Spatial Distribution and Temporal Trend of Anthropogenic Organic Compounds Derived from the 2011 East Japan Earthquake

Chlorinated persistent organic pollutants in human breast milk in the Miyagi Prefecture disaster-affected area 1 year after the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011

BACKGROUND

In the Great East Japan Earthquake of 11 March 2011, an earthquake and accompanying tsunami struck the Tohoku region of northeastern Japan. Buildings collapsed and the tsunami spread waste, including hazardous materials. This study aimed to determine the concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the breast milk of mothers living in the disaster-affected area of Sendai 1 year after the earthquake. Temporal trends in the POPs concentrations were evaluated by comparison with previous studies.

METHODS

One hundred breast milk samples were obtained from lactating mothers at a hospital in Sendai in 2012. The results were compared with those from other years to examine whether there were changes in the POPs concentrations after the earthquake. We measured polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides, such as chlordanes, using gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) with negative chemical ionization, and dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane (DDT) and its metabolites using GC-MS with electron impact ionization.

RESULTS

The mean total PCBs (11 congeners), total chlordane, and total DDT concentrations were 76.2 ng/g lipid, 39.8 ng/g lipid, and 73.5 ng/g lipid, respectively. For the samples collected in 2012, the concentrations of POPs in breast milk showed minimal changes compared with results from previous years for samples collected at the same hospital in Sendai.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study demonstrates that 1 year after the earthquake and tsunami, the concentrations of chlorinated POPs in breast milk had not changed substantially.

Parent and alkylated PAHs profiles in 11 petroleum fuels and lubricants: Application for oil spill accidents in the environment

Eleven types of petroleum fuels and lubricants including regular gasoline, premium gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene, light oil, bunker A, bunker A-white, bunker A-low sulfur, bunker C, quench oil and lubricant samples were analyzed for parent and alkylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Naphthalene was the predominant compound in gasolines, jet fuel and kerosene, constituting > 95% of the parent PAHs, whereas dibenzothiophene and other high molecular weight PAHs were predominant in bunker A and bunker C. PAH compositions in petroleum fuels differ because of differences in their refining temperatures and the boiling points of individual PAHs. Principal component analysis classified into four groups of petroleum fuels. Further, oil samples were clearly separated into five groups based on their ratios of select alkyl homologs (C0/(C0+C1) and C4/(C2+C4) naphthalenes): 'gasolines' 'light oil' 'bunker oils' 'kerosene' and 'quench oil'. A wide variety and detailed profiles of PAHs in petroleum fuels and lubricants in this study can be used for baseline data in oil fingerprinting analyses to identify the potential source of oil spill accidents in the environment.

Assessment of coastal anthropo-ecological system dynamics in response to a tsunami catastrophe of an unprecedented magnitude encountered in Japan

On 11 March 2011, a catastrophic earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit the Pacific coast of northern Japan, devastating many of the towns, villages and coastal ecosystems located along the shoreline. To assess the impacts of the disaster, we investigated temporal dynamics of fish and epibenthic megafaunal community structure in relation to changes in a range of physical, biological and anthropogenic variables between 2007 and 2018 in Onagawa Bay. Commercially important fish such as greenlings, Japanese anchovy, flatfishes, rockfishes were consistently abundant in both larval and adult fish assemblages. While abundance, species richness, and Shannon index H' for adult fish and epibenthic megafaunal assemblages increased significantly soon after the disaster to peak values towards the end of the study period, the same metrics did not change accordingly for larval fish assemblages. Temporal dynamics of larval fish community clearly demonstrated significant seasonal variation along with changes in large-scale environmental conditions such as temperature and nutrients. However, anthropogenic components such as decline in human population, reduction in fishing pressure and the recovery of aquaculture operations significantly explained the observed post-disaster change in adult fish and epibenthic megafaunal communities. The pelagic and benthic components of Onagawa Bay appeared to have responded to the 2011 disaster very differently, and this study suggests the post-disaster recovery and dynamics of the coastal ecosystems may be regulated by how human societies respond to the impacts of a tsunami catastrophe through their influences on benthic habitat of ecosystems.

Spatiotemporal change of cesium-137 in the Pacific coast of Tohoku, Japan: The mussel watch approach

We measured radiocesium in mussel tissue collected from the Pacific coast of Tohoku from 2011 to 2015 to investigate the temporal and spatial dynamics of radiocesium in the coastal area. Radioactive ¹³⁷Cs was detected in all the samples collected in 2011, but it was not found in samples from localities north of Sendai after 2012. In contrast, ¹³⁷Cs was detected in many sites in the Fukushima area even from 2012 to 2015. The fluctuation of ¹³⁷Cs concentration in mussel tissue seems to reflect the ¹³⁷Cs concentration in suspended particles in the seawater, suggesting that there was an influx of soil deposition and resuspension of seabed sediment. These results suggest that the ¹³⁷Cs concentration in mussel tissue sensitively indicates the ¹³⁷Cs concentration in the environment, and that the "mussel watch" approach is an effective way to understand the dynamics of radiocesium concentrations in coastal areas.

Temporal trends in PCB concentrations in mussels collected from areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

In the Great East Japan Earthquake of 11 March 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and accompanying tsunami struck the Tohoku region of Japan. The tsunami washed away old equipment containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) stored in the region's factories, and these PCBs may have leaked out of their casings into the marine environment. In this study, we evaluate marine PCB contamination by comparing mussels collected before (in 2005) and after (June 2011) the tsunami. PCB contamination levels were significantly elevated in mussel samples collected after the tsunami in June 2011 (3 months after the tsunami). This indicates that PCBs (specifically, formulation KC-400) leaked out of old equipment swept away by the tsunami and accumulated in mussels. PCBs were estimated to have an environmental half-life (EHL) in mussels of 4 months. Our results show that an earthquake and subsequent tsunami can cause elevated PCB contamination in the marine environment.

Beach-cast debris surveys on Triangle Island, British Columbia, Canada indicate the timing of arrival of 2011 Tōhoku tsunami debris in North America

We conducted beach-cast debris transect surveys on Triangle Island, British Columbia, Canada in 2012-2017 to (1) establish a baseline against which to track future changes in stranded debris on this small, uninhabited island; and (2) time the arrival in western North America of debris released by the 2011 Tōhoku tsunami. Most (90%) of the six-year total of 6784 debris items tallied was composed of Styrofoam or plastic. The number of debris items peaked in 2014 (waste Styrofoam, rope) and 2015 (waste plastic, wood), and cumulative totals for all debris types were ca. 50% higher in 2014-15 than in 2012-13 and 2016-17. The peaks in 2014-15 probably represented the arrival of the bulk of the tsunami debris, based on close correspondence with forecasting models and debris surveys elsewhere. A fuller understanding of the movement of the Tōhoku tsunami debris will require information from other beach monitoring programs.

Indicators of Marine Pollution in the North Pacific Ocean

The complex nature of ocean pollution underscores the utility in identifying and characterizing a limited number of "indicators" that enables scientists and managers to track trends over space and time. This paper introduces a special issue on indicators of marine pollution in the North Pacific Ocean and builds on a scientific session that was held at the North Pacific Marine Science Organization. The special issue highlights studies using a variety of indicators to provide insight into the identification of legacy and emerging contaminants, the ranking of priority pollutants from various sources, and the effects of contaminants on ecosystem health in the North Pacific Ocean. Examples include the use of mussels to illustrate spatial and temporal trends of a number of contaminants following the 2011 tsunami in Japan, the use of molecular marker (linear alkylbenzenes, hopanes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) profiles to identify pollution sources, and the use of plastic resin pellets to illustrate spatial trends of petroleum pollution around the world. Stable isotopes were used to strengthen the utility of the Glaucous-winged gull (Larus glaucescens) as an indicator of marine pollution. Examples also demonstrate the development and application of biomarker approaches, including gene transcripts, oxidative stress, estradiol, hatchability, and respiration and swimming behavior abnormalities, as a function of exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls, sulfur-diesel, Pinghu crude oil, galaxolide and antifouling biocides. We provide a brief review of indicators of marine pollution, identify research gaps, and summarize key findings from the articles published within the issue. This special issue represents the first compilation of research pertaining to marine pollution indicators in the North Pacific Ocean and provides guidance to inform mitigation and monitoring efforts of contaminants in the region.