Bioremediation efficacy in Marrow Marsh following the Apex oil spill, Galveston Bay, Texas
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Response Team analyzed samples taken from Marrow Marsh, Galveston Bay, Texas, to assess the efficacy of the August 5, 1990 bioremediation treatment in the marsh following the Apex barges oil spill on July 28, 1990. The bioremediation treatment combined a lyophilized bacterial mixture and a nutrient mix containing phosphorus and nitrogen. Samples from the marsh had been collected over a 96-hour period from both treated and untreated oiled sites. Oil fingerprinting fatty acid analysis, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons analysis and total petroleum hydrocarbons analysis were performed to evaluate changes in the chemical characteristics of spilled oil. Results of analyses, although not statistically reliable, failed to support the occurrence of any definite chemical alteration in the spilled oil that could be attributed to the bioremediation treatment