A Joint Industry Program funded by ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Shell and Statoil and conducted by UAF evaluated toxicity and biodegradation of dispersed oil in Arctic waters to provide critical information for decision makers.  Aquatic toxicity studies used the copepod, the Arctic cod, and the larval sculpin. Toxicity testing demonstrated that application of dispersants releases more total oil into the water column but that the toxicity of this dispersed oil is less than the toxicity of physically dispersed petroleum.  This conclusion is based on test organism responses to the total measured petroleum (TPH) in the water column.  It was also observed that the tested cold-water species have sensitivity comparable to temperate species, making large amounts of data collected for temperate species relevant for impact assessments under Arctic conditions. Results from the biodegradation studies demonstrated that microbes indigenous to the Arctic waters biodegrade both chemically and physically dispersed oil under Arctic conditions.

Joint industry program to evaluate biodegradation and the effects of dispersed oil in Arctic marine environments

245th National Meeting (2013)

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