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Forensic Tools to Track the Sources of Paraffin in the Marine Environment

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Paraffin is omnipresent in our everyday lives: it is used in the waxes covering cheeses, in chewing gum, in skincare products and candles. When it solidifies, it forms deposits up to 25cm in diameter. (Photo: M. Ludwig, Naturschutzgemeinschaft Sylt e.V., Germany)

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 ”
Imma Tolosa, IAEA Organic Research Scientist

Tankers transporting paraffin are washed, releasing the substance into the seas. It solidifies in contact with cooler waters and can be seen accumulating on beaches for several kilometres. In 2014, more than 50 tons washed ashore on the island of Sylt in Germany. (Photo: M. Ludwig, Naturschutzgemeinschaft Sylt e.V., Germany)

 “The combination of chemical and isotopic fingerprinting provides a powerful forensic tool which can be used by Member States for legislative purposes” said Imma Tolosa, an organic research scientist at the IAEA Environment Laboratories.

“In the case of a collision or an accidental release, governments need to know where the hydrocarbon or paraffin comes from” added Mrs. Tolosa. These environmental forensic applications allow Member States to better plan remediation activities.Through her work on paraffin, Imma Tolosa has co-authored several reports as well as a chapter on paraffin wax spill identification by Gas Chromatography – Flame Ionisation Detector (GC-FID) and Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) which will be published by Elsevier Inc. as part of the book “Oil Spill Environmental Forensics Case Studies” later in 2017. This is an output of a project to develop methodologies to trace oil pollution in marine waters funded by the US through the Peaceful Uses Initiatives (PUI) programme.

The IAEA Environment Laboratories in Monaco hosted the Thirteenth Expert Meeting of the Bonn Agreement Oil Spill Identification Network of Experts (Bonn-OSINet) from 25 to 27 April 2017. The annual meeting brought together organisations from all around the world which work on oil spill identification. This year the participants discussed paraffin, a hydrocarbon by-product which is becoming increasingly prevalent in the marine environment.

Bonn-OSINet was set up in 2005 with the objective of increasing States’ ability to identify oil spills and to develop standards for spill sampling and identification, as well as to develop and validate new methodologies to address accidental releases. The meeting, held this year in Monaco, provided a forum for participants to address some of the gaps in the guidelines regarding new generation oils and paraffin and discuss ways to improve sampling. Participants agreed to organise a round robin exercise focusing on paraffin so relevant laboratories can test and improve their ability to trace the source of this contaminant. 

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