Concentrations of the Genotoxic Metals, Chromium and Nickel, in Whales, Tar Balls, Oil Slicks, and Released Oil from the Gulf of Mexico in the Immediate Aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Crisis: Is Genotoxic Metal Exposure Part of the Deepwater Horizon Legacy?

Concern regarding the Deepwater Horizon oil crisis has largely focused on oil and dispersants while the threat of genotoxic metals in the oil has gone largely overlooked. Genotoxic metals, such as chromium and nickel, damage DNA and bioaccumulate in organisms, resulting in persistent exposures. We f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology 2014-03, Vol.48 (5), p.2997-3006
Main Authors: Wise, John Pierce, Wise, James T. F, Wise, Catherine F, Wise, Sandra S, Gianios, Christy, Xie, Hong, Thompson, W. Douglas, Perkins, Christopher, Falank, Carolyne
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Applied ecology
Bioaccumulation
Biological and medical sciences
Cetacea
Chromium
Chromium - analysis
Disasters
DNA damage
Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution
Environmental Monitoring
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gulf of Mexico
Hazardous materials
Marine
Marine and brackish environment
Metals
Mutagens - analysis
Nickel
Nickel - analysis
Oil
Petroleum - analysis
Petroleum Pollution - analysis
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
Whales
Whales & whaling
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Summary:Concern regarding the Deepwater Horizon oil crisis has largely focused on oil and dispersants while the threat of genotoxic metals in the oil has gone largely overlooked. Genotoxic metals, such as chromium and nickel, damage DNA and bioaccumulate in organisms, resulting in persistent exposures. We found chromium and nickel concentrations ranged from 0.24 to 8.46 ppm in crude oil from the riser, oil from slicks on surface waters and tar balls from Gulf of Mexico beaches. We found nickel concentrations ranged from 1.7 to 94.6 ppm wet weight with a mean of 15.9 ± 3.5 ppm and chromium concentrations ranged from 2.0 to 73.6 ppm wet weight with a mean of 12.8 ± 2.6 ppm in tissue collected from Gulf of Mexico whales in the wake of the crisis. Mean tissue concentrations were significantly higher than those found in whales collected around the world prior to the spill. Given the capacity of these metals to damage DNA, their presence in the oil, and their elevated concentrations in whales, we suggest that metal exposure is an important understudied concern for the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/es405079b