Faculty Advisor

Dr. Andre Venter

Department

Chemistry

Presentation Date

4-14-2016

Document Type

Poster

Abstract

  • One of the nation’s worst inland oil spills occurred near Marshall in Michigan in 2010.
  • The recent Enbridge Line 6B rupture released over three million liters of diluted bitumen crude oil into the environment.
  • The spilled oil entered the Talmadge Creek and flowed into the Kalamazoo River, a Lake Michigan tributary.
  • Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) together with other pollutants were released into the environment.
  • PAHs represents significant threats to aquatic organisms due to their carcinogenic and mutagenic properties and their persistence in the environment.
  • Five years following the oil spill accident, the levels and identities of PAHs were investigated in six shoreline sites along the Kalamazoo river using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS).
  • Thirteen PAHs were identified and their concentrations were quantified using GC-MS.

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