FATE OF BUNKER-C FUEL-OIL IN WASHINGTON COASTAL HABITATS FOLLOWING THE DECEMBER 1988 NESTUCCA OIL-SPILL

Following the December 1988-spill of 230,000 gallons of Bunker C fuel oil from the barge NESTUCCA, a year-long monitoring program was conduc ted to follow the fate of spilled oil in selected intertidal and shall ow subtidal habitats of the Washington coast, including a 40-mile-long strip of Olympic National Park (ONP). Following clean-up, beach surve ys were conducted in July and September 1989 and February 1990 at eigh t coastal sites inside ONP: four oiled areas, four oiled areas; and at four oiled sites (coastal and estuarine) outside ONP. The finding of only trace levels (63-250-mu-g/g dry weight by infrared spectrometry) of oil in surface (0-15 cm in depth) sediments associated with coastal sites 13 months after oiling suggested that depuration had occurred r apidly and that little oil residual remained. The essentially backgrou nd levels (mostly < 45 ng/g dry weight by gas (chromatographic mass sp ectrometry) of aromatic hydrocarbons found in invertebrates associated with oiled sediments also suggested that most oil had been rapidly me tabolized and depurated or was no longer biologically available. Facto r contributing to these findings likely included: 1) the time of year when the spill occurred, 2) the type of beach or coastline affected, a nd 3) the timely and efficient clean-up. Most spilled oil (congealed b efore stranding due to cold air and water temperatures. The area of th e coast most affected consisted of unprotected, high-energy, sand beac hes and rock headlands, which self-cleanse rapidly. Finally, clean-up was immediate and congealed oil was easily removed from affected beach es.