Maria de Fátima Guadalupe Meniconi

Hydrocarbons in sediments of a chronically contaminated bay: the challenge of source assignment.

Aliphatic hydrocarbons and 39 PAH (parental and alkylated homologs) determined in ca. 100 sediment samples from the Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, were evaluated for source discrimination using new approaches. Concentrations of total PAH were in the range of 96-135,000 μg kg(-1) similar to other coastal urbanized embayment. Traditional diagnostic ratios were not as efficient PAH source indicators, e.g. biomass combustion was assigned as the major source of the pyrolytic PAH although the hydrographic basin is highly industrialized and urbanized. It is proved petrogenic imprint cannot be detected if only the 16 USEPA PAH are determined. The high production in the eutrophic system is not apparent in the aliphatic fraction dominated by land derived n-alkanes due to the effectiveness of microbial degradation. The present work demonstrates the complexity of hydrocarbon forensics when applied to chronically contaminated environments.

A novel approach for characterization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) pollution patterns in sediments from Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

A novel multivariate method based on principal component analysis of pre-processed sections of chromatograms is used to characterize the complex PAH pollution patterns in sediments from Guanabara Bay, Brazil. Five distinct sources of 3- to 6-ring PAHs could be revealed. The harbour is the most contaminated site in the bay, its plume stretches in a South West to North East direction and the chemical profile indicates mainly pyrogenic sources mixed with a fraction of high-molecular-weight petrogenic PAHs. Rio São João de Meriti is the second largest source of PAHs, and introduces mainly a fraction of low-molecular-weight petrogenic PAHs from the western region of Rio de Janeiro. The sites close to the ruptured pipeline at the Duque de Caxias Refinery show a distinctive pollution pattern indicating a heavy petroleum fraction. The method also led to the identification of new potential indicator ratios also involving coeluting peaks (e.g., triphenylene and chrysene).

HYDROCARBON AND ECOTOXICITY IN SEAWATER AND SEDIMENT SAMPLES OF GUANABARA BAY AFTER THE OIL SPILL IN JANUARY 2000

ABSTRACT On January 18, 2000, approximately 340,000 gallons (1,300 m3) of marine fuel (MF-380) spilled into Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The spill originated from a leak in the pipeline f...

Fast volatile organic compound recovery from soil standards for analysis by thermal desorption gas chromatography

The development of high-throughput environmental screening assays are needed to meet high-specification data quality objectives (DQOs) that require large numbers of samples to be taken and analysed rapidly. The acquisition and stabilisation of the sample is a key technical and operational challenge in analytical sequences associated with the determination of volatile organic compound (VOC) contamination of soils. Further the development of miniaturised and embedded analytical systems for environmental conditioning monitoring requires the development of new sampling techniques. A proof-of-concept study is described that shows how pressurised gas, in this case carbon dioxide, may be used to recover reversibly-bound VOCs from soil into an adsorbent sampler, and then analysed by thermal desorption-gas chromatography. The effects of the volume of the pressurised gas, the gas flow rate and the mass of the soil sample on the recovery efficiency and breakthrough from the adsorbent trap were investigated in a preliminary characterisation study. Two distinct approaches were identified. The first involved ventilation of the voids within the soil matrix to displace the soil-gas headspace, a rapid screening approach. The second involved a more prolonged purge of the matrix to strip reversibly bound species into the gas phase and hence pass them into the adsorbent trap, a purge and trap approach. The shortest possible sample processing time required to yield analytically useful responses was 5 s with the use of the headspace approach. In this case n-octane, benzene and toluene were recovered from conditioned spiked soil samples at concentrations in the range 42 to 1690 mg kg(-1). The limit of detection for the system was estimated to be no greater than 1.2 mg kg(-1). Using the purge and trap variant enabled recovery efficiencies greater than 93% to be achieved with liquid spikes of n-octane onto soil samples. These preliminary studies showed that a system based on this approach would need to balance recovery efficiency, time and analyte breakthrough from the adsorbent trap.

FISHERIES SAFETY MONITORING IN THE GUANABARA BAY, BRAZIL FOLLOWING A MARINE FUEL OIL SPILL

ABSTRACT In January 2000, approximately 1,300 m3 (340,000 gallons) of marine fuel oil were released during a pipeline transference accident in the Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, reaching is...

Lessons Learned On Oil Spill Environment Impact Assessment: 10 Years of Petrobras Experience Review

ABSTRACT This paper presents an overview of the experience on oil spill impact assessment, preparedness and response, including scientific and forensic approaches. The incidents in Guanabara Bay (2...

Chemical Characterization of Environmental Samples after Oil Spill in Iguassu River, Parana, Brazil, July/2000

ABSTRACT On July 16, 2000, a rupture of a pipeline occurred in the Scraper area of the PETROBRAS refinery located in Araucaria, in the state of Parana, south of Brazil. This resulted in the spill of approximately 4,000m3 (1,060,000 gallons) of a crude oil (Cusiana − 41°API). The spilled oil spread over part of the refinery area, affecting the wetlands that are crossed by the Arroio Saldanha creek before discharging into the Barigui River, which is a tributary of Iguassu River. This entire area crossed by the creek is referred to as Point Zero (PO). This paper presents the chemical data of 2 monitoring programs: the Barigui, Iguassu and Arroio Saldanha Rivers, and the groundwater of Point Zero. The programs were carried out in 2 phases: for 3 months immediately after the spill and 1 year later. They included the analyses of BTEX, TPH, PAH, n-alkanes, UCM and biomarkers for the water and sediment samples. The rivers program encompassed 13 stations along Barigui and Iguassu Rivers and 1 station at Arroio Sal...