The in vitro toxicities of three crude oils of the Hebei Spirit were examined on laboratory grown plankton, with a focus on the effects of a dispersant. The specific growth rate of phytoplankton and the mortalities of two zooplankton were measured in response to exposure to various concentrations of water accommodated oil, dispersant or both. The effects of the oils varied among the plankton, but were generally low within the range of the oil concentrations used, with little difference in toxicity among the three oils. Such low toxicity appeared to be associated with weathering of the crude oils. Exposure to the dispersant, however, dramatically increased the mortality of zooplankton, with complete inhibition of phytoplankton growth. No synergistic toxic effect was observed with the crude oil and dispersant combination. A better decision making process could be crafted for future application of dispersant in the event of an oil spill in Korean waters to better protect the marine plankton community from the excessive use of dispersant.

A series of experiments was conducted to identify the potential of five phytoplankton species as standard test species for marine ecotoxicological tests. The candidate phytoplankton species are Skeletonema costatum, Heterosigma akashiwo, Prorocentrum micans, Isochrysis galbana, and Tetraselmis suecica. Salinity tolerance and sensitivity on potassium dichromate as a reference material were identified. Toxicity of eleven ocean-dumped sewage sludges and four red tide expellent extracts were estimated by the inhibition of population growth rates (PGR) of marine diatom S. costatum. While most species revealed relatively weak tolerance on salinity, T. suecica demonstrated the highest salinity tolerance ranged from 5～35 psu and the others 15～35 psu. H. akashiwo revealed the highest sensitivity as 72h IC50=0.76mg/L and T. suecica the lowest as 72h IC50=8.89mg/L on potassium dichromate. Sludge extracts from industrial waste, domestic sewage and livestock farm waste sludge showed high toxicity as 72h IC50<2% and lowest toxicity from filtration bed sludge as 72h IC50=30.50%. NOEC (No Observed Effective Concentration) of sludge extract ranged from <0.4% to 1.6% and this indicated high phytotoxicity of ocean dumped sewage sludge. The test sensitivity of phytoplankton PGR inhibition was much higher than those of marine rotifer Brachionus plicatilis mortality test and bioluminescent inhibition test by marine bacteria Vibrio fischeri, and comparable with the sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus intermedius) fertilization test. As a result the phytotoxicity test using phytoplankton PGR inhibition (IC50) must be a useful tool for marine phyto-toxicological evaluation of ocean dumped materials.