CONTAMINATION SHORT-LIVED FOLLOWING NORTHEAST SPILL

Material submitted by many organizations on the effects of the December 1976 oil spill off the coast of Massachusetts was compiled and analyzed by NOAA's Environmental Data Service. Number 6 fuel oil did not enter the water column but tended to form large pancakes, and oil detected in the water column was lightweight cutter stock. No oil contamination greater than 250 ppb was observed, and no oil was observed on the ocean floor beneath the spill. Spilled oil contaminated zooplankton components of the oceanic food web near the wreck. Pollock eggs collected near the spill were contaminated, with a high proportion of dead, moribund, and deformed embryos, and sand launce larvae appeared impacted by oil contamination with the spill zone. The economic impact of the oil spill cannot be assessed fully without additional study.

• Corporate Authors:

  Petroleum Engineer Publishing Company

  Box 1589
  Dallas, TX  United States  75221
• Publication Date: 1977-6

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 11-12
• Serial:
  • Petroleum Engineer
  • Volume: 49
  • Issue Number: 6
  • Publisher: Petroleum Engineer Publishing Company

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Contaminants; Impacts; Oil spills
• Old TRIS Terms: Oil spill behavior; Oil spill impact
• Subject Areas: Environment; Marine Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00167800
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Pollution Abstracts
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 13 1978 12:00AM