www.edpsciences.org/alr Aquatic Living Resources

Abstract – An investigation was carried out into the PAH chemical contamination resulting from the “Erika ” tanker fuel spillage of December 1999 along the French coast of the Bay of Biscay. A qualitative and quantitative assessment was conducted of this contamination in water, suspended particulate matter, sediments, and in intertidal molluscs. The chemical composition of PAHs in pre-spill and post-spill samples was determined and used to distinguish the “Erika’s” fuel as the source of PAHs in the coastal environment of the Bay of Biscay. Changes in concentrations of PAHs were also assessed. The GC-MS analysis made it possible to identify and quantify parent unsubstituted PAHs, alkyl-substituted PAHs (C-PAH) and sulfur heterocycle unsubstituted and alkyl substituted compounds (SPAH and C-SPAH). The re-sults of this study demonstrated that heavily oil-contaminated shorelines, including beaches, rocky coasts as well as sandy sediments apparently became reservoirs of spilled fuel and these continued to contaminate seawater, suspended particulate matter and mussels with PAHs. These conclusions were borne out by the following observations: (1) the pat-tern changes in PAH composition after the “Erika ” oil spill were consistent in all contaminated compartments (water, suspended particulate matter SPM, intertidal sediments and molluscs), (2) the compositional patterns of PAHs after the “Erika ” oil spill in contaminated water, SPM, intertidal sediments and molluscs constantly included alkyl-substituted phenanthrenes, pyrenes, chrysenes and sulfur heterocycle compounds in higher relative abundances than those in the pre-spill samples of these compartments, (3) the relative abundances of different suites of PAHs at contaminated site