To improve exposure and effect assessment of oil and oil constituents in the (aquatic) environment.

• Development of a clean-up approach for oil extracts from biota and sediments;
• Determination of bioaccumulation of petroleum and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the lab and in the field (both in a large series of sediments), also focussing on mechanistic aspects;
• Determining the effects of temperature on bioaccumulation of aromatic hydrocarbons;
• Relating the measured lab and field bioaccumulation to bioavailable concentrations as determined with various chemical-analytical methods;
• Predicting oil toxicity to various aquatic organisms with solid phase micro-extraction (SPME).

Oil is a widespread environmental contaminant, but little is known about its risks and how to assess these. In particular its complex composition limits straightforward testing with oil. In this project the practical and analytical challenges of working with oil are faced and it is tried to gain mechanistic information on bioaccumulation of the complex mixture, both in the lab and under field conditions. Conversely, the project focusses on developing and applying chemical methods to predict the observed bioaccumulation. Lastly, one of the techniques (SPME) is evaluated for its ability to predict oil toxicity to aquatic (benthic and pelagic) organisms.

• A closer look at oil toxicity: Receptor-mediated effects and influence of weathering (Cozmina Vrabie);
• Bioavailability and bioaccumulation of very hydrophobic organic chemicals (Stephan van der Heijden).