Long-term sublethal and short-term high dose effects of physically and chemically dispersed oil on accumulation and clearance from various tissues of juvenile coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch

The toxicity of crude oil and the dispersant BP1100X was tested in sea water and in each case was much less than the toxicity to fish in fresh water. Uptake of oil from water, with or without dispersant, was similar after a short exposure to 200 ppm. The oil was cleared from the fish in three weeks. A long-term exposure to oil or oil plus dispersant at a concentration of 5 ppm showed a slow accumulation but significantly above exposure levels. Thus, salmon exposed to oil in sea water can take up the hydrocarbons but appear to cleanse themselves rapidly.