and spill samples. The technique is also re- 

 ferred to as "fingerprinting," which is 

 perhaps unfortunate. Many nonscientists in 

 the field of oil pollution control have mistak- 

 enly equated "fingerprinting" in identifying 

 mystery oil spill sources with fingerprinting 

 in criminology. Although there are some simi- 

 larities, the identification of oils is very diffi- 

 cult and in its infancy as a technique (Lee et 

 al. 1974; Farrington 1977). However, follow- 

 ing an extensive investigation by the U.S. 

 Coast Guard, charges have been filed in the 

 first case that was based on chemical similari- 

 ties in spilled oil and a sample taken from a 

 suspect tanker (Anon. 1975). 



Transfer and Dissipation of 

 Oil in the Marine Environment 



A basic understanding of the various path- 

 ways of transfer and fate of oil has been de- 

 rived from laboratory studies, field studies, 

 and the application of knowledge of processes 

 in the marine environment (Farrington 1977). 



Many of the processes that act on the oil re- 

 sult in a fractionation and selective removal of 

 certain components more rapidly than others 

 (Farrington 1977). Lower molecular weight 

 components of the type found in kerosene, 

 gasoline, and in varying concentrations in 

 crude oils and fuel oils will evaporate more 

 rapidly than the heavier molecular weight 

 components such as those that make up the 

 bulk of lubricating oils. The lower molecular 

 weight components also are more soluble than 

 the heavier components (Moore and Dwyer 

 1974; Farrington 1977). When oil is placed in 

 contact with seawater, the lower molecular 

 weight aromatic hydrocarbons are dissolved 

 or accommodated in the water to a greater 

 extent than are the saturated hydrocarbon 

 components (Boy Ian and Tripp 1971; Frank - 

 enfeld 1973; Boehm and Quinn 1974; Ander- 

 son et al. 1974a, 1974b; Lee et al. 1974; 

 American Petroleum Institute 1973). When a 

 spill occurs, however, oil may enter marine 

 sediments and be released essentially un- 

 changed months later (Blumer et al. 1970). 



Extensive laboratory research has been di- 

 rected toward a better understanding of the 

 biodegradation of oil, and of the individual 

 compounds or classes of compounds in oil 

 (Davis 1967; ZoBell 1969; Ahearn and Meyers 

 1973; National Academy of Sciences 1973, 



1975a). Several species of microorganisms, 

 e.g., bacteria and yeasts, will completely de- 

 grade certain components of oil under the 

 right conditions in the laboratory or in the 

 field (Farrington 1977). 



Bacteria capable of partially degrading oil 

 have been isolated from several locations in 

 the world's oceans (Farrington 1977). How- 

 ever, the rates of degradation in the various 

 types of coastal areas are unknown. The po- 

 tential pathogenicity of some species of bac- 

 teria that might increase in number near or in 

 an oil spill area also is unknown and little is 

 known about the toxicity of the chemicals 

 produced by microbial degradation of oil (Na- 

 tional Academy of Sciences 1975a). Knowl- 

 edge of the biochemical pathways and prod- 

 ucts of the biochemical degradation of oil is 

 only rudimentary (Davis 1967; ZoBell 1969; 

 Ahearn and Meyers 1973; National Academy 

 of Sciences 1973, 1975a; Farrington 1977). 



Oil may enter marine organisms by inges- 

 tion of contaminated food and may also enter 

 from water across membrane surfaces such as 

 gills (Farrington 1977). 



Oil incorporation into some shellfish, lob- 

 sters, and fish is reversible to some extent 

 when the animals are placed in clean water for 

 a period of time. Most, but not all, of the oil 

 taken up from water by the animals was dis- 

 charged within weeks to months in clean 

 water (Blumer et al. 1970; Lee et al. 1972a, 

 1972b; Anderson 1973; National Academy of 

 Sciences 1973; Stegeman and Teal 1973; An- 

 derson et al. 1974b; Fossa to 1975). However, 

 oysters exposed for 2 months to oil from an oil 

 spill did not appreciably reduce their oil 

 content even after 6 months in cleaner waters 

 (Blumer 1971; Blumer and Sass 1972). The 

 more toxic cyclic hydrocarbons were retained 

 longer than the less toxic straight chain com- 

 pounds (Blumer et al. 1970). 



Fish tested in the laboratory partially me- 

 tabolized several different aromatic hydrocar- 

 bons of the type found in crude oils and fuel 

 oils (Lee et al. 1972b). Mussels, however, did 

 not metabolize these compounds under simi- 

 lar conditions, showing the undesirability of 

 extrapolating from one group of organisms to 

 another (Lee et al. 1972a). Equal caution is ad- 

 visable in extrapolating from results of tests 

 of those few compounds that have been tested 

 because differences in the molecular structure 

 can have profound effects on the rates at 



