Ecological risk assessment of a decommissioned military base

Conference · Sun Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1995

OSTI ID:452108

Starodub, M E; Feniak, N A; Willes, R F ^[1]; Moore, C E; Mucklow, L; Marshall, L ^[2]

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1. CanTox Inc., Mississauga, Ontario (Canada)
2. CanTox Inc., Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada)

The ecological health risks to selected terrestrial animals at a decommissioned military base in Atlantic Canada have been assessed. Areas of the base varied in terms of terrain, ground cover, as well as types and extent of contamination, dependent on former uses of the sites. Analysis of surficial soils, sediments, water and fish tissue at the base indicated contamination by metals, PCBs, and various petroleum products and their constituents. Identification of chemicals of concern was based on these analyses, in conjunction with detailed chemical selection procedures. Exposures to chemicals of concern for ecological receptors were assessed in one of two ways. The exposures of moose, snowshoe hare and meadow vole were estimated in areas with surficial contamination, based on expected exposures to environmental media via oral inhalation, and dermal routes of exposure. For two top predators (mink and bald-headed eagle), exposures to bioaccumulative chemicals (cadmium, lead, mercury and PCBs) via transport through the aquatic and/or terrestrial foodchain were estimated. A toxicological assessment was conducted for the chemicals of concern, to yield exposure limits derived from governmental regulations or developed based on no-observed-effect-levels (NOELs) reported in scientifically sound toxicological assays in relevant species. The risk evaluation of each chemical of concern was conducted as a comparison of the estimated total exposures to the exposure limits derived for the selected ecological receptors.

• OSTI ID: 452108
• Report Number(s): CONF-961149--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
56 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
APPLIED STUDIES
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
CADMIUM
CANADA
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
FOOD CHAINS
LEAD
MERCURY
MILITARY FACILITIES
OIL SPILLS
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS
POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
RISK ASSESSMENT
SITE CHARACTERIZATION
TOXICITY