Oil Spill Clean-Up Threatens Coral Reefs
Posted on: Tuesday, 31 July 2007, 17:06 CDT
Israeli scientists have discovered oil spill cleanup agents are significantly more toxic to coral than to the oil they are used to disperse.
In a setback for efforts to protect endangered coral reefs from oil spills, Baruch Rinkevich, Shai Shafir and colleagues at the Israeli Oceanographic and Limnological Research Institute discovered oil dispersants -- the best tool for treating oil spills in tropical areas -- are endangering coral reefs and associated ecosystems.
The researchers evaluated effects of both crude oil and six commercial oil dispersants under laboratory conditions on the growth and survival of two important species of reef corals. They determined the dispersants caused significant harm -- including rapid, widespread death and delay in growth rates -- to the coral colonies tested, even at doses recommended by the dispersants' manufacturers.
Decision-making authorities should carefully consider these results when evaluating possible use of oil dispersants as a mitigation tool against oil pollution near coral reef areas, the researchers said.
The study is detailed in the current issue of the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
Source: United Press International
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