The occurrence of hydrocarbons and histopathological abnormalities in oysters for seven years following the wreck of the Amoco Cadiz in Brittany (France)

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Abstract

A study of the main oyster areas polluted by the Amoco Cadiz oil spill (Abers, Baie de Morlaix) was carried out between 1978 and 1985 by chemical analyses (mainly aromatic hydrocarbon determinations) and histopathological observations of lesions in the digestive tracts and gonads of oysters. The hydrocarbon content in oyster tissues was monitored and analyzed by UV spectrofluorimetry, and gas and liquid chromatographic techniques.

Seven years after the Amoco Cadiz wreck, the oysters sampled in the AberBenoit and in the Baie de Morlaix (Carantec) are still polluted with residual aromatic hydrocarbons, corresponding, respectively, to about five and two times the values from an unpolluted site (Baie de Saint-Brieuc). Since petroleum residues are buried in anaerobic sediments, especially in the Abers areas, they are expected to persist and accordingly may still contaminate oysters for several more years.

Depuration kinetics of contaminated flat and Pacific oysters from the heavily polluted zones (Abers, Carantec) were studied and compared with that of healthy oysters transplanted in the same areas. The decontamination rates of oysters after transfer to a clean environment were heavily dependent on the duration of oil exposure.

Necrosis and inflammation were the most significant and noticeable changes occurring during the first months after the pollution. Atrophy of the gonadal cells was detected in the oysters from the Abers only during the first six months of the study. No neoplastic and parasitic diseases have been related to this oil spill.

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