title: III: Use of biomarkers as Risk Indicators in Environmental Risk Assessment of oil based discharges offshore.
abstract: Offshore oil and gas activities are required not to cause adverse environmental effects, and risk based management has been established to meet environmental standards. In some risk assessment schemes, Risk Indicators (RIs) are parameters to monitor the development of risk affecting factors. RIs have not yet been established in the Environmental Risk Assessment procedures for management of oil based discharges offshore. This paper evaluates the usefulness of biomarkers as RIs, based on their properties, existing laboratory biomarker data and assessment methods. Data shows several correlations between oil concentrations and biomarker responses, and assessment principles exist that qualify biomarkers for integration into risk procedures. Different ways that these existing biomarkers and methods can be applied as RIs in a probabilistic risk assessment system when linked with whole organism responses are discussed. This can be a useful approach to integrate biomarkers into probabilistic risk assessment related to oil based discharges, representing a potential supplement to information that biomarkers already provide about environmental impact and risk related to these kind of discharges.
authors.affiliation: IRIS - International Research Institute of Stavanger, P.O. Box 8046, N-4068, Stavanger, Norway; Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Mathematics and Natural Science, University of Stavanger, N-4036, Stavanger, Norway. Electronic address: steinar.sanni@iris.no.
authors.forename: Steinar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sanni
authors.affiliation: IRIS - International Research Institute of Stavanger, P.O. Box 8046, N-4068, Stavanger, Norway.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lyng
authors.affiliation: IRIS - International Research Institute of Stavanger, P.O. Box 8046, N-4068, Stavanger, Norway; Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Mathematics and Natural Science, University of Stavanger, N-4036, Stavanger, Norway.
authors.forename: Daniela M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Pampanin
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D059392:Petroleum Pollution / Q000032:analysis* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D012307:Risk Factors; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Assessment criteria; Biomarker; Biomonitoring; Ecosystem management; Environmental impact; Petroleum hydrocarbons; Risk assessment; Risk indicator