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Photoenhanced Toxicity of Petroleum to Aquatic Invertebrates and Fish

  • Special Issue: Ocean Spills and Accidents
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Abstract

Photoenhanced toxicity is a distinct mechanism of petroleum toxicity that is mediated by the interaction of solar radiation with specific polycyclic aromatic compounds in oil. Phototoxicity is observed as a twofold to greater than 1000-fold increase in chemical toxicity to aquatic organisms that also have been exposed to light sources containing sufficient quantity and quality of ultraviolet radiation (UV). When tested under natural sunlight or laboratory sources of UV, fresh, and weathered middle distillates, crudes and heavy oils can exhibit photoenhanced toxicity. These same products do not exhibit phototoxicity in standard test protocols because of low UV irradiance in laboratory lighting. Fresh, estuarine, and marine waters have been shown to have sufficient solar radiation exposure to elicit photoenhanced toxicity, and a diversity of aquatic invertebrate and fish species can exhibit photoenhanced toxicity when exposed to combinations of oil and UV. Risks of photoenhanced toxicity will be greatest to early life stages of aquatic organisms that are translucent to UV and that inhabit the photic zone of the water column and intertidal areas exposed to oil.

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Fig. 1

Derived from Landrum et al. (1987), Choi and Oris (2003), and Diamond (2003); see text

Fig. 2

Modified from Barron (2007)

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Acknowledgments

The author thanks Mike Lewis, Jill Awkerman, and Susan Yee for review of a draft of the manuscript, Lee Courtney for the base Fig. 2 graphic, and many colleagues who have contributed to the knowledgebase of the photoenhanced toxicology of petroleum, especially Steve Diamond for introduction to the field of phototoxicity and many fruitful discussions over the years. The conclusions may not necessarily reflect the views of the EPA, and no official endorsement should be inferred.

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  1. Gulf Ecology Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Gulf Breeze, FL, 32561, USA

    Mace G. Barron

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  1. Mace G. Barron
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Correspondence to Mace G. Barron.

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Barron, M.G. Photoenhanced Toxicity of Petroleum to Aquatic Invertebrates and Fish. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 73, 40–46 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-016-0360-y

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