Evaluation of Ecological Impacts Caused by Bioremediation of Marine Crude Oil-Contamination

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Possible ecotoxicological impacts caused by performing bioremediation for clean-up of marine crude oil-contamination were experimentally investigated to establish the safe bioremediation strategy. Novel bioassays for evaluating acute toxicity aofcrude oil gainst marine algae and bacteria were developed using Duneliella teriolecta and Vibrio campbellii, respectively, to be used in this study.Aseries of degradation tests of Arabian Light crude oil in shake flasks revealed that bioaugmentation of effective degrading-microbes and addition of a dispersant, Tween 80, can considerably accelerate the biodegradation or clean-up of the crude oil in the marine water. However, unexpectedly it was also indicated that these can lead to a transient increase in the acute toxicity of the marine water undergoing the bioremediation, although no occurrence of mutagenicity was observed within this study.The experimental performed to clarify its mehanism(s) strongly suggested that the increase in the amount of solubilized oil components, especially saturates, by the addition of dispersant caused a rapid increase in the toxicity. Another possible reason seemed to be the accumulation of toxic intermediate(s) which occurred due to enhanced biodegradation of aromatics, especially poly-aromatic hydrocarbons.