title: Unlike PAHs from Exxon Valdez crude oil, PAHs from Gulf of Alaska coals are not readily bioavailable.
abstract: In the wake of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, spatially and temporally spill-correlated biological effects consistent with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure were observed. Some works have proposed that confounding sources from local source rocks, prominently coals, are the provenance of the PAHs. Representative coal deposits along the southeast Alaskan coast (Kulthieth Formation) were sampled and fully characterized chemically and geologically. The coals have variable but high total organic carbon content technically classifying as coals and coaly shale, and highly varying PAH contents. Even for coals with high PAH content (approximately 4000 ppm total PAHs), a PAH-sensitive bacterial biosensor demonstrates nondetectable bioavailability as quantified, based on naphthalene as a test calibrant. These results are consistent with studies indicating that materials such as coals strongly diminish the bioavailability of hydrophobic organic compounds and support previous work suggesting that hydrocarbons associated with the regional background in northern Gulf of Alaska marine sediments are not appreciably bioavailable.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, Tennessee 38505, USA.
authors.forename: Halambage Upul
authors.initials: HU
authors.lastname: Deepthike
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tecon
authors.forename: Gerry
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Van Kooten
authors.forename: Jan Roelof
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Van der Meer
authors.forename: Hauke
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Harms
authors.forename: Mona
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wells
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Short
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D000413:Alaska; D015374:Biosensing Techniques; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry; D003031:Coal; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis; D007053:Ice; D007616:Kaolin / Q000032:analysis; D009281:Naphthalenes / Q000032:analysis; D010578:Petroleum; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D003031:Coal; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D006838:Hydrocarbons; D007053:Ice; D009281:Naphthalenes; D010578:Petroleum; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; C031721:naphthalene; D007616:Kaolin; D002244:Carbon