OIL POLLUTION IN SEA WATER OF IZMIT BAY FOLLOWING THE EARTHQUAKE (17 AUG 1999)

Oil pollution in sea water of Izmit Bay following the earthquake (17 Aug 1999)

Kasım Cemal Güven, Selma Ünlü

University of Istanbul, Institute of Marine Sciences and Management, Vefa, 344470, Istanbul, TURKEY

Abstract

Oil pollution in Izmit Bay was investigated after the fire of Tüpraş refinery that followed the earthquake in 17 Aug 1999. The highest oil pollution was found in Ereğli on surface water (covered wholly by oil) and in Ulaşlı as 179.2 mg/L in 24-27 Aug 1999 and fell to 425 µg/L in 15-19 Aug 2000. The maximum oil level in surface water in eastern part as 53.2-µg/ L, the central part as 1688 µg/L, in the western part as 463.6 µg/L and one year later it was changed as 10.40 µg/L, 13.68 µg/L and 12.98 µg/l, respectively. The determination of oil origin was made by the fingerprinting analysis method and found that its origin was Tüpraş refinery accident. The results of UVF and GC/MS and fingerprinting analyses are reported in this paper.

Keywords: Sea water, sediment, oil pollution, Izmit Bay