An assessment of the genotoxic impact of the Sea Empress oil spill by the measurement of DNA adduct levels in selected invertebrate and vertebrate species

The grounding of the Sea Empress oil tanker resulted in the release of 72,0 00 tonnes of crude oil into Milford Haven, Wales, UK. Our initial studies i ndicated that this contamination resulted in elevated levels of DNA adducts in one of the area's native marine species Lipophrys pholis [B.P. Lyons, J .S. Harvey, J.M. Parry, An initial assessment of the genotoxic impact of th e Sea Empress oil spill by the measurement of DNA adduct levels in the inte rtidal teleost Lipophrys pholis, Mutat. Res. 390 (1997) 263-268]. These ori ginal studies were extended and the genotoxic impact of the oil contaminati on was investigated in the invertebrates Halichondria panicea and Mytilus e dulis, along with the vertebrate fish species L. pholis, Pleuronectes plate ssa and Limanda limanda. DNA adduct levels were assessed in these species o ver a period of 2-17 months after the incident. The studies indicate differ ences in the impact of acute oil contamination upon vertebrate and inverteb rate species. The oil contamination did not induce any detectable elevation s in adduct levels in the invertebrate species H. panicea and M. edulis. In contrast, the oil contamination did appear to induce adducts in the verteb rate teleost species L. pholis, P. platessa and Lim. limanda. Despite some difficulties in sampling, the data obtained 12-17 months after the spill su ggested that the affected species recovered from the oil contamination. Whi le the studies indicate that the genetic impact of the oil contamination wa s less severe than might have been expected, it remains possible that the D NA adducts detected in the teleosts could lead to genetic changes in these species in the future. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.