According to a new research study, it has been declared that the natural coal deposits from the Gulf of Alaska do not act much like bioavailable contaminants, as compared to the crude oil spilled from the Exxon Valdez tanker catastrophe. This new research finding challenges the theory that the natural coal deposits of the Gulf of Alaska was causing environmental damage. Read more about Global Crude Oil Tanker Industry To 2013: Investment Opportunities, Analysis and Forecasts of All Active and Planned Crude Oil Tankers

Over the years, the general blame for the degeneration of the entire ecosystem off the coast of Alaska has been put on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) pollutants. However, following a scientific debate on the origins of the pollutants, an international team of scientists have claimed that the crude oil from the Exxon Valdez tanker disaster is the primary source of the bioavailable PAH contaminants. The study has been released in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Global Crude Oil Tanker Industry To 2013: Investment Opportunities, Analysis and Forecasts of All Active and Planned Crude Oil Tankers

The researchers compared the PAH samples from both the tanker oil and from the coal deposits. The investigation was carried out with the use of bacterial biosensors and they proved that it was only the PAH from the tanker oil that was having an impact on organisms. The results were achieved with the help of genetically engineered bacteria that reacted with the contaminants.  The team of scientists was from the Tennessee Technological University, from the University of Lausanne, the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research and from the Calvin College.

According to Professor Hauke Harms from the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research, “These biosensors are based on bacteria which feed on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. If these bacteria come into contact with these substances, it flips a biological switch and the bacteria start to glow. There are clear advantages to this new forensic application: there is no need to take the indirect route of costly chemical analysis to prove results.”

As the bacteria utilized give out a good deal of light, the scientists are competent to analyze the actions at a high resolution – down to a microscopical degree in case-by-case organisms.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are a natural constituent of coal and crude oil. Because of their longevity and toxicity, sixteen of these substances were classified as especially risky environmental pollutants as far back as the 1980s by the American environmental agency Environmental Protection Agency. Adhesives containing coal tar were therefore forbidden, as a wellness hazard. Some PAHs are uniquely carcinogenic – as long as they are metabolized by the organism. Their bioavailability thus ascertains their toxicity. They are broadly only bioavailable if the contents are water-soluble.

When the Exxon Valdez spilled its load on a reef in March 1989, about 40,000 tons of petroleum escaped and polluted the Prince William Sound. It is approximated that of seabirds alone, more than a quarter of a million were killed in the spill. Two thousand kilometers of coast were polluted with oil, bringing an end to fishing, and thus the livelihoods of many people living on the coast. According to ExxonMobil, the owner of the tanker, in a statement on the 20th anniversary of the spill, the company has disbursed more than 3.8 billion dollars in compensation, clearance work, out-of-court agreements and fines.

In spite of a mass clean-up, there are still lingering consequences on the environment. An approximated 80,000 liters of oil in the form of lumps of oil and tar are still said to pollute the coast of Alaska. The consequences are now no longer apparent. But they cause, however, that marine organisms are damaged and the food chain no longer work as before. The primary trouble is that the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the oil only break down slowly attributable the low Arctic temperatures.