Technical basis and proposal for deriving sediment quality criteria for metals
- Environmental Protection Agency, Duluth, MN (United States). Mid-Continent Ecology Div.
- Hydroqual, Inc., Mahwah, NJ (United States)
- Environmental Protection Agency, Narragansett, RI (United States). Atlantic Ecology Div.
In developing sediment quality criteria (SQC) for metals, it is essential that bioavailability be a prime consideration. Different studies have shown that while dry weight metal concentrations in sediments are not predictive of bioavailability, metal concentrations in interstitial (pore) water are correlated with observed biological effects. A key partitioning phase controlling cationic metal activity and toxicity in the sediment-interstitial water system is acid-volatile sulfide (AVS). Acid-volatile sulfide binds, on a mole-to-mole basis, a number of cationic metals of environmental concern (cadmium, copper, nickel, lead, zinc) forming insoluble sulfide complexes with minimal biological availability. Short-term (10-d) laboratory studies with a variety of marine and freshwater benthic organisms have demonstrated that when AVS concentrations in spiked or field-collected sediments exceed those of metals simultaneously extracted with the AVS, interstitial water metal concentrations remain below those predicted to cause effects, and toxicity does not occur. Similar observations have been made in life-cycle laboratory toxicity tests with amphipods and chironomids in marine and freshwater sediments spiked with cadmium and zinc, respectively. In addition, field colonization experiments, varying in length from several months to more than 1 year, with cadmium- or zinc-spiked freshwater and marine sediments, have demonstrated a lack of biological effects when there is sufficient AVS to limit interstitial water metal concentrations. These studies on metal bioavailability and toxicity in sediments serve as the basis for proposed SQC for the metals cadmium, copper, nickel, lead, and zinc.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 483679
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Journal Name: Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 15; ISSN ETOCDK; ISSN 0730-7268
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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