Fate and effects of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) in marine environments.

Polydimethylsiloxanes (PDMS) defoamers are used to improve process efficiency under extreme conditions during gas-oil separation, when other chemicals fail to perform. They are also used to reduce the oil content of process waters discharged to the marine environment, thereby serving an important function in reducing oil pollution. As a consequence of these applications small quantities of PDMS may also be released into the environment. This paper reviews the fate of PDMS in the marine environment and the extensive effect studies that have been conducted. These demonstrate the absence of adverse effects on a wide range of marine species.

The variation in slope of concentration-effect relationships.

Implementing the variation within populations in ecological modeling of risk and effects of toxicants could contribute to a more sophisticated way of modeling. To give insight into the magnitude and spread in sensitivity within test populations the variation in sensitivity of individuals expressed as the slope of a concentration-effect curve (Sm) within more than 300 test populations from toxicity tests with 36 species and 116 substances is analyzed. The overall average variation from this study is 0.65 (Sm) and corresponds to an EC50/EC5 ratio of 2.9. The mode of action is often suggested as an explanation for the different slopes of concentration-effect curves. For metals, indeed, significant different median slope values are observed compared with organic substances. However, within the group of organic substances no distinction between the slope values of narcotic substances and substances with a specific mode of action could be made. Between species groups, significant differences in the amount of variation could be demonstrated. The median slopes for all toxicants within the data set of 96-h tests specified for fishes and mollusks are significantly steeper (median slopes of 0.38 and 0.37, respectively) than those for algae and crustaceans (1.2 and 0.72, respectively). Experimental factors that might explain these differences are discussed. The results from this study provide insight into the variation within a test population and can be used to estimate sensitivity parameters for risk and effect modeling.

Ecotoxicological risk assessment related to chemicals and pollutants in off-shore oil production.

Offshore oil production results in environmental discharges of drill cuttings and produced water, contaminated with residuals of exploration and production (E&P) chemicals and formation chemicals. Ecotoxicological risk assessment has been adopted as a tool in environmental chemical management (i.e. reduction of the use and environmental release of chemicals, use of 'green chemicals' and application of non-chemical alternatives). This paper presents an introduction to the basic principles of ecotoxicological risk assessment of offshore E&P chemicals, as it is elaborated in the internationally harmonised CHARM model. In northwestern Europe, this model is used for the purpose of E&P chemicals, notification and environmental care within the offshore oil industry.