Possible Accumulation of Heavy Metals Around Offshore Oil Production Facilities in the Beaufort Sea

Abstract

The heavy metals chromium, zinc, cadmium and lead have accumulated in the sediments around some offshore oil rigs. Oil production is now being considered for some nearshore sections of the Beaufort Sea coast. During winter in the Beaufort Sea, heavy metals in the sediments will not be dispersed; the under-ice currents are slow, and some of the bottom is coverd by very saline, relatively stagnant water. Heavy metals in the sediments can probably be assimilated by epibenthic animals in the nearshore region, and then transferred through the food chain to natives who partially subsist on marine animals.