Abstract
In the ARCTICFUELS project we studied the effects of dissolved fractions of three fuel oils (MGO500, MGO1000 and IFO-LS) on developing cod embryo and larvae. Of the Three fuel oils tested, the MGO1000 displayed the highest toxicity when comparing toxicity based on dilution (% of initial water accommodated fraction, WAF), however, when related to mass in terms of total extractable material (TEM), the concentrationdependent responses followed similar trends for the three oils. Even after diluting WAFs to 6%, we were unable to reach an exposure level that did not cause any toxicity, so establishing no effect concentration (NEC) thresholds was not possible. OSCAR-based oil spill simulations in Isfjorden (Svalbard) were performed for all three fuel oils. These simulations indicated that the potential for toxicity to early life stages of fish were significantly higher for MGO1000 compared to MGO500 and IFO-LS. The composition of the MGO1000 facilitates dissolution as it contains high content of dissolvable components, including PAHs, which are expected to cause developmental effects on Fish early life stages.
