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Understanding the Chronic Impacts of Oil Refinery Wastewater Requires Consideration of Sediment Contributions to Toxicity

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Abstract

Previous studies at an oil refinery in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, found a diminished fish community downstream of the effluent outfall that appeared to be associated with periodic low dissolved oxygen concentrations due to episodic discharges of contaminated transport vessel ballast water. This study was initiated after the ballast water was removed from the effluent to further investigate the potential causes of residual effects in the study stream, Little River. We used field caging of fish, laboratory bioassays, and chemical analysis of effluents and sediments from the field site to determine if the effluent or contaminated sediments were affecting the recovery of the fish community in Little River. The field studies suggested that exposed, caged fish were affected, displaying >40 % increases in liver sizes and increased liver detoxification enzyme activity (cytochrome P450 1A, CYP1A); however, similar responses were absent in laboratory exposures that used effluent only. Adding sediments collected from the vicinity of the refinery’s outfall to the laboratory bioassays reproduced some of the field responses. Chemical analyses showed high concentrations of PAHs in sediments but low concentrations in the effluent, suggesting that the PAHs in the sediment were contributing more to the impacts than the effluent. Application of effects-based monitoring is suggested as beneficial to identify impacts to fisheries where refinery effluents of this type are involved.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for the project was provided by National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada postgraduate industrial scholarship to J. Loughery. Refinery staff J. Loiselle, J. MacDonald, and R. McMullin provided technical assistance with effluent collection and industrial wastewater-treatment process descriptions. Technicians and students at the Canadian Rivers Institute at the University of New Brunswick from 2006 to 2010 made the project possible by assisting with bioassays and sampling.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Canadian Rivers Institute and Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, 100 Tucker Park Road, Saint John, NB, E2L 4L5, Canada

    Jennifer R. Loughery, Tim J. Arciszewski, Karen A. Kidd, Angella Mercer & Kelly R. Munkittrick

  2. Environment Canada, Burlington, ON, L7R 4A6, Canada

    L. Mark Hewitt

  3. Faculty of Science, Wilfrid Laurier University, 75 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3C5, Canada

    Deborah L. MacLatchy

Authors
  1. Jennifer R. Loughery
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  2. Tim J. Arciszewski
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  3. Karen A. Kidd
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  4. Angella Mercer
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  5. L. Mark Hewitt
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  6. Deborah L. MacLatchy
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  7. Kelly R. Munkittrick
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Correspondence to Jennifer R. Loughery or Kelly R. Munkittrick.

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Loughery, J.R., Arciszewski, T.J., Kidd, K.A. et al. Understanding the Chronic Impacts of Oil Refinery Wastewater Requires Consideration of Sediment Contributions to Toxicity. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 66, 19–31 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-013-9954-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-013-9954-9

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