AN INITIAL ASSESSMENT OF THE GENOTOXIC IMPACT OF THE SEA EMPRESS OIL-SPILL BY THE MEASUREMENT OF DNA ADDUCT LEVELS IN THE INTERTIDAL TELEOST LIPOPHRYS PHOLIS

The Sea Empress oil spill resulted in the release of vast quantities o f potentially genotoxic contaminants into the coastal environment of t he county of Pembrokeshire (UK). We an at present attempting to determ ine the potential genotoxic impact of the incident upon the native mar ine species of the area. Here we describe the levels of DNA adducts in specimens of the intertidal teleost, Lipophrys pholis, exposed to ext ensive oil contamination as an indication of exposure to potential gen otoxins. We detected elevated levels of adducts in L. pholis specimens from an area that underwent heavy oil contamination as compared to sp ecimens from a clean reference area devoid of oil contamination. These preliminary studies indicated that the oil contamination induced DNA adducts in the L. pholis specimens, which could potentially cause gene tic damage in this native marine species. Further studies are now requ ired to assess the full extent of the genotoxic impact of the oil spil l upon the Pembrokeshire area's native marine life.