EVALUATION OF THREE OIL SPILL LABORATORY DISPERSANT EFFECTIVENESS TESTS

1993 ◽  
Vol 1993 (1) ◽  
pp. 515-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Sullivan ◽  
John Farlow ◽  
Karen A. Sahatjian
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Toxicity Testing ◽  
Testing Procedure ◽  
The United States ◽  
American Petroleum Institute ◽  
Laboratory Methods ◽  
Oily Waste ◽  
Dispersant Effectiveness ◽  
Acceptability Criterion

ABSTRACT Chemical dispersants can be used to reduce the interfacial tension of floating oil slicks so that the oils disperse more rapidly into the water column and thus pose less of a threat to shorelines, birds, and marine mammals. The laboratory test currently specified in federal regulations to measure dispersant effectiveness is not especially easy or inexpensive, and generates a rather large quantity of oily waste water. This paper describes the results of an effort by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to identify a more suitable laboratory dispersant effectiveness test. EPA evaluated three laboratory methods: the Revised Standard Dispersant Effectiveness Test currently used (and required by regulation) in the United States, the swirling flask test (developed by Environment Canada), and the IFP-dilution test (used in France and other European countries). Six test oils and three dispersants were evaluated; dispersants were applied to the oil at an average 1:10 ratio (dispersant to oil) for each of the three laboratory methods. Screening efforts were used to focus on the most appropriate oil/dispersant combination for detailed study. A screening criterion was established that required a combination that gave at least 20 percent effectiveness results. The selected combination turned out to be Prudhoe Bay crude oil (an EPA-American Petroleum Institute Standard Reference Oil) and the dispersant Corexit 9527. This combination was also most likely to be encountered in U. S. coastal waters. The EPA evaluation concluded that the three tests gave similar precision results, but that the swirling flask test was fastest, cheapest, simplest, and required least operator skill. Further, EPA is considering conducting the dispersant effectiveness test itself, rather than having data submitted by a dispersant manufacturer, and establishing an acceptability criterion (45 percent efficiency) which would have to be met before a dispersant could be placed on the Product Schedule of the National Contingency Plan (NCP). Also under consideration by EPA is a sequential testing procedure for a dispersant being placed on the schedule, whereby successful effectiveness testing would be required before toxicity testing would begin.

scholarly journals Ten Years of Research by the U.S. Oil Industry to Evaluate the Ecological Issues of Dispersant Use: An Overview of the Past Decade

2001 ◽  
Vol 2001 (1) ◽  
pp. 429-434
Author(s):  
Don V. Aurand ◽  
Gina M. Coelho ◽  
Alexis Steen
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiments ◽  
Oil Industry ◽  
The United States ◽  
American Petroleum Institute ◽  
Toxicity Evaluation ◽  
Laboratory Methods ◽  
Information Synthesis ◽  
The Past ◽  
Dispersed Oil ◽  
Research Findings

ABSTRACT The Marine Spill Response Corporation (MSRC) and the American Petroleum Institute (API) recently completed a multiyear research program on dispersants and dispersed oil consisting of four elements: information synthesis and dissemination, improved laboratory methods for toxicity evaluation, mesocosm testing, and field experiments. These research efforts contributed to the recent changes in the way dispersants are viewed in the United States. When combined with other research findings from the last 10 years, this information, now available to response planners, greatly improved and contributed to a growing interest in the use of dispersants, including the potential for the extension of preauthorization areas. The primary objectives of this paper are to summarize the objectives of the program, highlight major findings, and identify the sources where the results can be examined in detail.

scholarly journals Review of petroleum toxicity and identifying common endpoints for future research on diluted bitumen toxicity in marine mammals

Ecotoxicology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. J. Ruberg ◽  
J. E. Elliott ◽  
T. D. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Toxicity Testing ◽  
Population Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Petroleum Products ◽  
The Body ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Pacific

AbstractLarge volumes of conventional crude oil continue to be shipped by sea from production to consumption areas across the globe. In addition, unconventional petroleum products also transverse pelagic habitats; for example, diluted bitumen from Canada’s oilsands which is shipped along the Pacific coast to the United States and Asia. Therefore, there is a continuing need to assess the toxicological consequences of chronic and catastrophic petroleum spillage on marine wildlife. Peer-reviewed literature on the toxicity of unconventional petroleum such as diluted bitumen exists for teleost fish, but not for fauna such as marine mammals. In order to inform research needs for unconventional petroleum toxicity we conducted a comprehensive literature review of conventional petroleum toxicity on marine mammals. The common endpoints observed in conventional crude oil exposures and oil spills include hematological injury, modulation of immune function and organ weight, genotoxicity, eye irritation, neurotoxicity, lung disease, adrenal dysfunction, metabolic and clinical abnormalities related to oiling of the pelage, behavioural impacts, decreased reproductive success, mortality, and population-level declines. Based on our findings and the body of literature we accessed, our recommendations for future research include: 1) improved baseline data on PAH and metals exposure in marine mammals, 2) improved pre- and post-spill data on marine mammal populations, 3) the use of surrogate mammalian models for petroleum toxicity testing, and 4) the need for empirical data on the toxicity of unconventional petroleum to marine mammals.

Mysids and environmental monitoring: a case for their use in estuaries

1998 ◽  
Vol 49 (8) ◽  
pp. 827 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. D. Roast ◽  
R. S. Thompson ◽  
B , J. Widdows ◽  
M. B. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Monitoring ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Standing Stock ◽  
Toxicity Testing ◽  
The United States ◽  
Chemical Contaminants ◽  
Northern European ◽  
Local Endemic ◽  
Ecological Importance

Mysids (Crustacea : Mysidacea) are ubiquitous members of the permanent, endemic hyperbenthic fauna of estuarine and other coastal ecosystems. They often occur in high numbers and their ecological importance, particularly their role in food chains as a link between the benthic and pelagic systems, is becoming increasingly apparent. In general, mysids are omnivores, feeding on detritus, zooplankton and phytoplankton, and they contribute up to 40% of the standing stock of omnivores in some systems. In estuaries, specific mysid faunas often occur in discrete zones, usually as a result of different salinity tolerances, although responses to turbidity and water flow also determine mysid distributions. Many mysids are particularly sensitive to chemical contaminants as illustrated by their relatively low 96-h LC50 values. Due to this sensitivity, the United States Environmental Protection Agency promotes the use of Americamysis ( Mysidopsis) bahia for laboratory toxicity testing; however, there is growing interest in the use of local, endemic species rather than the standard American mysid. At Plymouth, novel and sensitive techniques are being developed for assessing sublethal responses to toxicants by use of the northern European estuarine mysid Neomysis integer. This paper summarizes the ecological role of mysids in estuaries and describes their potential for use for estuarine environmental monitoring.

scholarly journals Hand-portable HPLC with broadband spectral detection enables analysis of complex polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon mixtures

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stelios Chatzimichail ◽  
Faraz Rahimi ◽  
Aliyah Saifuddin ◽  
Andrew J. Surman ◽  
Simon D. Taylor-Robinson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Feature Detection ◽  
Matrix Effects ◽  
Testing Procedure ◽  
The United States ◽  
Hazardous Substances ◽  
Carcinogenic Activity ◽  
Reliable Determination ◽  
Polycyclic Aromatic

AbstractPolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are considered priority hazardous substances due to their carcinogenic activity and risk to public health. Strict regulations are in place limiting their release into the environment, but enforcement is hampered by a lack of adequate field-testing procedure, instead relying on sending samples to centralised analytical facilities. Reliably monitoring levels of PAHs in the field is a challenge, owing to the lack of field-deployable analytical methods able to separate, identify, and quantify the complex mixtures in which PAHs are typically observed. Here, we report the development of a hand-portable system based on high-performance liquid chromatography incorporating a spectrally wide absorption detector, capable of fingerprinting PAHs based on their characteristic spectral absorption profiles: identifying 100% of the 24 PAHs tested, including full coverage of the United States Environmental Protection Agency priority pollutant list. We report unsupervised methods to exploit these new capabilities for feature detection and identification, robust enough to detect and classify co-eluting and hidden peaks. Identification is fully independent of their characteristic retention times, mitigating matrix effects which can preclude reliable determination of these analytes in challenging samples. We anticipate the platform to enable more sophisticated analytical measurements, supporting real-time decision making in the field.

Scanning electron microscopy of asbestos-containing material where the asbestos fibers are considered locked in a binder

1993 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 472-473
Author(s):  
J. R. Millette ◽  
R. S. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Scanning Electron Microscopy ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
The United States ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Asbestos Fibers ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Binder Material ◽  
Scanning Electron

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has labeled as “friable” those building materials that are likely to readily release fibers. Friable materials when dry, can easily be crumbled, pulverized, or reduced to powder using hand pressure. Other asbestos containing building materials (ACBM) where the asbestos fibers are in a matrix of cement or bituminous or resinous binders are considered non-friable. However, when subjected to sanding, grinding, cutting or other forms of abrasion, these non-friable materials are to be treated as friable asbestos material. There has been a hypothesis that all raw asbestos fibers are encapsulated in solvents and binders and are not released as individual fibers if the material is cut or abraded. Examination of a number of different types of non-friable materials under the SEM show that after cutting or abrasion, tuffs or bundles of fibers are evident on the surfaces of the materials. When these tuffs or bundles are examined, they are shown to contain asbestos fibers which are free from binder material. These free fibers may be released into the air upon further cutting or abrasion.

Municipal Wastewater Treatment Technology Transfer Activities of the United States Environmental Protection Agency

1989 ◽  
Vol 21 (6-7) ◽  
pp. 685-698
Author(s):  
J. J. Convery ◽  
J. F. Kreissl ◽  
A. D. Venosa ◽  
J. H. Bender ◽  
D. J. Lussier
Keyword(s):  
Technology Transfer ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
The United States ◽  
Environmental Research ◽  
Outreach Program ◽  
Small Community ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Transfer Programs

Technology transfer is an important activity within the ll.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Specific technology transfer programs such as the activities of the Center for Environmental Research Information, the Innovative and Alternative Technology Program, as well as the Small Community Outreach Program are used to encourage the utilization of cost-effective municipal pollution control technology. Case studies of three technologies including a plant operations diagnostic/remediation methodology, alternative sewer technologies and ultraviolet disinfection are presented. These case studies are presented retrospectively in the context of a generalized concept of how technology flows from science to utilization which was developed in a study by Allen (1977). Additional insights from this study are presented on the information gathering characteristics of engineers and scientists which may be useful in designing technology transfer programs. The recognition of the need for a technology or a deficiency in current practice are important stimuli other than technology transfer for accelerating the utilization of new technology.

Health risk assessment of occupational exposure to heavy metals in a steel casting unit of a steelmaking plant using Monte–Carlo simulation technique

2021 ◽  
pp. 074823372110195
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Dehghani ◽  
Fariborz Omidi ◽  
Reza Ali Fallahzadeh ◽  
Bahman Pourhassan
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Occupational Exposure ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Steel Casting ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
The United States ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Monte Carlo Simulation Technique ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Casting Unit

The present work aimed to evaluate the health risks of occupational exposure to heavy metals in a steel casting unit of a steel plant. To determine occupational exposure to heavy metals, personal air samples were taken from the workers’ breathing zones using the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health method. Noncancer and cancer risks due to the measured metals were calculated according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency procedures. The results indicated that the noncancer risks owing to occupational exposure to lead (Pb) and manganese were higher than the recommended value in most of the workstations. The estimated cancer risk of Pb was also higher than the allowable value. Moreover, the results of sensitivity analysis indicated that the concentration, inhalation rate, and exposure duration were the most influencing variables contributing to the calculated risks. It was thus concluded that the present control measures were not adequate and further improvements were required for reducing the exposure levels.

scholarly journals Picking Up Where the TMDL Leaves Off: Using the Partnership Wild and Scenic River Framework for Collaborative River Restoration

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1878
Author(s):  
Alan R. Hunt ◽  
Meiyin Wu ◽  
Tsung-Ta David Hsu ◽  
Nancy Roberts-Lawler ◽  
Jessica Miller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Bacterial Contamination ◽  
Resource Constraints ◽  
Clean Water Act ◽  
The United States ◽  
Clean Water ◽  
Private Land ◽  
The Public ◽  
Wild And Scenic Rivers

The National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act protects less than ¼ of a percent of the United States’ river miles, focusing on free-flowing rivers of good water quality with outstandingly remarkable values for recreation, scenery, and other unique river attributes. It predates the enactment of the Clean Water Act, yet includes a clear anti-degradation principle, that pollution should be reduced and eliminated on designated rivers, in cooperation with the federal Environmental Protection Agency and state pollution control agencies. However, the federal Clean Water Act lacks a clear management framework for implementing restoration activities to reduce non-point source pollution, of which bacterial contamination impacts nearly 40% of the Wild and Scenic Rivers. A case study of the Musconetcong River, in rural mountainous New Jersey, indicates that the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act can be utilized to mobilize and align non-governmental, governmental, philanthropic, and private land-owner resources for restoring river water quality. For example, coordinated restoration efforts on one tributary reduced bacterial contamination by 95%, surpassing the TMDL goal of a 93% reduction. Stakeholder interviews and focus groups indicated widespread knowledge and motivation to improve water quality, but resource constraints limited the scale and scope of restoration efforts. The authors postulate that the Partnership framework, enabled in the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, facilitated neo-endogenous rural development through improving water quality for recreational usage, whereby bottom-up restoration activities were catalyzed via federal designation and resource provision. However, further efforts to address water quality via voluntary participatory frameworks were ultimately limited by the public sector’s inadequate funding and inaction with regard to water and wildlife resources in the public trust.

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