ANALYSES FOR PETROLEUM-RELATED CONTAMINANTS IN MARINE FISH AND SEDIMENTS FOLLOWING THE GULF OIL-SPILL

Approximately 1 year after Kuwaiti crude oil was spilled and burned du ring the Gulf War, scientists on board the NOAA R/V Mt Mitchell sample d sediment and biota in the Gulf to look for evidence of petroleum con tamination. Subtidal sediments and fish bile were analysed for petrole um-related aromatic compounds (ACs) on board the Mt Mitchell using cos t-effective and rapid high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) s creening 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 exc retion, metabolites of ACs were measured in bile. HPLC screening analy ses found ACs in many of the sediment and fish bile samples collected. The results of HPLC screening were confirmed in selected samples by g as chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analyses that identified p etroleum-related ACs (e.g., alkyl phenanthrenes or dibenzothiophenes) in sediments and their metabolites in bile.