Brief Summary

• Weathering processes (e.g. evaporation and biodegradation) remove the more labile components of crude oil leaving a residual mixture still comprising many thousands of environmentally persistent compounds.
• Standard 1-dimensional GC analysis of these residues produces a chromatographic profile dominated by an unresolved complex mixture (UCM) of compounds, colloquially known as a ‘hump’ (Figure 1).
• The aromatic hydrocarbon fraction of these UCMs has been shown to bioaccumulate in blue mussels (Mytilus edulis). Rowland et al. (2001) have shown the aromatic UCM induces a toxic effect known as non-specific narcosis which leads to a reduction in the mussels Scope for Growth (SfG).
• Until now a detailed analysis of the bioavailable UCM compounds responsible for the observed toxicity has been prevented by the chromatographic limitations of available analytical techniques.

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