Using a classical weight-of-evidence approach for 4-years' monitoring of the impact of an accidental oil spill on sediment quality

Abstract

In the present report, the successful application of a Weight of evidence approach (WOE) to sediment quality assessment during a four year impact period following an oil spill is discussed. The study assesses the sediment quality on the Galician Coast (NW Spain) which was impacted by an accidental spill associated with the sinking of the tanker Prestige (2002). The assessment is based on three lines of evidence: physicochemical characterization of the sediments; determination of acute toxicity by conducting sediment toxicity tests and benthic alteration including taxonomic identifications along with community descriptive statistics. The data obtained were integrated using a WOE approach by means of two different methodologies: multivariate analysis and ANOVA-based pie charts. Results confirm that PAHs related to the Prestige oil spill are the main contaminant associated with biological effects in the area which has since recovered from the initial acute impact. Also, the WOE allowed the identification of metal contamination not previously described in the area responsible for toxicity in sediments analyzed. In addition, the methodology proposed to link the 3 lines of evidence results shows the use for the first time of an objective indice based on factor analysis which allows pollution of the sediments studied to be qualitatively and quantitatively evaluated while demonstrating the WOE approach to be recommendable in monitoring environmental quality.