Bioaccumulation of PAH by oysters (Crassostrea virginica) from estuarine sediments contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons

Produced water discharges contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), typical of petroleum sources, which sorb to sediments and have been shown to accumulate to high levels in the sediments. Oysters were exposed to four dilutions, 0%, 6%, 12%, and 25%, of a sediment collected at Pass Fourchon, LA, a site severely impacted by long-term produced water discharges. Over a six year period concentrations of total PAH ranged from 14--60 ppm at this site. Alkylated PAH constituted around 92% of the total PAH measured in sediment collected 400 m from the actual discharge. Dilutions of the contaminated sediment were prepared using sediment from a nearby reference site, Lake Champagne. Following acclimation in the lab, oysters were exposed to the sediment dilutions for periods up to 28 days, with mortality recorded and alternate-day feeding and water changes. Depuration was measured in oysters removed to clean tanks for 10 days following 28-day exposure. The oysters from each tank were pooled, homogenized and analyzed for 62 individual parent, alkylated and heterocyclic PAH by GC/MS. Accumulation factors (AF) may be used to predict bioaccumulation using sediment characteristics.