in oil polluted waters.