Monitoring coastal pollution associated with the largest oil refinery complex of Venezuela

Abstract

This study evaluated pollution levels in water and sediments of Península de Paraguaná and related these levels with benthic macrofauna along a coastal area where the largest Venezuelan oil refineries have operated over the past 60 years. For this, the concentration of heavy metals, of hydrocarbon compounds and the community structure of the macrobenthos were examined at 20 sites distributed along 40 km of coastline for six consecutive years, which included windy and calm seasons. The spatial variability of organic and inorganic compounds showed considerably high coastal pollution along the study area, across both years and seasons. The southern sites, closest to the refineries, had consistently higher concentrations of heavy metals and organic compounds in water and sediments when compared to those in the north. The benthic community was dominated by polychaetes at all sites, seasons and years, and their abundance and distribution were significantly correlated with physical and chemical characteristics of the sediments. Sites close to the oil refineries were consistently dominated by families known to tolerate xenobiotics, such as Capitellidae and Spionidae. The results from this study highlight the importance of continuing long-term environmental monitoring programs to assess the impact of effluent discharge and spill events from the oil refineries that operate in the western coast of Paraguaná, Venezuela.

Metal Concentration Study in a Population Living in the Vicinity of an Oil Refinery

“…Concentrations of trace metals were found (mg/kg) to be for Mn: 656, Fe: 26734, Ni: 32.3, Zn: 72.8, Pb: 13.4 and Cu: 27.0. within an oil refinery Pančevo (Serbia) [4]. Results from Venezuela in the area of largest oil refinery complex indicated that levels of pollution of particular contaminants such as Hg, Pb, Cd and TPH in sites close to the oil refineries that have been operating in the area for decades are above local and international recommended standards [5]. The most relevant contaminants for all of the tested sites were Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn in a petrochemical area of Sardinia (Italy) [6].…”

METALES PESADOS Y BIOMARCADORES DE ESTRÉS OXIDATIVO EN LA ALMEJA Tivela mactroides (Born, 1778)

“…La disponibilidad de Pb en sedimentos de zonas costeras aledañas al sitio de captura de las almejas ha sido demostrada por Bonilla et al (1995), encontrando concentraciones por encima de lo establecido por las normativas ambientales internacionales. Tales concentraciones están relacionadas con la actividad petroquímica (García et al 2008, Croquer et al 2016. Se sugiere que la acción de las precipitaciones intensas, cambios en el caudal del río Neverí, variaciones del oleaje, vientos y corrientes del Mar Caribe, permitan aumentar la biodis ponibilidad de dicho metal en playa Caicara, facilitando así su captación y absorción por parte de las almejas.…”

Mesozooplankton in a stressed area of the Nile Delta Coast, Egypt.

“…Polychaetes larvae were the abundant meroplankton group and widely distributed over the whole area regardless of the environmental differences among the sampling stations. This may be attributed to the ability of polychaetes to regulate the pollutants and resist the organic contaminants and pesticides (Dean, 2008) and their tolerance to polluted conditions (Croquer et al 2016).…”