Assessment of the toxicity and mutagenic potential of water of Torch Lake, Houghton County, Michigan
The toxicity and mutagenic potential of water of Torch Lake, Houghton County, Michigan was measured. Torch Lake is unusual in having very large levels of dissolved copper in its water due to deposition of large amounts of spent copper are (stamp sands) in over 100 years of copper-mining activity. The presence of liver neoplasms in 100% of a species of fish (saugar) from Torch Lake has been presumptively associated with some features, probably chemical, of the massive stamp sand deposits in the lake. Because both toxicity and mutagentic potential of the lake water would be most evident at the upper end of the food chains due to bioaccumulation of materials dissolved in the water, tests for these effects were conducted with concentrates of water samples from Torch Lake, and from Otter Lake (Houghton County, Michigan) as a control. Water samples were collected at four different times in the lakes annual thermal cycle, from three depths in Torch Lake and one depth in Otter Lake. The samples were filtered and concentrated using both low temperature evaporation and XAD-2 resin. Toxicity was measured using the Ceriodaphnia 7-day life-cycle chronic toxicity test. Mutagentic potential was measured using the Ames Salmonella/microsome mutagenicity assay (Ames Test).
- Research Organization:
- Michigan Technological Univ., Houghton (USA). Dept. of Biological Sciences
- OSTI ID:
- 5844919
- Report Number(s):
- PB-86-158268/XAB
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Superfund record of decision (EPA Region 5): Torch Lake Site, Operable Units 1 and 3, Houghton County, MI. (First remedial action), September 1992
Health assessment for Torch Lake, Houghton County, Michigan, Region 5. CERCLIS No. MID980901946. Preliminary report