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Toxicity of Herders on Cold-Water Organisms
This project assessed the changes in acute and sublethal toxicity due to the use of herders as an oil spill response tool.
Project Summary
The objective of the proposed project was to assess changes in acute and sublethal toxicity due to the use of herders as an oil spill response tool. The project addressed three main topics using a laboratory-based approach. Firstly, the oil component dissolution from herder-treated oil slicks into the water phase was examined to better understand temporal variation in dissolved and bioavailable oil components during herder application. Secondly, the acute toxicity data on the two NCP-approved herders Thickslick 6535 and Siltech OP-40 on the key ecological cold-water marine species Calanus finmarchicus (copepod) and Northeast Arctic cod (Gadus morhua) was determined. Finally, burned oil residues from two Alaska North Slope oils with different physico-chemical properties with and without the use of herder were created and then used for testing acute and sublethal toxicity on the above mentioned species.