Characterization of ecological risks at the Milltown Reservoir-Clark Fork River Sediments Superfund Site, Montana
- Environmental Toxicology International, Inc., Seattle, WA (United States)
- ManTech Environmental Technology, Inc., Corvallis, OR (United States); and others
A comprehensive field and laboratory approach to the ecological risk assessment for the Milltown Reservoir-Clark Fork River Sediments Site, a Superfund site in the Rocky Mountains of Montana, has been described in the preceding reports of this series. The risk assessment addresses concerns over the ecological impacts of upstream releases of mining wastes to fisheries of the upper Clark Fork River (CFR) and the benthic and terrestrial habitats further downstream in Milltown Reservoir. The risk characterization component of the process integrated results from a triad of information sources: (a) chemistry studies of environmental media to identify and quantify exposures of terrestrial and aquatic organisms to site-related contaminants; (b) ecological or population studies of terrestrial vegetation, birds, benthic communities, and fish; and (c) in situ and laboratory toxicity studies with terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates and plants, small mammals, amphibians, and fish exposed to contaminated surface water, sediments, wetland soils, and food sources. Trophic transfer studies were performed on waterfowl, mammals, and predatory birds using field measurement data on metals concentrations in environmental media and lower trophic food sources. Studies with sediment exposures were incorporated into the Sediment Quality Triad approach to evaluate risks to benthic ecology. Overall results of the wetland and terrestrial studies suggested that acute adverse biological effects were largely absent from the wetland; however, adverse effects to reproductive, growth, and physiological end points of various terrestrial and aquatic species were related to metals exposures in more highly contaminated depositional areas. Feeding studies with contaminated diet collected from the upper CFR indicated that trout are at high risk from elevated metals concentrations in surface water, sediment, and aquatic invertebrates.
- OSTI ID:
- 6527152
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry; (United States), Vol. 13:12; Other Information: Presented at the Symposium on Integrated Ecological Assessment of a Superfund Site: Milltown Reservoir, Clark Fork River, Montana, 13th Annual Meeting, Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Cincinnati, OH, November 8--12, 1992; ISSN 0730-7268
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
SENSITIVITY
METALS
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
TOXICITY
MONTANA
RIVERS
WATER POLLUTION
SEDIMENTS
CONTAMINATION
RISK ASSESSMENT
US SUPERFUND
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ELEMENTS
LAWS
NORTH AMERICA
POLLUTION
POLLUTION LAWS
STREAMS
SURFACE WATERS
USA
540320* - Environment
Aquatic- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)
560300 - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology