Geology topics
Publications and source records attributed to Peter H. Albers.
A general treatment of petroleum and PAHs including presentations on composition and characteristics, sources, environmental fate, and effects on plants, invertebrates, fish, reptiles and amphibians, birds, and mammals. A revision of the 1995 book chapter of the same title.
Crude petroleum, refined-petroleum products, and individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contained within petroleum are found throughout the world. their presence has been detected in living and nonliving components of ecosystems. Petroleum can be an environmental hazard for wild animals and plants. Individual PAHs are also hazardous to wildlife, but they are most commonly associated with human illnesses. Because petroleum is a major environmental source of these PAHs, petroleum and PAHs are jointly presented in this chapter. Composition, sources, environmental fate, and toxic effects on all living components of aquatic and terrestrial environments are addessed.
We compared population estimates, body mass, movement, and blood chemistry of small mammals between conventionally tilled and no-till cornfields in Maryland and Pennsylvania to evaluate the effects of tillage practices and carbofuran exposure on small mammals. Estimates suggest that populations of white-footed mice ( Peromyscus leucopus ) were not significantly related (P > 0.05) to tillage practice or to the presence of winter rye cover crops. Late summer differences in animal mass and movement, and in the proportion of reproductively inactive animals imply that characteristics of individuals and reproductive activity can be affected by tillage practices and winter cover crops. The presence of granular carbofuran had no apparent effect on populations, body mass, or movement in conventionally tilled or no-till fields. Similarly, neither red blood cell acetylcholinesterase, hematocrit, nor liver function were affected by carbofuran use.
Results are reported for the embryotoxicity of 42 environmental contaminants applied externally to mallard ( Anas platyrhynchos ) eggs including crude and refined petroleum, and commercial formulations of herbicides and insecticides. Many of the petroleum pollutants were embryotoxic and moderately teratogenic and had LD 50 s of 0.3 to 5 μl per egg (∼6–90 μg/g egg). The most toxic was a commercial oil used for control of road dust followed by South Louisiana crude oil, Kuwait crude, no. 2 fuel oil, bunker C fuel oil, and industrial and automotive waste oil. Prudhoe Bay crude, unused crankcase oil, aviation kerosene, and aliphatic hydrocarbon mixtures were less toxic ( LD 50 s of 18 to over 75 μl) and less teratogenic. The LC 50 s of herbicides and insecticides in aqueous emulsion were measured by egg immersion; the most toxic were paraquat and trifluralin ( LC 50 s of about 1.5 Ibs/A; 1.7 kg/ha). Propanil, bromoxynil with MCPA, methyl diclofop, prometon, endrin, sulprofos, and parathion were toxic ( LC 50 s of 7 to 40 Ibs/A; 7.8–44.8 kg/ha), whereas 2,4-D, glyphosate, atrazine, carbaryl, dalapon, dicamba, methomyl, and phosmet were only slightly toxic or not toxic ( LC 50 s of 178 to over 500 Ibs/A; 199–560 kg/ha). Pesticides in nontoxic oil vehicle applied by microliter pipet were up to 18 times more toxic than when applied in water vehicle, which was probably due to better penetration of the pesticide past the eggshell and its membranes. Teratogenic effects and impaired embryonic growth are reported and results discussed in terms of potential hazard at field levels of application. A discussion is provided on the effects of pollutants on the eggs of other species of birds under laboratory and field conditions.
The great black-backed gull (Larus marinus ) is widespread in the northern hemisphere, breeding south to Britain and Ireland on the European side of the Atlantic and to Long Island in the United States where populations have increased markedly during the last 50 years (DRURY 1979). With growing exploitation of oil resources, seabird populations are being increasingly threatened by accidental oiling of individuals and the subsequent contamination of their eggs and young. It is generally agreed that gulls and terns, which spend much of their time airborne, are less vulnerable to oil pollution than alcids and seaducks (BOURNE 1968, VERMEER AND ANWEILER 1975). Nevertheless, oiled great black-backed gulls were sighted after the Argo Merchant spill off Nantucket Island in December 1976, demonstrating that this species of gull can be affected by surface oil (GROSE AND MATTSON 1977). In this paper we wish to report results of two concurrent studies in which eggs of the great black-backed gull were externally contaminated with No. 2 fuel oil.