Analyses for petroleum-related contaminants in marine fish and sediments following the Gulf oil spill

Abstract Approximately 1 year after Kuwaiti crude oil was spilled and burned during the Gulf War, scientists on board the NOAA R/V Mt Mitchell sampled sediment and biota in the Gulf to look for evidence of petroleum contamination. Subtidal sediments and fish bile were analysed for petroleum-related aromatic compounds (ACs) on board the Mt Mitchell using cost-effective and rapid high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) screening methods. Parent ACs and their alkyl homologs were measured in sediments. However, because fish extensively metabolize ACs in their livers to form polar metabolites that are concentrated in bile for excretion, metabolites of ACs were measured in bile. HPLC screening analyses found ACs in many of the sediment and fish bile samples collected. The results of HPLC screening were confirmed in selected samples by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analyses that identified petroleum-related ACs (e.g., alkyl phenanthrenes or dibenzothiophenes) in sediments and their metabolites in bile.