%0 Journal Article %J Environ Toxicol Chem %D 2012 %T Bridging environmental mixtures and toxic effects. %A Sarah E Allan %A Brian W Smith %A Robyn L Tanguay %A Kim A Anderson %K Biological Assay %K Environmental Monitoring %K Polycyclic Hydrocarbons, Aromatic %K Rivers %K Water Pollutants, Chemical %X

Biological Response Indicator Devices Gauging Environmental Stressors (BRIDGES) is a bioanalytical tool that combines passive sampling with the embryonic zebrafish developmental toxicity bioassay to provide a quantitative measure of the toxicity of bioavailable complex mixtures. Passive sampling devices (PSDs), which sequester and concentrate bioavailable organic contaminants from the environment, were deployed in the Willamette and Columbia Rivers within and outside of the Portland Harbor Superfund site in Portland, OR, USA. Six sampling events were conducted in the summer and fall of 2009 and 2010. Passive sampling device extracts were analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds and screened for 1,201 chemicals of concern using deconvolution-reporting software. The developmental toxicity of the extracts was analyzed using the embryonic zebrafish bioassay. The BRIDGES tool provided site-specific, temporally resolved information about environmental contaminant mixtures and their toxicity. Multivariate modeling approaches were applied to paired chemical and toxic effects data sets to help unravel chemistry-toxicity associations. Modeling elucidated spatial and temporal trends in PAH concentrations and the toxicity of the samples and identified a subset of PAH analytes that were the most highly correlated with observed toxicity. Although the present study highlights the complexity of discerning specific bioactive compounds in complex mixtures, it demonstrates methods for associating toxic effects with chemical characteristics of environmental samples.

%B Environ Toxicol Chem %V 31 %P 2877-87 %8 12/2012 %G eng %N 12 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23001962?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1002/etc.2018 %0 Journal Article %J Environ Sci Technol %D 2012 %T Impact of the deepwater horizon oil spill on bioavailable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Gulf of Mexico coastal waters. %A Sarah E Allan %A Brian W Smith %A Kim A Anderson %K Environmental Monitoring %K Gulf of Mexico %K Petroleum Pollution %K Polycyclic Hydrocarbons, Aromatic %K Water Pollutants, Chemical %X

An estimated 4.1 million barrels of oil and 2.1 million gallons of dispersants were released into the Gulf of Mexico during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. There is a continued need for information about the impacts and long-term effects of the disaster on the Gulf of Mexico. The objectives of this study were to assess bioavailable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the coastal waters of four Gulf Coast states that were impacted by the spill. For over a year, beginning in May 2010, passive sampling devices were used to monitor the bioavailable concentration of PAHs. Prior to shoreline oiling, baseline data were obtained at all the study sites, allowing for direct before and after comparisons of PAH contamination. Significant increases in bioavailable PAHs were seen following the oil spill, however, preoiling levels were observed at all sites by March 2011. A return to elevated PAH concentrations, accompanied by a chemical fingerprint similar to that observed while the site was being impacted by the spill, was observed in Alabama in summer 2011. Chemical forensic modeling demonstrated that elevated PAH concentrations are associated with distinctive chemical profiles.

%B Environ Sci Technol %V 46 %P 2033-9 %8 02/2012 %G eng %N 4 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22321043?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1021/es202942q