エクソン・ヴァルデス号の石油流出事故に対する長期的な生態系の対応
Charles H Peterson1, Stanley D Rice, Jeffrey W Short
1University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Institute of Marine Sciences, Morehead City, NC 28557, USA. cpeters@email.unc.edu
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|December 20, 2003
まとめ
エクソン・ヴァルデス号の石油流出事故は,生態学的リスク評価が急性死亡率を超えて進化しなければならないことを明らかにした. 慢性的な,次致命的な曝露と間接的な影響は,野生生物の個体数に大きく影響し,生態系の回復を遅らせます.
科学分野:
- 環境毒理学 環境毒理学
- 生態系科学 生態系科学 生態系科学
- マリン・バイオロジー マリン・バイオロジー
背景:
- 1989年にアラスカのプリンス・ウィリアム・サウンドで起きたエクソン・ヴァルデスの石油流出事故は,現在の生態学的リスク評価方法の限界を明らかにした.
- 伝統的な評価は,主に急性死亡率に焦点を当て,長期的な影響を過小評価しました.
研究 の 目的:
- 石油流出や有毒物質による生態学的リスクを再評価する.
- 総合的なリスク評価のための生態系ベースの毒性学への移行を提唱する.
主な方法:
- エクソン・バルデスの石油流出事故に対する長期的な生態系の反応の分析.
- アラスカの野生生物集団に持続的な有毒油と慢性的な被曝の影響の観察.
主要な成果:
- 有毒な地下油の予期せぬ持続性が観察されました.
- 亜致死性被曝は慢性的な効果をもたらし,人口減少を遅らせました.
- 間接的な生態学的影響は食物連鎖にカスケードされ,回復を妨げました.
結論:
- 石油による海洋汚染に関する現在の生態学的リスク評価の慣行は不十分である.
- 慢性的な,次致命的,間接的な影響は,生態系に影響を与える重要な要因です.
- 生態系ベースの毒理学は,長期的な環境リスクの予測と管理に不可欠です.
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