The fate of diesel fuel spilled by the Bahia Paraiso in Arthur Harbor, Antarctica

Abstract

The Bahia Paraiso spilled an estimated 600,000 liters of refined product (diesel fuel arctic, DFA) into Arthur Harbor, Antartica, in January 1989. Water, organisms, and sediments within a two-mile radius of the wreck were contaminated to various degrees for at least one year after the spill. The DFA contained about one percent toxic aromatic hydrocarbons, including naphthalenes, fluorenes, and phenanthrenes. Intertidal areas were most directly affected, but all componenets of the harbor ecosystem were contaminated during the first few weeks of the spill. DFA was detected in tissues from birds, limpets, macroalgae, clams, and bottom feeding fish as well as water and sediments collected over six-week period. During the most intense phase of the spill, total polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons reached levels as high as 125,147 and 1,723 ppb (dry weight) in limpet tissues and sediments, respectively. The high-energy environment, the relatively small volume of material released, and the volatility of the refined product helped to limit toxic effects over time and space. Most of the spilled material evaporated, and the rest was diluted and swept from the area by winds and currents. Sedimentation, biological uptake, microbial oxidation, and photo-oxidation accounted for removal of only a minor portion of the spill.