Chemically dispersed oil is cytotoxic and genotoxic to sperm whale skin cells

Two major oil crises in United States history, the 1989 Exxon-Valdez oil spill in Alaska and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, drew attention to the need for toxicological experiments on oil and chemically dispersed oil. We are still learning the effects these spills had on wildlife. However, little data is known about the toxicity of these substances in marine mammals. The objective of this study is to determine the toxicity of Alaskan oil, as well as chemically dispersed oil. Oil experiments were performed using the water accommodated fraction of Alaskan oil (WAF) and the chemically enhanced water accommodated fraction of Alaskan oil (CEWAF). The Alaskan WAF is not cytotoxic to sperm whale skin cells though it did induce chromosome damage; S9-mediated metabolism did not affect the cytotoxicity of WAF but did increase the levels of chromosome damage. Alaskan CEWAF is more cytotoxic and genotoxic than the WAF; S9 mediated metabolism increased both cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of CEWAF. Analysis of the PAH content of Alaskan WAF and CEWAF revealed a forty-fold increase in the total levels of PAHs in CEWAF compared to WAF. These findings show that chemically dispersed oil leads to higher levels of PAH exposure which are more toxic and likely to lead to longer and more persistent health effects.