title: Assessing Risks to Sea Otters and theExxon ValdezOil Spill: New Scenarios, Attributable Risk, and Recovery.
abstract: TheExxon Valdezoil spill occurred more than two decades ago, and the Prince William Sound ecosystem has essentially recovered. Nevertheless, discussion continues on whether or not localized effects persist on sea otters (Enhydra lutris) at northern Knight Island (NKI) and, if so, what are the associated attributable risks. A recent study estimated new rates of sea otter encounters with subsurface oil residues (SSOR) from the oil spill. We previously demonstrated that a potential pathway existed for exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and conducted a quantitative ecological risk assessment using an individual-based model that simulated this and other plausible exposure pathways. Here we quantitatively update the potential for this exposure pathway to constitute an ongoing risk to sea otters using the new estimates of SSOR encounters. Our conservative model predicted that the assimilated doses of PAHs to the 1-in-1000th most-exposed sea otters would remain 1-2 orders of magnitude below the chronic effects thresholds. We re-examine the baseline estimates, post-spill surveys, recovery status, and attributable risks for this subpopulation. We conclude that the new estimated frequencies of encountering SSOR do not constitute a plausible risk for sea otters at NKI and these sea otters have fully recovered from the oil spill.
authors.affiliation: Harwell Gentile & Associates, LC, Port Orange, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Harwell
authors.affiliation: Harwell Gentile & Associates, LC, Brewster, MA, USA.
authors.forename: John H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Gentile
keywords: Enhydra lutris; Exxon Valdez oil spill; attributable risk; ecological recovery; ecological risk assessment; individual-based models; sea otter