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. may be dangerous i f i t ent ers water

. aquat i c t oxi ci ty: 10- 100 ppm96 r/

. ood chai n concent rati on potent i al : none

i nt akes

( Speci es not speci f i ed]

Pentachl orophenol 3,5)a Heal t h hazards

. dust. i r r i t at i ng t o eyes, nose and t hr oat. i f i nhal ed, w l l cause coughi ng or

di f f i cul t breat hi ngdangerous t o breathe

. cor r osi ve to ski n

. poi sonous i f swal l owed. w l l burn ski n and eyes. causes smart i ng of t he ski n and f i r stdegree burns on shor t exposure; maycause secondary bur ns on l ong exposur e. dust or vapor i r r i t ates ski n and mucousmembranes, causi ng coughi ng and sneezi ng.i ngest i on causes l oss of appet i t e,respi ratory di f f i cul t i es, anesthesi a,sweati ng, coma. Overexposure cancause deat h.

sol i d

Tabl e 1

ENT/ SCI ENTI FI C QUESTI ONS FREQUENTLYADDRESSED AT SPI LLS F HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

123.

4.

5 .

6.

7.

8 .

9.

10.

What was spi l l ed?How hazardous are t he spi l l ed subst ances?What pr ecaut i ons shoul d e t aken t oprotect human heal t h nd wel f are?Where w l l t he spi l l ed subst ances go?can t he spi l l ed subst ances be cont ai nedat t he spi l l si te?What contai nment nd cl eanup st r ategi es canbe used t o mni mze human heal t h eff ectsand envi r onmental damage?What are the envi ronment al and soci o-economc r esour ces at r i sk f r om t hespi l l ed subst ances?h hat are t he envi ronment al and soci o-economc protecti on pr i or i t i es?What were t he i mpacts of t he spi l l edsubst ances on humans and the envi r onment?What was t he f ate f t he spi l l edsubst ances?

3 . THE PENTACHLOROPHENOL SPILL ANDASSOCIATED PROBLEMS

On J ul y 2, 1980, a col l i si on occur r ed betweent he Panamani an bul k carr i er Sea Dani el andt he German cont ai ner shi p Test bank i n theM ssi ssi ppi Ri ver Gul f Outl et , shi p channelapproxi matel y twent y ml es sout heast of NewOrl eans, Loui si ana. As a r esul t of t he damaget o the shi ps, f our cont ai ner s wer e l ost over -board. The four cont ai ners hel d househol dgoods, l ube oi l , scrap metal , and twel ve t onsof pent achl orophenol PCP) n 50 pound paperb a g s In addi t i on, an unknown number of dnnnsof hydrobromc aci d I i b r ) were l ost overboardor rupt ur ed, spi l l i ng hydr obr omc aci d ont ot he decks of t he Test bank and i nt o the water.The cont ai ners of l ube oi l , househol d goods,and scrap metal posed no unusual probl em f ort he cl eanup crews and were subsequent l y r emovedand di sposed of . Response personnel were,however, i mmedi atel y conf r ont ed w t hsi gni f i cant spi l l of hazardous mat eri al s w t ht he f ol l ow ng charact eri sti cs:

Hydr obr omc Aci d 3 )a Heal t h hazards

vaporpoi sonous i f i nhal ed

. i r r i t at i ng t o eyes, nose, and t hroatpoi sonous i f swal l owed. w l l bur n ski n and eyesw l l cause f rostbi te

. nhal at i on causes sever e i r r i t at i on fnose and upper r espi r atory t r act , l ungi nj ury. I ngesti on causes burns of mout hand stomach. Contact w th eyes causessevere i r r i t at i on and bums. Cont actw t h ski n causes i r r i t at i on and bur ns.

i qui d

b. Water pol l ut i ondangerous to aquat i c l i f e i n hi ghconcent rati ons

b Wat er pol l ut i on. ha rmfu l t o aquat i c l i f e i n ver y l owconcent r at i ons

. may be dangerous i f i t ent ers wateri nt akesaquat i c t oxi ci ty: 5ppm3 hr/ tr out / l ethal /f resh water

. f ood chai n concent r at i on potent i al :30-100 = bi oaccumul ati on f actox

. ethal concent r ati on 100- 300 mg/ l (ppb). EPA Cr i t er i on ( f resh wat er ) 6.2 ppb/24hr aver agehot t o exceed 4 ppb everEPA accept abl e l i mt i n ood = 2 mg/person/day

When t he PCP spi l l f i r st occur r ed, i ni t i alatt ent i on was f ocused on the hydrobr omc aci d

whi ch was emt t i ng poi sonous vapor cl oud andmxi ng w t h the waters f t he Mssi ssi ppi Ri verGul f Out l et, causi ng i mmedi ate probl em f ordi ver s, other response personnel , and near byt ownspeopl e. For tunatel y, onl y smal l amount swere spi l l ed and i t was cl eaned up and movedof f the spi l l si te wt hi n matt er of daysw t hout maj or m shap. However, t he pent a-chl orophenol pr esent ed l onger - t erm probl emThe PCP, i n gr anul ar f orm and r esembl i ng coar sesand, di sappear ed i nt o t he bot t om muds of t heshi p channel wher e vi si bi l i t y i s cl ose t o zer o.

PCP i s a bi oci de used as an i nsect i ci de, f ungi -ci de, her bi ci de, al gi ci de, di si nf ectant , and nant i f oul i ng pai nt s, but arketed pr i mari l y asa wood preservat i ve (12) . Heal th ef f ect s f rom

t he P a t sel f range f r om mnor kin and l ungi rr i tati on to death. A S a t echni cal gradechemcal , t he pr oduct cont ai ned onl y 8 t o 92%pent achl orophenol . The remai nder of t he productwas compri sed of an unknown mxt ure f i mpur i -ti es ( 8 ) . Thr ough hi gh r esol uti on gas chr cmato-graphy GC) and hi gh resol ut i on gas chromato-graphy-mass spect rometry ( GC- KS) anal yses oft he ori gi nal cargo, i t as reveal ed t hat t he CP

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was composed of t hree maj or compounds (pent a-chl orophenol , t et rachl orophenol , t r i chl oro-phenol ) , t en mnor chl ori nat ed organi c chemcal s(pent rachl orobenzene, hexachl orobenzene, di octyl

phthal at e, hexachl orodi phenyl et her , hept achl oro-di phenyl et her , oct achl orodi phenyl et her , hexa-chl orodi benzofur an, dexachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin,heptachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, oct achl orcdi benzo-p-di oxi n), and t race amounts of two hundredchl orocarbons 7)

Al though t he di oxi ns were present i n onl y smal lamount s, t hei r ext raordi nar i l y hi gh toxi ci t yand hi gh bi oaccumul ati on t endenci es make t hempot ent i al l y ver y danger ous t o both humans andthe envi ronment ( 4, l l ) . Theref ore, besi des t heprobl em creat ed by the spi l l of hydrobromcaci d and pentachl orophenol n t o the M ssi ssi ppiRi ver Gul f Out l et, t here were many addi t i onalheal t h and envi ronment al di f f i cul t i es causedby t he di scovery of di oxi ns i n t he spi l l edcargo.

For t he next mont h, t he . S . Coast Guard and

response groups f rom other f ederal , st at e, andpr i vat e sources cont i nued t he very di f f i cul ttask of t ryi ng to cl ean the bot t om of the shi pchannel and sur roundi ng areas of pol l ut antwhi ch was now essent i al l y i nvi si bl e. Theef f ort cost nearl y three ml l i on dol l ars, theevacuati on of over 5 peopl e, t he cl osure of400 square ml es of Loui si ana wat erways of i shi ng, consi derabl e anxi et y over t he i mpactt o the heal t h of l ocal r esi dent s and responsepersonnel , and publ i c l oss of conf i dence i nthe l ocal f i shery (4). For t unat el y, t herewere nei t her any repor t s of si gni f i cant i l l nessor i nj ury as a r esul t of t he i nci dent , orl ong- t erm cont amnat i on probl ems i n any oft he f i sh or shel l f i sh fr om t he regi on.

The probl em resul t i ng from spi l l s such as t hePCP i nci dent of hazardous mater i al s are,however, compl ex and dangerous. These probl emmust be ant i ci pated before i nci dent s occurand shoul d be i ncl uded i n the devel opment oft he response deci si on- maki ng process. Someof t he most common probl ems associ ated w thhazardous mater i al s spi l l s are l i st ed nTabl es 2 t hrough 11. For t he purposes ofpre- spi l l pl anni ng, t hey have been di vi dedi nt o groups nd pl aced under t he mostappropr i at e spi l l quest i on.

Tabl e 2

Potent i al Probl ems Associ at ed w t hAnsweri ng Management hci ent i f i c

Quest i on: (1) WHAT WAS SPI LLED?

. unw l l i ngness/ i nabi l i ty of spi l l er todi scl ose compl et e i dent i t y of spi l l ed

product. pl acardi ng/ l abel i ng too general. i ncor r ect , i ncompl et e, mssi ng or dest royed

mssspel l i ng of t rade, common, r t echni cal

presence of potent i al l y hazardous i mpur i t i es

pot ent i al r i sk t o f i el d, l aboratory, and

cargo mani f est

name of product

i n product spi l l ed

r esponse personnel when worki ng w t h nknownsubst ances

Tabl e 3

Potent i al Probl ems Associ at ed w t hAnsweri ng Management / Sci ent i f i c

Quest i on: 2 ) HOW HAZARDOUS RE THESPI LLED SUBSTANCES?

. possi bi l i t y f or f ol l ow ng hazar dous mat eri al st o be spi l l ed si ngl y or n combi nat i ons:. expl osi ves

gases. f l ammabl e and combust i bl e l i qui ds. f l ammabl e sol i dsoxi di zers and organi c peroxi des

. poi sons. radi oacti ve mat er i al s. cor rosi ves( si ngl y or i n combi nat i on) f rom

. pot ent i al f or t he f ol l ow ng heal t h ef f ectsI mmedi at eel ayed. f i res . pat hogenx organi sms

expl osi ons . cor rosi ves. poi soni ng i rr i tants. cont amnati on . bi oaccumul ati on. suf f ocat i on . mut agens. chemcal burns . carci nogens. i nt ense eat . t er atogens. extreme col d poi sonspr oducts sparse or i ncorrect.

. avai l abl e i nf ormat i on on hazards f spi l l ed

. mpur i t i es more t oxi c t han productaquat i c and mari ne pol l ut i on i nf ormat i onnot avai l abl e or i ncompl et e f or manysubst ances

col orl ess, tastel ess

sedi ment

dangerous or nknown r eact i ons amongspi l l ed subst ances

on humans and envi ronment

l evel s of cont emnant can e based oni nsuf f i ci ent data.

. many hi ghl y dangerous subst ances odor l ess,dangerous reacti vi t y w t h wat er , ai r, l i ght ,

. ncompat i bi l i t y of spi l l ed subst ances w t hsynergyst i c ef f ects f spi l l ed subst ances

. cri t er i a f or f ederal and st at e accept abl e

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. presence of l arge nunher s of personnel ,equi pment , and acti vi t i es someti mesdamagi ng t o envi ronment

. l ocal r esource i nf ormat i on not al waysavai l abl e f or ar ea. ocal weather may pr event use of mostef f ect i ve cl eanup t echni ques

. ocat i ng accept abl e and saf e di sposal si t esf or cl eanup materi al s and spi l l ed productof ten di f f i cul t

Tabl e 8

Pot ent i al Probl ems Associ at ed w t hAnsweri ng Management / Sci ent i f i c Questi on:7) WHAT RE THE RESOURCES AT RISK FROM THE

SPI LLED SUBSTAXCES?.

f at e and eff ect s of some spi l l ed subst ancest hroughout t he envi ronment unknown or poorl yunderst ood

resources of area may of ten by unavai l abl eor l i mt ed, especi al l y earl y i n the spi l l

. may be di f f i cul t t o predi ct accurat et raj ectori es f or t he spi l l ed substances. may not be possi bl e t o conf i rm exi st i ngpubl i shed resource data f or areal ocal sensi t i vi t i es and pr i or i t i es may beunknown or poor l y underst ood

. dat a on soci oeconomc nd envi ronment al

Tabl e 9

Potent i al Probl ems Associ at ed w t hAnsweri ng Management / Sci ent i f i c Questi on:

( 8 ) WHAT RE THE ENVI RONMENTAL ANDSOCI OECONOM C PROTECTI ON PRIORJ . TI ES?

dat a on soci oeconomc and envi r onment alr esources of area of t en unavai l abl e

. f at e and ef f ects of spi l l ed subst ancesof t en unknown or not under st ood. habi t ats or organi sm mandat ed by l aw tobe protected someti mes overl ooked. pol i t i cal and publ i c pr essure occasi onal l yf orce protecti on of i nappr opr i at e resour cesat expense of other s. ocal i nput and dat a on r esour ces someti mesoverl ooked or i gnored

ocal pr i ori t i es somet i mes Over l ooked ori gnored

Tabl e 10

Pot ent i al Probl ems Associ at ed w t hAnsweri ng Management / Sci ent i f i c Quest i on:

9) VRAT RE T H IMPACTS OF THE SPI LLEDSUBSTANCES ON HUMANS AND THE ENVIRONMENT?

Human Heal t h and Wel f areack of prespi l l medi cal dat a on ef f ect ed

nfl uences of normal background cont amnant s

. ack of epi demol ogi cal i nf ormat i on onegal di f f i cul t i es i n at t empt i ng o sampl e

i ndi vi dual s and popul at i ons

on i mpacted i ndi vi dual s and popul ati ons

i mpacted subj ects

ci vi l i ans

stati sti cal and l ogi sti cs probl em i nsampl i ng l arge numbers of i ndi vi dual s f romvar i ed soci oeconomc groupsunnecessary publ i c anxi ety and worry causedby sensati onal press coverage and i r respon-si bl e st at ement s by respondi ng of f i ci al sdocument ati on of cont amnat i on of i mpactedground wat er sur f ace wat er , soi l , ai r ,

wel l waterEnvi ronment all ack of prespi l l f aunal and f l oral surveysof i mpact ed envi ronment sl ack of data on background l evel s fambi ent contamnant sconf usi on of i mpact w t h natur al var i abi l i t yof popul at i ondi f f i cul t y i n f i ndi ng dead organi sm f orbody count s especi al l y, i n remote areasand w th smal l si zed organi smsdesi gni ng damage assessment program accept-abl e to al l part i esdetermni ng what quant i t y of cont amnantcaused i mpactpr event i ng press f rom causi ng pani c i nconsumer markets of t hreatened resourcesf ormul ati on and acceptance of sampl i ng pl an

- -

Tabl e 11

Pot ent i al Probl ems Associ at ed w thAnsweri ng Management / Sci ent i f i c Questi on:

(101 WHAT WAS THE FATE OF THE SPI LLEDSUBSTANCES?

unknown physi cal / chemcal behavi or ofspi l l ed pr oducts i n envi ronmenti nabi l i ty to f ol l ow spread of spi l l edsubst ances t hroughout t he envi ronment bydi r ect observat i onl ack of i nf ormat i on on conver si on fspi l l ed subst ances t o br eakdown product s,r eact i on products, met abol i c pr oducts i nt he envi ronmenti gnorance of pathways, r ecept ors, processesi nvol ved in an i nt eracti on bet ween t hesubst ances and t he l i vi ng and non- l i vi ngenvi ronmentdi ff i cul t i es i n quant i f yi ng amounts fspi l l ed subst ance:

r ecovered i n cl eanup operat i onevaporatedcarri ed away by ai r or wat er cur rentsconver t ed to other product sabsorbedadsorbedt aken up by l i vi ng organi smsdi ssol veddi ssi pat ed t hroughout t he envi ronment

4. IMPLICATIONS OF HAZARWUS M TERI ISSPI US

The human appeti t e f or advancement and con-veni ence has cr eat ed unl i mt ed opport uni t i es ori ndust ry and t he economy, but i nf i ni t e probl emf or bot h human heal t h and wel f are and theenvi ronment . The pr esent product s and by-

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products of modern t echnol ogy i ncreasi ngl y havet he capabi l i t y o cause an appal l i ng var i et y ofi nj ur i es, cont amnat i on, di seases, or deat hs.Fur t hermore, i t i s no l onger possi bl e t o avoi dcont amnat i on dur i ng normal cont act w t h ai r ,wat er , f ood, ground, and materi al s. I t i s notnecessary to bel abor t he envi ronmental messageand i mpl i cat i ons f gl obal pol l ut i on but i tshoul d be st ated t hat t he rol e of hazardousmater i al s i n t he pol l ut i on i ssue i s, i ndeed,si gni f i cant

Whi l e spi l l s may be onl y one source of chemcalpol l ut i on, t he spi l l s factor i s easi er t odocument and cont rol t han many other t ypes ofpol l ut i on. I t i s unf or tunat e that t he manuf ac-t ure, t ransport at i on and use of hazardousmater i al s i s i ncreasi ng o r api dl y and that mostmar i ne spi l l s of oi l and hazardous subst ancesoccur i n r i vers, por t s, and harbors, and,t her efore, near maj or metr opol i t an areas ( 131,but i t i s encouragi ng that i t may sti l l bepossi bl e t o have posi t i ve i mpact on t heprobl em As t he i nci dence of hazardous materi al s

dump si t e probl ems, spi l l s, and cont amnat i ongrows, publ i c awareness has al so i ncreasedconsi derabl e. Superf und l egi sl at i on has beenpassed by t he Senate. Federal , st ate andpr i vat e response gr oups are i mprovi ng thei rabi l i t i es to respond saf el y and ef f ecti vel yand bett er cl eanup and cont ai nment t echni quesand materi al s are bei ng devel oped rapi dl y.D sposal si t es are bei ng sel ected w t h more careand pl anni ng, whi l e t he reconnai ssance andcl eanup of ol d i t e s cont i nues. U t i mat el y,perhaps, more st r ess w l l be pl aced on pr even-t i on of t he acci dent s and si t uat i ons whi ch causespi l l s. Through t hese i nf l uences, i t i s hopedt hat at l east some f t he hazardous materi al sspi l l probl em can be el i mnat ed or amel i orat ed.

5. REPERENCES

Brai t hwai t e, K. W Pol l ut i on f rom HazardousSubstances: The Legi sl ati ve Response.Proceedi ngs of t he Conf erence on O l andHazardous Mat er i al s Spi l l s: Prevenf i on-Cont rol - Cl eanup- Recovery-D sposal ;December 3-5 1979 pp. 1-3.

Buckl ey, J. L. and Wener, S. A. HazardousMat eri al s Spi l l s: Document at i on andAnal ysi s of H stor i cal Dat a. Envi ronmentalProtect i on Technol ogy Ser i es, U. S. EPAEPA- 600/ 2- 78- 066, Apri l , 1978.

Chr i s. Chemcal Hazards Response I nf ormati onSystem Depart ment of Transpor t at i on, .S.Coast Guard, amandant I nst ruct i onM16465.12, Oct ober, 1978.

Cl ement s, Capt ai n Ri chard. Fi nal Feder alOn-Scene Coordi nator Report on: V SeaDani el / M V Test bank Pent achl orophenolD scharge Near Shel l Beach, Loui si ana,J ul y 22, 1980.

crosby, D C. Memorandum to Captai n Ri chardCl ement s, USCG On-Scene Coordi nator,summar i zi ng i nt erpret at i ons of PCP spi l lw t h r ecommendati ons f or f ut ur e act i on;August 11, 1980.

Department of Transport ati on. HazardousMateri al s 1980 Emergency Response Gui debook.U. S. Depart ment of Transport at i on,Publ i cat i on No. DOT P 5800.2.

Laset er , J L. and DeLeOn, I. R. The Pent a-chl orophenol (PCP) Spi l l i n t he M ssi ssi ppiRi ver Gul f Out l et MRGO): Chemst rySuppor t . Fi nal Repor t . Cent er f orBi o- Organi c Studi es, Uni versi t y ofNew Orl eans, New Orl eans, Loui si ana.

Li ndsay, D R. Let t er to Wl l i am Ernst,NOAA Sci ent i f i c Support Coordi nator,October 9, 1980.

Maynard, N. G. Research Requi red f or Predi ct i onof O l Spi l l Ef f ects. Present ed i n the

Fi rst Greek/ U. S. Worki ng Conf erence onOceanography Rel ated t o Envi ronment alProbl em Aegi na, Greece, J ul y 7- 11, 1980.

Maynard, N G. Techni ques f or t he Opt i mzat i onof Sci ent i f i c Spi l l Response Test ed att he Burmah Agate O l Spi l l . Conf erenceProceedi ngs of t he 1981 h- ct i c Mari neO l spi l l Program AMOP), J une 16- 18, 1981,Edmonton, Al bert a.

N l l son, C. , Norstr om A. , Anderson, .,Rappe, C . I mpuri t i es in Commerci alProducts rel at ed to pent achl orophenol .

n: aof K. R. (ea. ) Pentachl orophenol :Chemst ry, Pharmacol ogy, and Envi ronmentalToxi col ogy. New York, Pl enum Press.

Thompson, M. A The New Or l eans Pent achl oro-phenol Spi l l : The Federal , St at e andLocal Response o t he Spi l l and t heConsequences and I mpl i cati ons f t heSpi l l . Unpubl i shed Repor t t o the Nat i onalOceani c and Atmospheri c Admni st rati on,Boul der , Col orado, 24 pp.

U.S. Coast Guard. Pol l ut i ng I nci dent s i n andaround U S. Waters. Cal endar Year 1978and 1979. Department of Transport ati on,USCG COHDTI NST M 6450. 2 (O d CG- 487).

Wilder, I. and Lafornara Control o fHazardous Mat er i al Spi l l s n t he Water

Envi ronment. Water and Sewage Works,119, 1 ( 821, J anuary, 1982.

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