Screening level risk assessment for offsite ecological effects in surface waters downstream from the US Department of Energy Oak Ridge Reservation

Technical Report · Wed May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1991

OSTI ID:5477067

Suter, II, G W

This assessment provides guidance for monitoring the environment off the Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge Reservation for the purpose of estimating risks to the nonhuman environment. The approach taken in both assessments was to screen contaminant chemicals into categories that reflect the need for monitoring. In this ecological assessment, the upper screening criterion is a level that indicates acute lethality or other severe effects. The intermediate screening criterion indicates a level of exposure that would be expected to cause low levels of effect in chronic exposures. The lower screening criterion is a safe'' concentration that is based on the intermediate criterion divided by a safety factor. The safety factors are based on consideration of the distribution of sensitivity among species, population and ecosystem process that can amplify organism-level effects, and the appropriateness of the measures of exposure. Screening criteria were developed for aquatic organisms, benthic organisms, and piscivorous wildlife and were applied to contaminant concentrations in water, sediment, and fish flesh. The exposure data were categorized into ten reaches: Melton Hill Reservoir (MHR), the portion of the Clinch River most influenced by White Oak Creek (WOK), the Poplar Creek embayment (PCE), the portion of the Clinch River most influenced by Popular Creek (PC), Watts Bar Reservoir (WBR), Norris Reservoir (RN), Popular Creek (PC), East Fork Popular Creek (EF), Tennessee River (TR), and White Oak Lake (WOL). 88 refs., 2 tabs.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 5477067
• Report Number(s): ORNL/ER-8; ON: DE91014948
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540320* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
560300 -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
AROMATICS
BIOLOGICAL ACCUMULATION
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
BROMINATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
CHLORINATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
CHLORINATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
CHRONIC EXPOSURE
COMPILED DATA
CONCENTRATION RATIO
DATA
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE
HALOGENATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
HALOGENATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
INFORMATION
INORGANIC COMPOUNDS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUMERICAL DATA
OAK RIDGE RESERVATION
ORGANIC BROMINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
PHENOLS
RISK ASSESSMENT
SCREENING
SURFACE WATERS
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS