The Organic Geochemistry Laboratory (OGL) at GSO was involved with studies of the North Cape oil spill that occurred in January 1996. Graduate student Christopher Reddy, now an assistant scientist in the Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and I were investigating the transport and fate of the oil in Rhode Island coastal waters. As part of this work, Reddy found chemical evidence for the presence of two different fuel oils on the barge North Cape (see figure). The first of these oils had a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) content of three percent and the second had a PAH value of about six percent. Subsequent detective work by Stephen Morin, the Environmental Response Administrator of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM), showed that about equal amounts of the two cargo oils were released to the environment during the spill. Since there is a direct relationship between the percentage of PAH present in an oil and its relative toxicity to marine life, the finding of a second, more toxic, oil was an important piece of evidence for evaluating the effects of the spill on Rhode Island coastal waters. As a result of this information, Rhode Island was awarded an additional $1.5 million in restoration funds from the barge's owners to replace marine life that was killed during the spill. In a more recent OGL study, GSO graduate student Paul Hartmann, now a postdoctoral researcher at the Swiss Federal Institute of Environmental Science and Technology in Duebendorf, Switzerland, and GSO Marine Research Specialist Robert Cairns analyzed samples from the barge Penn 460 oil spill that occurred in lower Narragansett Bay on July 5, 2000. DEM used this data in conjunction with an oil spill model developed by Applied Science Associates to determine that the amount of oil in the water column was not harmful. The agency was able to open the affected fishing grounds within a week of the oil spill.
      These experiences illustrate the importance of having detailed chemical information available on oils from spill situations for identifying and tracking the various hydrocarbons released into the environment. Sophisticated chemical analyses are needed for this type of work and the instrument used by the OGL is now more than 10 years old (relatively old for an instrument) and beginning to show signs of age. However, the laboratory recently obtained a new, state-of-the-art gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer system thanks to the efforts of Morin and DEM. It is being used to study the geochemistry of a variety of organic contaminants in estuaries and coastal areas including the Cape Cod National Seashore, Jamaica Bay, New York, and Narragansett Bay. In the event of another local oil spill, it will be activated as part of the scientific response mounted by the Coastal Institute of the University of Rhode Island.
      This is a clear example of how the research expertise and infrastructure at the University plays an important role in contributing to timely solutions in Rhode Island's coastal ecosystems. It also shows how state agencies can provide valuable support to keep our research labs up to date.

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