Fuel oil hydrocarbons in Mytilus edulis in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts USA: Comparison of data from two oil spills.

A small No. 2 fuel oil spill contaminated a Mytilus edulis population in the Cape Cod Canal, Massachusetts, USA during a three day period in April 1983. Retention and release of the fuel oil compounds were assessed over several days and months. Compounds analyzed included n-alkanes, pristane, phytane, C -, C -naphthalenes, flourene, phenanthrene, C-, C-, C - phenanthrenes. Biological half-lives were calculated for the release of the compounds up to day 29 and ranged from 1.5 days to 9.9 days. Results compared favorably with similar data from a small No. 2 fuel oil spill contaminating the same population of Mytilus edulis at the same time of year, April 1978. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometer analyses of C-, and C- phenanthrenes documented changes in relative abundance within the isomer groupings after day 29. This suggests a within isomer grouping molecular structural control on release or enzymatic catalyzed alteration of these compounds.