Paraffin is omnipresent in our everyday lives: it is used in the waxes covering cheeses, in chewing gum, in skincare products and candles among others. It is transported as a liquid in heated tankers. Small quantities can be discharged at sea as the tankers transporting it are washed down with water, releasing paraffin into the marine environment. In contact with cooler waters, paraffin solidifies and can be seen accumulating along beaches for several kilometres.
In 2014, more than 50 tons washed ashore on the island of Sylt in the North Sea. Varying in size from several millimetres to more than 25cm in diameter, these paraffin deposits pose a threat to local ecosystems and wildlife.
The IAEA Environment Laboratories have worked on petroleum hydrocarbon monitoring for many years and have developed methodologies which can be used to trace the source of hydrocarbons and their derivatives. One method, which can be applied to paraffin, uses chemical biomarkers to identify its chemical signature. The Laboratories have also developed methods using stable carbon isotopes. This nuclear technique examines the specific “fingerprint” of the carbon compounds, and enables investigators to trace the source of spills and improve the reliability of analyses.
“The combination of chemical and isotopic fingerprinting provides a powerful forensic tool which can be used by Member States to trace the sources of paraffin in the marine environment ”
