Marine Pollution Bulletin 49 (2004) 637–647

www.elsevier.com/locate/marpolbul

Petroleum hydrocarbon residues in the marine environment

of Bassein–Mumbai
a,*
Mithlesh Kumar Chouksey , A.N. Kadam b, M.D. Zingde b

a
Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Seven Bungalows, Versova, Mumbai 400 061, India
b
National Institute of Oceanography (Regional Centre), Four Bungalows, Andheri (West), Mumbai 400 053, India

Abstract

The paper reports PHc contamination in water, sediment and biota of the coastal area of Bassein–Mumbai in relation to rel-
atively less polluted sites (Dabhol and Ratnagiri) off the west coast of India. To facilitate inter-comparison three standards have
been used though the results are reported in terms of SAM (Residue of Saudi Arabian Mix crude). The concentration of PHc in
water off Bassein–Mumbai varies widely (2.9–39.2 lg l
1 ) as compared to the average baseline (2.8 lg l
1 ) with higher values
generally confined to creeks and estuaries. The higher concentration of PHc in the bottom water of shallow areas is attributed to the
contribution from the sediment-associated petroleum residue. High concentration of PHc in the surficial sediment of inshore area
Ratnagiri (107.7 ppm, dry wt) is perhaps the remnants of an oil spill that occurred in the Bombay High region on May 17, 1993. The
majority of values of PHc concentration in the surficial sediment of the Bassein–Mumbai region exceed 15 ppm (dry wt) against the
expected background (<3 ppm, dry wt) and the trend is indicative of transfer of PHc loads from the inshore areas to the open-shore
sediments. The PHc concentration of 0.8–2.6 ppm (dry wt) in sediment deposited prior to the first global commercial use of
petroleum in core R5 represents the biogenic background. Based on the period of industrialisation and the horizon of PHc accu-
mulation, a sedimentation rate of 0.2 and 1.0 cm y
1 respectively is estimated for cores U11 and U12. Substantial increase in the
concentration of PHc in sediment after 1950 in cores T8 and T10 correlates well with the establishment of refineries on the western
shore of the Thane Creek in 1955–1960. A minor peak in most cores in the top 10 cm sediment probably results from biological
transfer of PHc lower into the sediment by benthic organisms. Excess of PHc retained in the sediment of the Bassein–Mumbai region
over the biogenic background is estimated at 40,000 t. The PHc residues (1.8–10.8 ppm, wet wt) in fish caught off Bassein–Mumbai
do not suggest bioaccumulation.

2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Petroleum hydrocarbons; Sediments; Water quality; Pollution; Marine environment; Arabian Sea; India

1. Introduction accidents, de-blasting, etc.; and remaining 8.5% comes

Pollution of the sea by petroleum hydrocarbons oc-
curs mainly through marine operations, land based
discharges, and atmospheric and natural inputs (IMCO,
1977; GESAMP, 1993; Laws, 2000). The total input of
petroleum to the oceans through man’s activities and
sources such as atmospheric fallout, natural seepage,
etc. is estimated at 2.37 · 106 t y
1 (Kennish, 1997). Out
of these, about 65.2% is discharged through municipal
and industrial wastes, urban and river runoffs, oceanic
dumping and atmospheric fallout; 26.2% derives from
discharges during transportation, dry docking, tanker
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +91-22-2636-1446x221; fax: +91-22-
2636-1573.
E-mail address: choukseymk@rediffmail.com (M.K. Chouksey).
0025-326X/$ - see front matter
2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2004.04.007
from fixed installations like coastal refineries, offshore
production facilities, marine terminals, etc. (GESAMP,
1993). Though a considerable fraction of petroleum
hydrocarbons entering the marine environment is re-
moved by evaporation, a portion gets distributed in
water, accumulated in sediment and transferred to biota.
The marine area of Bassein–Mumbai (formally
known as Bombay) is prone to oil pollution due
to voluminous releases of effluents from a variety of
industries including refineries and petrochemical com-
plexes, loading and unloading of crude oil and its
products in the Mumbai Port, and indiscriminate release
of untreated or partially treated sewage. Surprisingly,
though this marine area is extensively investigated with
respect to changes in the concentrations of dissolved
oxygen (DO) and nutrients in water (Zingde, 1999);
638 M.K. Chouksey et al. / Marine Pollution Bulletin 49 (2004) 637–647
heavy metals in water, sediment and organisms (Zingde
and Desai, 1981; Patel et al., 1985; Pillai et al., 1987;
Bhosale and Sahu, 1991; Sahu and Bhosale, 1991;
Sharma et al., 1994; Ram et al., 2003); and pollution-
induced modifications in biotic communities (NIO,
1998; Ramaiah et al., 1998), information on the distri-
bution of petroleum hydrocarbon residues (PHc) is ra-
ther scanty and limited to only a few isolated sites (Ram
and Kadam, 1991; Ingole et al., 1989; Kadam and
Bhangale, 1993). This paper reports the findings of a
comprehensive study conducted to assess the extent of
PHc contamination of water, surface and sub-surface
sediments and biota of the coastal marine environment
of Bassein–Mumbai in relation to relatively less polluted
sites off the west coast of India.
2. Study area
The coastal geomorphology of Mumbai and the re-
gion around (Fig. 1) is variegated with a number of
creeks and bays cutting across the landmass. The
prominent waterways are the Thane, Mahim, Versova
and Malad Creeks and the Ulhas estuary which are
shallow with extensive mudflats that harbour mangroves
in patches. The region is under the high influence of
semi-diurnal tides with the mean spring tidal range of
4.9–5.0 m throughout the Thane Creek, while, the
spring tidal range of 4.5 m in the mouth of the Ulhas
estuary decreases to 2.8 m at 55 km inland. The annual
mean rainfall of 2600–2800 mm that the catchment re-
ceives during June–September (monsoon period), leads
to high runoff through the Ulhas River and her tri-
butaries to the Arabian Sea though the barrages
Fig. 1. Location of sampling stations off Bassein–Mumbai.
upstream permit only limited river discharge (5 · 104 –
7 · 104 m3 d
1 ) even during the early dry season (NIO,
1994). Mumbai and Jawaharlal Nehru (JN) Ports lo-
cated within the Thane Creek are the major gateways for
India’s import and export. These ports handled 2.7 · 107
and 1.9 · 107 t of cargo respectively during 2000–2001
out of which 1.5 · 107 t was of crude oil and petro-
leum products at Jawahar Deep (represented by station
T5).
Mumbai City with a human population density
of 25,000 persons km
2 generates 2.2 · 106 m3 d
1 of
domestic sewage out of which about 2 · 106 m3 d
1 en-
ters marine waters including creeks and bays, largely
untreated (Zingde, 1999). Nearly 8% of industries in the
country are located around Mumbai in three large
industrial clusters namely, Chembur–Thane–Belapur
belt, Kalyan–Ulhasnagar–Ambarnath belt and Patal-
ganga–Amba belt. A variety of industries, including
refineries and petrochemical complexes from these
clusters have been releasing their effluents-largely un-
treated in the past, in the adjacent inshore waters.
Coastal areas off Dabhol and Ratnagiri about 150
and 225 km respectively (not shown in Fig. 1) south of
Mumbai were also investigated for relative comparison
of PHc concentrations. These regions are unpolluted
(NIO, 1999) and are not directly influenced by handling
of crude oil and petroleum products but being a fishing
zone have significant traffic of fishing vessels.
3. Material and methods
Water and sediment were collected at stations marked
in Fig. 1 as well as off Dabhol and Ratnagiri where five
stations were sampled across the coast at distances of 0,
5, 10, 15 and 25 km from the shoreline; station 1 being in
the creek or nearest to the coast. Water (2.8 l) was col-
lected at 1 m below the sea surface and 1 m above the
bed using a specially designed glass bottle holder as
described elsewhere (IOC-UNESCO, 1984). The bottle
was cleaned with n-hexane and dried and rinsed with the
ambient seawater before sampling. Seawater was ex-
tracted with n-hexane to transfer PHc in the organic
phase and the organic extract was concentrated after
drying. Fluorescence of the extract was measured on a
double beam Perkin–Elmer LS-3B fluorescence spec-
trophotometer at emission wavelength of 360 ± 1 nm
(excitation wavelength 310 ± 1 nm). Each sample was
tested for quenching by dilution as recommended (IOC-
UNESCO, 1984; Law et al., 1997). Blanks were mea-
sured following the same procedure using PHc-free
seawater. No clean-up method for the hexane extract
was used. Comparative studies have proved that in case
of seawater, clean-up is not necessary and accurate re-
sults are obtained without this step (IOC-UNESCO,
1984).
 M.K. Chouksey et al. / Marine Pollution Bulletin 49 (2004) 637–647
While a van Veen grab (area 0.04 m2 ) was used for
sampling subtidal sediment, intertidal sediment was
scooped with a hand-held metal shovel during low tide
(IOC-UNESCO, 1982). Sediment cores from shallow
subtidal areas were obtained by pressing a PVC tube till
it reached the hard stratum below and carefully
retrieving it taking care so that the material in its bottom
portion did not slip out. Cores from deeper stations
were collected in a PVC tube inserted in an oil-free
gravity corer. Soon after collection, the sediment con-
tained in the PVC tube was carefully pushed out and
sectioned at every 1 cm interval. The sediment samples
were preserved in aluminium foil at )20 C till analysed.
The sediment was thawed, saponified using KOH–
methyl alcohol mixture followed by extraction with
n-hexane. The concentrated extract, after drying, was
separated into alkane and aromatic fractions on an
alumina column and the intensity of fluorescence of the
aromatic fraction was measured (IOC-UNESCO, 1982).
Fishes caught off Bassein–Mumbai were dissected,
the muscle portion wrapped in aluminium foil, sealed in
thick polythene bag and preserved at )20 C until
analysed (FAO, 1983). The thawed tissue was homoge-
nized, saponified using KOH–methyl alcohol mixture,
centrifuged and filtered. The filtrate was extracted with
n-hexane, organic layer washed with distilled water,
dried, evaporated to a small volume, chromatographed
on alumina and fluorescence measured (IOC-UNESCO,
1984; Chouksey, 2002). Blanks were prepared in the
same manner but without the sample. All chemicals used
were of spectra or special grade throughout analyses.
The methods for estimation of PHc in water, sedi-
ment and fish were calibrated using replicate recovery
tests on a sample spiked with known concentrations of
the selected standard (Hunt and Wilson, 1986; Abdullah
et al., 1996; Ehrhardt and Burns, 1999). Residues of
Saudi Arabian Mix crude (SAM) and Bombay High
crude (BH) (bp P 100 C) used as standards were pre-
pared by heating the respective crude oil at 100 C to
obtain constant fluorescence (takes about 2 h). Chrysene
(Sigma, Cat. No. C-6898) was used directly. For the
estimation of PHc in water, precision (n ¼ 10) was 0.3–
2.5%, 1.4–9.4% and 0.8–5.0% for chrysene, SAM and
BH respectively in the concentration range 1–60 lg l
1
for chrysene and 1–200 lg l
1 for SAM and BH. For
sediment and fish tissue the precision of the methods
was 6.4–15.0% for sediment in the concentration range
1–60 ppm (dry wt) and 0.7–9.1% for fish tissue in the
concentration range of 0.2–60 ppm (wet wt).
4. Results and discussion
Several standards ranging from pure aromatic com-
pounds (such as chrysene) to crude oils as well as refined
products including diesel and furnace oil have been used
639
to quantify PHc in marine samples making inter-com-
parison of results a difficult task. Reproducibility of
results is not good when crude oil is used as a standard
largely because of the presence of low boiling compo-
nents which can deplete with the time of storage of the
crude used as standard. This difficulty can be overcome
to a considerable extent by using the residue of the crude
oil as in the present case. BH was also selected as a
standard along with SAM because of the commercial
production of the Bombay High crude oil off Mumbai
and its significant volume handled at the Mumbai Port.
Chrysene being a pure aromatic compound strongly
absorbs UV fluorescence intensity at 310 nm and hence
has much higher sensitivity as compared to crude oil and
its products. SAM and BH contain <25% of aromatics
with low percentage of 1 or 2 ring aromatic hydrocar-
bons leading to comparatively weak UV fluorescence
response. Hence, their use as standard is not suitable
while estimating low concentrations of PHc (NAS,
1975). Since crude oils are heterogeneous mixtures, the
residue prepared from different batches of the same
crude can have spectroscopic response that may not be
strictly uniform. Hence, we used chrysene as well as the
crude oil residues as standards. Their relative ratio
of absorbance is 1.0:0.1:0.3 (Chrysene:SAM:BH). For
convenience however, the results throughout this
paper are expressed in terms of SAM equivalent.
4.1. PHc in water
The concentration of PHc off Dabhol–Ratnagiri
varies in the range 1.7–3.7 lg l
1 averaging at 2.8 lg l
1 .
These levels are low though they would be influenced by
the traffic of fishing vessels and other ships voyaging
along the north–south navigational route. Such traffic is
common all along the west coast of India and these
values can be considered as baseline for evaluating
perturbations due to other anthropogenic releases. Since
sampling was conducted below the sea surface the ob-
served concentrations would largely represent dissolved
and dispersed petroleum hydrocarbons fairly immune to
floating oil films that commonly occur in near-shore
marine areas.
The average concentration of PHc in water of the
Ulhas estuary (between stations U1 and U9) varies in
the range 3.3–21.3 lg l
1 with no clear trend discernible
in its distribution. Much of the industrial and domestic
wastes from the heavily industrialised Kalyan–Ulhas-
nagar–Ambarnath belt are released in the inner- and
mid-estuarine segment that gets distributed throughout
the estuary due to high tidal excursion. However, due to
relative sluggishness of the inner estuary as evident from
the flushing time of 73–211 tidal cycles during the dry
season (NIO, 1994), the contaminants including oil tend
to reside for a longer duration in the inner zone of the
estuary accounting for higher concentrations of PHc in
640 M.K. Chouksey et al. / Marine Pollution Bulletin 49 (2004) 637–647

the segment upstream of station U6. Considerable
deterioration in water quality of the inner zone of the
Ulhas estuary with respect to pH, DO, nutrients, heavy
metals, etc. due to anthropogenic perturbations has been
well documented (NIO, 1994; Zingde, 1999). The con-
centrations of PHc off the open coast (Table 1) are also
higher than the expected baseline (2.8 lg l
1 ) and seem
to be influenced by the outflow of the Ulhas estuary.
The concentration of PHc in water of the Thane
Creek (stations T1 to T6) varies over a wide range (7.5–
39.2 lg l
1 ) with the absence of marked spatial trends.
The highest concentration (39.2 lg l
1 ) occurs at station

Table 1
PHc in seawater (lg l
1 ) and surface sediment (ppm, dry wt) of the central west coast of India
Area Segment Station Water Sediment
Surface Bottom Moisture (%) PHc
Ulhas estuary Inner U1 11.9 – 43.9 9.0
U2 5.3 – * *
U3 21.3 – 42.0 40.8

Middle U4 13.7 – 70.0 23.0

U5 17.3 17.5 73.5 24.7
U6 10.6 – 52.1 10.3
Outer U7 7.0 9.4 52.9 7.1
U8 3.3 6.1 65.7 17.9
U9 4.8 3.2 24.2 2.0
Open coast U10 4.7 2.9 55.1 17.9
U11 6.8 8.9 55.4 35.0
U12 5.2 8.3 60.9 19.4
U13 5.1 4.2 63.0 7.0

Versova Creek Mouth V 10.0 8.7 59.6 31.6

Mahim Creek Mouth M 11.6 23.7 71.2 9.9

Thane Creek Inner T1 8.5 – 76.2 42.8

T2 17.0 27.5 68.5 42.0
Middle T3 13.2 24.3 58.0 24.2
T4 7.5 14.2 25.2 7.6
T5 39.2 23.1 67.4 41.4

Outer T6 14.7 19.4 60.5 32.4

Open coast T7 5.2 7.4 56.1 19.5
T8 10.5 5.6 57.9 36.3
T9 7.8 4.6 62.2 29.9
T10 5.2 3.9 63.1 38.2

Amba estuary Inner A1 1.6 – 67.6 10.5

A2 1.5 – * *
Middle A3 2.5 – 43.1 1.9
A4 4.7 – 48.4 2.4
Outer A5 6.0 – 62.7 20.9
A6 1.1 – 43.1 27.4
A7 4.9 – 54.8 2.7

Dabhol Open coast D1 1.7 – 65.4 1.1

D2 2.3 – 64.9 3.4
D3 3.7 – 64.8 0.9

Ratnagiri Bay R1 – – 24.8 107.7

Open coast R2 – – 27.1 3.4

R3 3.5 – 64.8 1.8
R4 3.0 – 68.4 1.7
R5 2.4 3.3 67.2 9.0
* Not sampled.
 M.K. Chouksey et al. / Marine Pollution Bulletin 49 (2004) 637–647
T5 off the mouth of the Mahul Creek which receives
effluents from a variety of industries and is also in the
vicinity of the oil terminal. The concentration at station
T4 is low though this station is in the vicinity of the JN
Port that has substantial traffic of deep-sea ships. Cur-
rents are relatively strong in this zone, as the tidal water
has to squeeze through the channel in-between the is-
lands. The occurrence of anticyclonic eddies in the outer
segment particularly around the islands with high
residual velocities induces strong horizontal mixing
thereby enhancing dispersion of contaminants entering
the area (Naidu and Sarma, 2001). The concentrations
of PHc at the mouth of the Versova and Mahim Creeks
(8.7–23.7 lg l
1 ) as well as off the open coast (3.9–10.5
lg l
1 ) are markedly higher than the expected back-
ground in line with the levels off Bassein.
The concentration of PHc is often high in the bottom
water particularly at inshore shallow areas. The sedi-
ment particles rich in PHc dispersed in the water column
by strong tidal currents sweeping these zones could
contribute to dissolve PHc since the extraction with
n-hexane was done without removing the suspended
load. These waters are turbid and though the suspended
load is variable, it is generally in the range of 100–200
ppm (dry wt) in the bottom water. Hence, at a PHc
concentration of 20 ppm (dry wt) in the bed sediment,
the suspended load could contribute 2–4 lg l
1 of PHc
to water. The concentrations of PHc in the coastal wa-
ters of India vary widely and values in the range 0–139
lg l
1 have been reported using Saudi Arabian crude as
standard (Qasim and Sengupta, 1988; Sengupta et al.,
1993, Topgi et al., 1982; Fondekar and Alagarsamy,
1984; Kadam and Bhangale, 1992; Sarma et al., 1996;
Mohan and Prakash, 1998; Selvaraj et al., 1999).
4.2. Surficial sediment
Sparse vegetation in the coastal belt and extensive
development, which includes surface quarrying of the
basaltic ridges, provide a large amount of lithogenic flux
to marine area of Bassein–Mumbai. The fine particulate
flux makes up the mudflats. The surficial sediment in the
coastal area is generally silty-clay or clayey-silt in
character though patches of sand occur in places. The
fine sediment particles dispersed in the water column
have high absorbing character and effectively scavenge
the trace contaminants entering the marine area (Sahu
and Bhosale, 1991). The profiles of Al and Fe in sedi-
ment cores reveal more or less uniform distribution
throughout the length suggesting similar sediment tex-
ture and character over its depositional history (Sharma
et al., 1994; Ram et al., 2003).
The concentration of PHc (Table 1) in the surficial
sediment of Dabhol–Ratnagiri coastal area varies in a
wide range of 0.9–107.7 ppm (dry wt). The high con-
centration at station R1 is surprising since the creek
641
where the sampling was conducted is, by and large, free
from gross anthropogenic interventions except for fish-
ery related activities (NIO, 1999) unlike the coastal area
of Bassein–Mumbai. We believe that this high concen-
tration is the remnant of an oil spill that occurred in the
Bombay High region on May 17, 1993. Under favour-
able wind and currents, a portion of the spill was
deposited along the coastal stretch several kilometres
around Ratnagiri. The oil that got locked-up in creeks
of the affected coast contaminated the bed sediment on
sinking. Except at relative high concentration of PHc at
station R5 (9.0 ppm, dry wt) which probably could be
the signature of the oil spill, the concentration at other
locations is low (0.9–3.4 ppm, dry wt). As discussed later
the baseline concentration of PHc in the sediment of the
region is around 2.8 ppm (dry wt).
The concentration of PHc in the sediment of the
Ulhas estuary varies widely (2.0–40.8 ppm, dry wt) and
spatial trends are not clear. The estuarine zone between
stations U3 and U5 where much of the effluent is re-
leased, however, has distinctly high burden of PHc
(23.0–40.8 ppm, dry wt). The low concentration at sta-
tion U9 is possibly due to the sandy sediment in the
mouth area of the estuary (Ram et al., 2003). The
occurrence of high concentrations (7.0–35.0 ppm, dry
wt) off the estuary mouth (stations U10 to U13) indi-
cates that a considerable fraction of PHc leaves the
estuary and is deposited off the coast. Similar conclusion
has been drawn based on the distribution of anthropo-
genic Hg in the sediment of the Ulhas estuary and
associated coastal area (Ram et al., 2003). A consider-
able change in the texture of sediment of the Ulhas
estuary from pre- to post-monsoon with a decrease in
the clay and silt content in the post-monsoon period
suggests transfer of fine sediment from the estuary to the
sea facilitated by the monsoonal flood (NIO, 1994).
The concentration of PHc in the sediment of the
Versova (station V) and Mahim (station M) Creeks
(Table 1) are also higher than the expected background.
The highest concentrations of PHc in the Thane Creek
are confined to stations T1 and T2 (42.0–42.8 ppm, dry
wt) located in the interior zone. With a tidal excursion of
about 9 km (NIO, 1999), the impact of pollutants
entering the system would be felt throughout the water-
spread area of the creek. The inner creek with reduced
tidal influence and decreased current speed is relatively
sheltered making the conditions conducive for the set-
tlement of suspended load (NIO, 1998). High concen-
trations of PHc in sediment are also evident at station
T5 (41.4 ppm, dry wt) located off the mouth of the
Mahul Creek and in the vicinity of the oil terminal. The
concentration of PHc in sediment at station T4 (7.6
ppm, dry wt) is the lowest within the creek as the area is
not conducive to the settlement of particles as discussed
earlier. Model results also support this view (Naidu and
Sarma, 2001). The levels of PHc in the subtidal sediment
642 M.K. Chouksey et al. / Marine Pollution Bulletin 49 (2004) 637–647
of the Amba estuary vary in a wide range (1.9–27.4 ppm,
dry wt) with high concentrations at stations A5 and A6
(20.9 and 27.4 ppm, dry wt, respectively) which are at
the mouth of the Patalganga estuary that transports the
industrial effluents to the mouth area of the Amba
estuary (Fig. 1). An outfall of a petrochemical complex
is located in the vicinity of station A4 that discharges
8000–10,000 t d
1 of treated effluent and at a concen-
tration of 10 mg l
1 oil releases 30–35 t y
1 of petroleum
to the estuary. However the PHc level in the sediment of
station A4 is low (2.4 ppm, dry wt) indicating no set-
tlement of oil in the region.
The concentrations of PHc are relatively high (19.5–
38.2 ppm, dry wt) in sediment of the open-shore area
(stations T7 to T10) as compared to the expected
background (2.8 ppm, dry wt). Apart from the traffic of
ships, the transfer of fine particles of PHc-rich sus-
pended load from the inshore zones would be respon-
sible for the observed high levels. The circulation along
the Bassein–Mumbai coast is roughly elliptical with the
major axis that is parallel to the coast, varying between
5.5 and 11.5 km over a tidal cycle depending largely on
the tidal phase and the season. Hence, the outflow from
creeks would influence the coastal stretch of the order of
50–100 km (NIO, 1999). Under high loading of organic
matter through sewage and other anthropogenic sources
(Zingde, 1999) the sediment is expected to be anoxic and
the petroleum residues deposited in the sediment would
be preserved due to very low rate of microbial degra-
dation (IOC-UNESCO, 1982). Rapid burial and bacte-
riostatic nature of mangrove tannins is also considered
to result in a dramatic decrease in degradation rates of
petroleum hydrocarbons in mangrove environments
(Corredor et al., 1990). The overall concentrations in the
sediment of the inshore and coastal areas of Bassein–
Mumbai though higher than the expected background,
they do not indicate high level of sediment contamina-
tion as evident from Table 2 in which the present values
Table 2
Comparison of PHc (ppm) in sediment of Bassein–Mumbai region with those of selected marine areas
Location PHc
Trinidad coast 3.0–1824.2a
Shetland Island, UK 7–8816
Arabian Gulf 4.0–56.2b
Arabian Gulf 5.4–92.0a
Laguna Madre, USA 26–692a
UAE coast 51,000a
Point Helen and Smith Island, Alaska 9600–19,000
Central west coast of India 4.8–9.4a
Arabian Sea along the Indian coast 0.6–5.8a
Ulhas estuary 2.0–40.8a
Thane Creek 7.6–42.8a
Bassein–Mumbai coast 7.0–38.2a
Dabhol–Ratnagiri coast 0.9–107.7a
a
Dry wt.
b
Wet wt.
are compared with those reported for selected coastal
areas including the sediment of the Indian coast.
4.3. Column sediment
Cores U13, T2, T8 and R5 obtained in duplicate have
been investigated recently for sediment accumulation
rates based on excess 210 Pb (Deorukhakar, 2003; Ram,
2004) and the sedimentation rate for the Thane Creek
are available (Sharma et al., 1994). Using these rates we
have introduced the time scales in Figs. 2 and 3. The 125
cm long sediment core from station R5 (Fig. 3) with
sedimentation rate of 0.21 cm y
1 would preserve the
history of PHc accumulation for the period 1373–1998.
For the major length of the core (10–125 cm segment)
the concentration of PHc varies in 0.8–2.6 ppm (dry wt)
range and probably constitutes the baseline as the sed-
iment below 100 cm was deposited much before the first
global commercial use of petroleum hydrocarbons in
1858–1859 (Bose, 1999). The baseline PHc is probably of
biogenic origin contributed by detritus from higher
plants including mangroves. Based on the chromato-
grams of extracts of sediment from Bahia Sucia, Puerto
Rico, Corredor et al. (1990) have suggested that red
mangroves were probably the source of biogenic
hydrocarbons. The occurrence of moderate concentra-
tions of naturally produced hydrocarbons in the organic
sediments of Mangrove Lake, Bermuda, has also been
reported (Hatcher et al., 1982). The first evidence for the
enrichment of petrogenic hydrocarbons (5.2 ppm, dry
wt) in core R5 is seen at 9 cm that corresponds to the
year 1945. Above 9 cm, the concentration of PHc is
variable (4.9–12.2 ppm, dry wt) but markedly higher
than the biogenic background.
The concentration of PHc is high (8.7–40.8 ppm, dry
wt) throughout the length in core U3 (Fig. 2). Based on
anthropogenic levels of Hg, Ram et al. (2003) have
shown that the sediment in the innermost zone of the
Standard Reference
Chrysene Agard et al. (1988)
– Kingston et al. (1995)
Kuwait Crude Al-Lihaibi and Al-Omran (1996)
Kuwait Crude Al-Lihaibi and Ghazi (1997)
– Sharma et al. (1997)
Iranian Crude Shriadah (1998)
– Hayes and Michel (1999)
SAM Fondekar et al. (1980)
SAM Sengupta et al. (1993)
SAM Present studies
SAM Present studies
SAM Present studies
SAM Present studies
 M.K. Chouksey et al. / Marine Pollution Bulletin 49 (2004) 637–647 643

PHc (ppm, dry wt)

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
0 0

5 10

10 20

15 30

20 40
U3 U8
25 50

0 0

20 20
Depth (cm)

40
40

60
60

80
80
100 U11 U12
100

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
0
1995
20 1990

40 1985
1980
60
Year

1975
80 1970

100 1965
1960
120 U13
1955

Fig. 2. PHc in sediment cores from Ulhas estuary and associated open coast.

Ulhas estuary is fresh that accumulates over a short
span of 7–8 months (December–June) of the dry season
and is flushed to the lower estuary by voluminous river
discharge over the weir during monsoon exposing the
rocky bed. The PHc profile of core U8 also indicates
high concentration range (17.9–98.0 ppm, dry wt) all
along the core length. On the basis of profiles of organic
carbon and anthropogenic Hg in cores obtained sea-
sonally from the same site (around station U8) it has
been concluded that the sediment in the Ulhas estuary is
disturbed and the mixing in the vertical is probably up
to the hard stratum of the bed. Flood induced move-
ment of bed material, frequent dredging in the channel,
tidal scour and bioturbation could be the factors
responsible for mixing (Ram et al., 2003). Distinctly
high burden (70.1–98.0 ppm, dry wt) in the 8–14 cm
segment of core U8 suggests an episodic event of high
loading of petroleum in the sediment.
In the dated core U13, the accumulation of PHc in
the sediment upward of 80 cm roughly corresponds to
the year 1972, the period of accelerated industrialisation
in the Kalyan–Ulhasnagar–Ambernath belt that began
in the mid-fifties. The concentration of PHc (2.9 ppm,
dry wt) in the sediment deposited prior to 1970 probably
represents the baseline and compares well with that in
the bottom section of the core R5. Assigning the horizon
of substantial enrichment of PHc in sediment of cores
U11 and U12 (7 and 30 cm respectively) to the year 1970
based on the results of the core U13, the sedimentation
rate for these cores is probably 0.2 and 1.0 cm y
1
respectively. Thus, it appears that the sedimentation rate
increases from 0.2 cm y
1 near the estuary mouth to 2.9
cm y
1 at 25 km offshore. High outflow through the
Ulhas estuary to the sea during monsoon that transports
much of the annual suspended load, generates strong
currents and high turbulence in the mouth area that
probably do not favour the deposition of fine particles
associated with the estuary plume, in the vicinity (NIO,
1994).
High concentration of PHc also occurs (Fig. 3)
throughout the length in cores T2 and T5. The sedi-
ment in this area is fairly undisturbed as revealed from
644 M.K. Chouksey et al. / Marine Pollution Bulletin 49 (2004) 637–647

PHc ( ppm, dry wt)

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
0 0

10
10

20
20
30
30
40

40
50
T2 T5
50 60
0 1996 0

1976
20 20
1956
Depth (cm)

40 1936 40

Y ear
1916
60 60
1896

1876 80
80

T8 1856 T9
100
100
1836
0 1998 0 1980
1988 1920
20 20
1978 1860
40 1968 40 1800
60 1958 1740
1948 60 1680
80 1938 1620
80
100 1928 1560
1918 100 1500
120
T10 1908 R5 1440
120 1380
140 1898

Fig. 3. PHc in sediment cores from Mumbai–Ratnagiri region.

the distribution of 210 Pb based on which the clay
accumulation rate of 0.65–1.46 cm y
1 has been re-
ported for the inner region of the Thane Creek
(Sharma et al., 1994). It is possible that sediment in
cores T2 and T5 pertains to the period after of in-
dustrialisation along the banks of the creek had com-
menced. The cores T8 and T10 reveal (Fig. 3) a clear
horizon of increase in PHc above 30 and 70 cm
respectively. For cores obtained from the same sites
sedimentation rate of 0.63 cm y
1 (Sharma et al., 1994)
and 1.4 cm y
1 (Deorukhakar, 2003) has been deter-
mined. The substantial increase in the concentration of
PHc after 1950 in both the cores correlates well with
the establishment of two refineries at Mahul on the
western shore of the Thane Creek in 1955–1960. Until
mid-1970s these refineries did not have special
arrangement for the separation of oil from the effluent
released to the creek. The background concentration
had not attained even in the bottom segment of 110 cm
long core T9 which was retrieved in the vicinity of the
dredge disposal site of the Mumbai Port suggesting
high sedimentation rate in the area.
Most cores of the open coast (Figs. 2 and 3) reveal a
minor but distinct peak within the top 10 cm. This peak
is probably the result of biological transfer of PHc lower
into the sediment by organisms such as polychaetes
worms and bivalves which abundantly occur in the
sediment of the region (NIO, 1998). These organisms
burrow into the mud and ingest the sediment particles at
or near the surface (high in PHc) that is excreted in the
burrow at depth. Much of the petroleum passes through
the gut without significant modification (Jordan and
Payne, 1980).
Amount of PHc retained in the sediment of the
Bassein–Mumbai region over the biogenic background
is roughly estimated from its concentration in sedi-
ment, density of the sediment (taken as 1.45 g cm
3 )
and the area of deposition. It is presumed that the
distribution of PHc is continuous between sample sites
and that the sediment density is constant at 1.45
g cm
3 . The area of the Ulhas estuary was obtained
from the hydrographic chart (NIO, 1994), of the
Thane Creek from the literature (Zingde and Desai,
1981) and of the coastal region from the NHO Chart
 M.K. Chouksey et al. / Marine Pollution Bulletin 49 (2004) 637–647 645

Table 3
Excess PHc in the sediment of the Bassein–Mumbai region
Segment Area (·107 m2 ) Depth of Mass of sediment PHc (avg.) in Total excess PHc (t)
contamination (m) (·106 t) sediment (g t
1 , dry wt)
Ulhas estuary
U1–U4 1.8 0.25 6.5 14.1 91.7
U5–U7 1.4 0.25 5.1 12.2 62.2
U8–U9 3.0 0.50 21.8 21.4 466.5
Total 620.4

Thane Creek
T1–T3 13.9 0.50 100.8 35.5 3578.4
T4–T6 21.1 0.60 184 31.0 5704.0
Total 9282.4

Coastal area
U10, U11–T7, T8 50 0.75 544 18.5 10064.0
U12–T9 50 0.70 508 23.7 12039.6
U13–T10 50 1.25 906 12.7 7937.5
Total 30041.1

Grand total 39943.9

Table 4
PHc (ppm, wet wt) in selected fishes off Bassein–Mumbai
Common name Taxonomy name Bassein Versova Mumbai Average
Bombay duck Harpodon nehereus 2.5 1.8 3.4 2.6
Catfish Arius caelatus 3.8 2.2 8.4 4.8
Indian mackerel Rastrilleger kanagurta 4.8 2.1 2.9 3.3
Anchovy Coilia dussumieri 3.9 2.8 2.1 2.9
Dhoma Johnius glaucus 3.4 8.1 10.8 7.4

No. 2016. The amount of PHc accumulated in Acknowledgements

the sediment of Bassein–Mumbai region in excess of
the natural background is of the order of 40,000 t The authors thank the Director, National Institute of
(Table 3). Oceanography, for providing facilities during the course
of this investigation.

4.4. Fish tissue

The PHc residues (Table 4) in five fish species caught
25 km off Bassein, Versova and Mumbai varied between
1.8 and 10.8 ppm (wet wt). PHc in the range 0.1–10 ppm
(wet wt) commonly occur in marine fish, while, fish from
areas polluted by petroleum can have PHc concentra-
tions of 10–1000 times higher (Clark and MacLeod,
1977; Hellou et al., 1990; Law et al., 1997). Our values
compare well with those previously reported for fish
from selected creeks around Mumbai (Mehta et al.,
1994) and from the north and the central Arabian Sea
(Sengupta et al., 1993). Hence, though the concentration
of PHc in water and sediment of the Bassein–Mumbai
region is markedly higher than the expected back-
ground, there is no evidence for its increase in fish of the
region.
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