Short- and Long-Term Exposure of Lumbriculus variegatus (Oligochaete) to Metal Lead: Ecotoxicological and Behavioral Effects

Metals are naturally occurring constituents of the environment and although many are essential nutrients for living organisms, at higher concentrations they can be toxic. Some aquatic species can help understand and even predict the impact of those contaminants. Lumbriculus variegatus is a recommended species for use in sediment toxicity tests and is known to have a remarkable ability of segmental regeneration. Short- (10-day) and long-term (28-day) toxicity tests were used to test the effects of a metal on the survival, growth, and behavior of L. variegatus. This work aims to investigate and validate the use of behavior as a new parameter in standard toxicity tests. Worms were exposed to sediments contaminated with different levels of lead and the results indicated a positive relation between lead concentrations and mortality and growth: higher lead concentrations resulted in higher mortalities and strong inhibition of growth. An inhibition of behavior was observed and results suggested that although behavior could not be used in sediment toxicity tests, it proved useful as an addition to short-term tests and helps select sediments. Thus, exposure to sediments contaminated with lead affects the presence of this species in nature, because it interferes with growth and survival.     

Ocean acidification increases the toxicity of contaminated sediments

Ocean acidification (OA) may alter the behaviour of sediment‐bound metals, modifying their bioavailability and thus toxicity. We provide the first experimental test of this hypothesis with the amphipod Corophium volutator. Amphipods were exposed to two test sediments, one with relatively high metals concentrations (Σ_metals 239 mg kg^?1) and a reference sediment with lower contamination (Σ_metals 82 mg kg^?1) under conditions that mimic current and projected conditions of OA (390–1140 μatm pCO₂). Survival and DNA damage was measured in the amphipods, whereas the flux of labile metals was measured in the sediment and water column (WC) using Diffusive Gradients in Thin‐films. The contaminated sediments became more acutely toxic to C. volutator under elevated pCO₂ (1140 μatm). There was also a 2.7‐fold increase in DNA damage in amphipods exposed to the contaminated sediment at 750 μatm pCO₂, as well as increased DNA damage in organisms exposed to the reference sediment, but only at 1140 μatm pCO₂. The projected pCO₂ concentrations increased the flux of nickel and zinc to labile states in the WC and pore water. However, the increase in metal flux at elevated pCO₂ was equal between the reference and contaminated sediments or, occasionally, greater from reference sediments. Hence, the toxicological interaction between OA and contaminants could not be explained by e ffects of pH on metal speciation. We propose that the additive physiological effects of OA and contaminants will be more important than changes in metal speciation in determining the responses of benthos to contaminated sediments under OA. Our data demonstrate clear potential for near‐future OA to increase the susceptibility of benthic ecosystems to contaminants. Environmental policy should consider contaminants within the context of changing environmental conditions. Specifically, sediment metals guidelines may need to be reevaluated to afford appropriate environmental protection under future conditions of OA.     

以毒性鉴别评价法评价化工废水处理效果的研究

江苏省某化工厂废水处理设施进、出水经大型Sou（Daphnia magna）急性毒性试验的结果表明,废水在处理前、后均显示毒性。采用毒性鉴别评价的试验程序,对处理设施的进、出水进行了关键毒物的鉴别和评价。发现进水中存在的关键毒物为金属铜离子并共存多种金属和极性有机毒物,而出水中存在的毒物为酸性条件下易被氧化的有毒有机物。该废水处理工艺对废水毒性去除率为77.6%。由此可见,该处理工艺对金属离子有较好的去除,而对有毒有机化合物的去除效果不甚理想,因此,该厂生产工艺和废水处理工艺还有待进一步改进。     

Assessing toxicity of Lake Diefenbaker (Saskatchewan,Canada) sediments using algal and nematode bioassays

Lake Diefenbaker, on the South Saskatchewan River, Saskatchewan, Canada, receives, on average, 90% of its inflow from snowmelt and rainfall in the Rocky Mountains. The inflowing rivers also receive irrigation return flows and municipal and industrial effluents which may result in the contamination of lake sediments. The sediments were assessed by nematode and algal bioassays.The toxicity of five chemical fractions of the sediment was determined using the nematode Panagrellus redivivus as the test organisms. The results suggest that the sediment chemical fractions frequently inhibit growth and maturation, while lethality was observed at 4 of 12 sites.Samples from 3 of these sites were further evaluated using conventional elutriate Algal Fractionation Bioassays (AFB) with both natural Lake Diefenbaker phytoplankton and a mixed laboratory grown algal culture. The natural phytoplankton showed inhibition at sediment: water ratios of 10: 1; whereas the algal cultures showed both enhancement and inhibition. Evidently, the sediments are frequently toxic to the species tested except for the algal culture. The AFB assesses the mitigative and synergistic effects of contaminants and nutrients and being a conventional elutriate, is more realistic and potentially more acceptable than the chemical fractionation/nematode bioassay technique which essentially considers potential trace organic contaminant effects.     

Effects of Environmental Toxicants on Metabolic Activity of Natural Microbial Communities

Two methods of measuring microbial activity were used to study the effects of toxicants on natural microbial communities. The methods were compared for suitability for toxicity testing, sensitivity, and adaptability to field applications. This study included measurements of the incorporation of ¹⁴C-labeled acetate into microbial lipids and microbial glucosidase activity. Activities were measured per unit biomass, determined as lipid phosphate. The effects of various organic and inorganic toxicants on various natural microbial communities were studied. Both methods were useful in detecting toxicity, and their comparative sensitivities varied with the system studied. In one system, the methods showed approximately the same sensitivities in testing the effects of metals, but the acetate incorporation method was more sensitive in detecting the toxicity of organic compounds. The incorporation method was used to study the effects of a point source of pollution on the microbiota of a receiving stream. Toxic doses were found to be two orders of magnitude higher in sediments than in water taken from the same site, indicating chelation or adsorption of the toxicant by the sediment. The microbiota taken from below a point source outfall was 2 to 100 times more resistant to the toxicants tested than was that taken from above the outfall. Downstream filtrates in most cases had an inhibitory effect on the natural microbiota taken from above the pollution source. The microbial methods were compared with commonly used bioassay methods, using higher organisms, and were found to be similar in ability to detect comparative toxicities of compounds, but were less sensitive than methods which use standard media because of the influences of environmental factors.     

The need and means to characterize sediment structure and behaviour prior to the selection and implementation of remediation plans

Remediation of contaminated sediments requires detailed characterizations of the speciation of the toxic substances and their transformations with regard to time and spatial distribution. While many approaches exist to address dissolved species of toxicants, there is a need to characterize sediments per se in terms of materials or particles which bind toxicants and modulate their bioavailability and rate of burial. Such specific information can be achieved through the correlative use of analytical microscopies, applied directly to native aquatic materials and used in conjunction with novel particle isolation methods and standard techniques of analytical chemistry. Such sedimentary `materials' are dominated by clays and other colloidal minerals, microorganisms, humic substances, organic debris, iron and manganese oxide coatings and extracellular polymeric substances. By using new technology to (1) identify particles and their relative abundances, (2) examine specific toxicant/particle associations at the scale of individual abundant particles, and (3) follow transformations over time, we produce information more insightful than was obtainable previously. Such knowledge will assist in determining which remediation technologies would be best for a given contaminated sediment (i.e. `intrinsic remediation' or dredging/disposal).     

The role of bivalve molluscs as tools in estuarine sediment toxicity testing: a review

Estuarine sediments frequently are repositories and therefore potential sources of anthropogenic contaminants. Many organic and metallic chemical compounds released into aquatic systems bind to particulates and so accumulate in the sediments, thus, sediments become repositories of contaminants in estuaries. These may also cause contamination through diffusion of porewater, resuspension of particulates and dispersal of benthic fauna. There is a need to assess the biological affects of these anthropogenic contaminants because they may be toxic to infauna and bottomfish. Sediment toxicity bioassays are a means for carrying out such an assessment and primarily provide data on toxicity by measuring the effects on the test organism. Existing sediment toxicity bioassays rely on a battery of aquatic toxicity tests, which are based on the extraction of pore water, and elutriate from sediments and then subjecting these sediment phases to toxicity testing regimes. Two estuarine bivalve molluscs, Scrobicularia plana and Tapes semidecussatus were used to assess the ecotoxicity of field-collected sediments from estuarine and coastal areas around the Irish and English Coast over a 3-year study period. A variety of endpoints were measured during the study including survival in air, behaviour, animal condition, biochemistry, soft tissue metal concentrations, lysosomal membrane integrity and histopathology. Of these endpoints, the most sensitive were survival, survival in air, lysosomal membrane integrity, behaviour and histopathology.     

Comparison of the relative sensitivity of three benthic invertebrates to copper-contaminated sediments from the Keweenaw Waterway

The Keweenaw Peninsula in northern Michigan was once a major copper mining area and these mining activities were responsible for depositing tons of tailings in and around the Keweenaw Waterway. In recent years there has been concern about possible toxic effects of the contaminated sediments on aquatic communities in the system. In the fall of 1990, sediments were collected from various locations along the Waterway. Ten-day tests were conducted with the samples using three species of benthic invertebrates that have been proposed as suitable for evaluating the toxicity of freshwater sediments: Hyalella azteca (amphipods), Chironomus tentans (chironomids) and Lumbriculus variegatus(oligochaetes). A number of sediments were toxic to one or more of the three species and, in general, there was good agreement among the tests with regard to identifying toxic samples. Unexpectedly, the relative sensitivity of the three species to the test sediments was not accurately predicted from water-only copper exposures. This indicates that factors modifying exposure, such as different lifestyles and/or varying sensitivity to physico-chemical characteristics of sediments can influence results of sediment toxicity tests.     

Assessment of the Mutagenicity of Sediments from Yangtze River Estuary Using Salmonella Typhimurium/Microsome Assay

Sediments in estuaries are of important environmental concern because they may act as pollution sinks and sources to the overlying water body. These sediments can be accumulated by benthic organisms. This study assessed the mutagenic potential of sediment extracts from the Yangtze River estuary by using the Ames fluctuation assay with the Salmonella typhimurium his (−) strain TA98 (frameshift mutagen indicator) and TA100 (baseshift mutagen indicator). Most of the sediment samples were mutagenic to the strain TA98, regardless of the presence or absence of exogenous metabolic activation (S9 induction by β-naphthoflavone/phenobarbital). However, none of the samples were mutagenic to the strain TA100. Thus, the mutagenicity pattern was mainly frameshift mutation, and the responsible toxicants were both direct (without S9 mix) and indirect (with S9 mix) mutagens. The mutagenicity of the sediment extracts increased when S9 was added. Chemical analysis showed a poor correlation between the content of priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and the detected mutagenicity in each sample. The concept of effect-directed analysis was used to analyze possible compounds responsible for the detected mutagenic effects. With regard to the mutagenicity of sediment fractions, non-polar compounds as well as weakly and moderately polar compounds played a main role. Further investigations should be conducted to identify the responsible components.     

水环境毒物污染点源的生态风险管理现状与展望

评述了发达国家和我国在这一领域的进展和前景。目前国内外常用的基于水质标准／废水排放标准的特征化学污染物法,并不能有效控制组分复杂的废水中的有机毒物排放。因此,仅应用这一传统方法对水环境有机毒物污染点源难以实现有效的生态风险管理。同时采用全废水的生态毒性法可就弥补这一缺陷,根据生态风险管理要求可有效控制组份复杂的废水中有毒有机污染物的排放。鉴别出导致废水生态毒性的关键有机毒物的毒性鉴别评价,是毒物污染点源的生态风险管理核心。本文还对毒性鉴别评价方法学的发展以及全废水毒性法应用于我国水环境毒物污染点源生态风险管理的前景作了评述。     

Application of P450RGS reporter gene system as a bioindicator of sediment PAH contamination in the vicinity of Incheon Harbor, Korea

Sixty seven sediment samples were collected from Kyeonggi Bay, Korea, including the mouth of Han River, Incheon Harbor, the Namdong industrial complex, and the open sea. Collections were conducted in December, 1995 and samples were maintained frozen (-20 °C) until analysis. Dichloromethane extracts were analysed for their content of CYP1A1-inducing compounds with a P450RGS (reporter gene system) assay, and for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Sediment samples were also analysed for organic carbon (OC) content and grain size, to aid in evaluating the relationship between contamination and physical nature of the sediments. The responses of the P450RGS assay to the sediment extracts were expressed as μg of benzo[a]pyrene toxic equivalents per g dry weight (μg g^-1 BaPTEQ), and these values correlated well (r² = 0.624 with total PAHs. BaPTEQ values were also highly correlated with the OC content of the sediments. The determination of P450RGS BaPTEQ is a useful tool, because it is both a rapid and inexpensive means of assessing the potential toxicity of organic compounds in environmental sediment samples. These values represent an estimate of the levels of compounds in the sediment that are potentially available to organisms through chronic exposure to pore water or ingestion of benthic species. We believe BaPTEQ values are more useful than tables of specific PAH concentrations, if the purpose of the investigation is to either obtain a rapid screening of an area or to develop some form of ecological or human health risk assessment.     

Ecological Risk Assessment of Sediments in Sydney Harbour,Nova Scotia,Canada

Contamination within sediments of Sydney Harbour (once a major industrial port) were evaluated using a multiple lines-of-evidence (LOE) ecological risk assessment (ERA) approach prior to divestiture of the harbor. The multiple LOE approach included: (1) measurement of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), metals, metalloids, petroleum hydrocarbons(PHCs), and total organic carbon (TOC) concentrations in surface sediments from multiple Sydney Harbour locations; (2) identification and application of sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) from various jurisdictions; (3) comparisons of harbor sediment chemistry against background/reference sediment chemistry; (4) determining number and frequency of exceedances over SQGs; (5) calculating mean probable effect level-quotients (PEL-Qs); (6) PAH forensic source evaluation; (7) review of previous sediment chemistry and biota tissue data; and (8) characterizing benthic habitat at harbor stations. The ERA determined that current sediments exhibited mostly low probability of adverse effects. Furthermore, contaminated sediments exhibiting a high probability of adverse effects were localized to only a few stations within the harbor. Ongoing natural recovery of harbor sediments is likely responsible for attenuating contaminants that historically were higher than those measured in this study and were previously distributed over much wider areas of the harbor. Results suggest that legacy industrial activities and current urban sewage effluents are the major sources of contamination in Sydney Harbour sediments.     

Calculating Background Levels for Ecological Risk Parameters in Toxic Harbor Sediment

Establishing background levels for biological parameters is necessary in assessing the ecological risks from harbor sediment contaminated with toxic chemicals. For chemicals in sediment, the term contaminated is defined as having concentrations above background and significant human health or ecological risk levels. For biological parameters, a site could be considered contaminated if levels of the parameter are either more or less than the background level, depending on the specific parameter. Biological parameters can include tissue chemical concentrations in ecological receptors, bioassay responses, bioaccumulation levels, and benthic community metrics. Chemical parameters can include sediment concentrations of a variety of potentially toxic chemicals. Indirectly, contaminated harbor sediment can impact shellfish, fish, birds, and marine mammals, and human populations. This paper summarizes the methods used to define background levels for chemical and biological parameters from a survey of ecological risk investigations of marine harbor sediment at California Navy bases. Background levels for regional biological indices used to quantify ecological risks for benthic communities are also described. Generally, background stations are positioned in relatively clean areas exhibiting the same physical and general chemical characteristics as nearby areas with contaminated harbor sediment. The number of background stations and the number of sample replicates per background station depend on the statistical design of the sediment ecological risk investigation, developed through the data quality objective (DQO) process. Biological data from the background stations can be compared to data from a contaminated site by using minimum or maximum background levels or comparative statistics. In Navy ecological risk assessments (ERA's), calculated background levels and appropriate ecological risk screening criteria are used to identify sampling stations and sites with contaminated sediments.     

Assessment of possible sediment toxicity of contaminated sediments in Port Jackson, Sydney, Australia

A considerable amount of chemical data is available for surficial sediments in Port Jackson. Some of the highest concentrations of heavy metals, organochlorines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons of any capital port occur in sediments mantling shallow tributaries and embayments close to central Sydney. However, these data have limited ability to predict adverse effects on living resources and in the absence of toxicological data, sediment quality guidelines (SQG) have been used to assess the possible adverse biological effects of sedimentary contaminants in this estuary. Several SQGs are currently available for both fresh and marine environments, but the scheme used in the current study is based on empirical analysis of matching chemical and biological data compiled by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the U.S. The NOAA SQG can be used to assess individual chemicals, or to estimate the probability of acute sediment toxicity by calculating `mean quotients' for a large range of contaminants. Although many individual chemicals in sediment exceed SQG over extensive parts of Port Jackson, `mean quotient' results suggest that only a small proportion (1%) of the harbour may be highly toxic (74% probability of toxicity). However, sediment in a considerably larger proportion of the port (almost 25%) is estimated to have a 49% probability of being toxic using the `mean quotient' approach. These results are indicative at best and contemporaneous chemical/biological/ecotoxicological studies are needed to verify the applicability of SQG developed in the U.S. for use outside North America and site specific studies of this type are still required to determine the toxicity of sediments in Port Jackson.     

Phytoplankton bioassays for evaluating toxicity of in situ sediment contaminants

Routine bulk chemical characterization of sediments does not provide useful information on toxicity of sediment bound contaminants. This study reviewed and evaluated the utility of phytoplankton bioassays for evaluation of toxicity of sediment bound contaminants, including state-of-the-art techniques. Several techniques such as Algal Fractionation Bioassays, microcomputer-based toxicity testing and in situ bioassays including plankton cages have been developed and successfully applied in our research at various contaminated sites in the St. Lawrence Great Lakes. These bioassay techniques are sensitive, rapid and inexpensive for screening contaminants. The use and application of such techniques, based on bioavailability and physiological response of micro-organisms, are essential for the detection of environmental perturbations of an ecosystem. Such an early warning system will facilitate the preservation and rehabilitation of the Great Lakes.     

Development and Placement of a Sorbent-Amended Thin Layer Sediment Cap in the Anacostia River

Incorporating materials into sediment caps that can sequester contaminants will greatly improve their ability to isolate contaminants in the underlying sediments from the rest of the aquatic environment. For highly sorptive media a thin layer (cm) may be sufficient, but accurately placing a thin layer (cm) of material over submerged contaminated sediment is difficult. A reactive core mat (RCM) was designed to accurately place a 1.25 cm thick sorbent (coke) layer in an engineered sediment cap. In April 2004, twelve 3.1 m × 31 m sections of RCM were placed in the Anacostia River, Washington, D.C., and overlain with a 15 cm layer of sand to secure it and provide a habitat for benthic organisms to colonize without compromising the integrity of the cap. Placement of the RCM did not cause significant sediment re-suspension or impact site hydrology. The RCM is an inexpensive and effective method to accurately deliver thin layers of difficult to place, high value, sorptive media into sediment caps. The approach can also be used to place granular reactive media that can degrade or mineralize contaminants.     

A sediment suspension system for bioassays with small aquatic organisms

Exposure of aquatic organisms to suspended sediments can impair growth and survival and increase bioaccumulation of sediment-associated contaminants. However, evaluation of the effects of suspended sediments and their associated contaminants on aquatic organisms has been hampered by the lack of a practical and inexpensive exposure system for conducting bioassays. We present a cost-effective system for assessing the effects of suspended sediments and associated contaminants on small aquatic organisms. A 7-day suspension test was conducted with nominal sediment concentrations ranging from 0.0 to 5.0 g 1^–1. The system maintained relatively constant suspended sediment concentrations, as measured by turbidity, and caused minimal mortality to test organisms.     

Historical Assessment of the Impacts of Chemical Contaminants in Sediments on Benthic Invertebrates in the Tidal Passaic River,New Jersey

A historical impact assessment was conducted for chemical contaminants in sediments of the tidal Passaic River in northern New Jersey. The assessment was based on sediment cores collected from 1990 to 1995. Each sediment core was segregated into fractions and the fractions dated using radioisotope analysis. Chemical concentrations, including a variety of metals and organic compounds, were estimated by decade for most of the 20th century in five reaches of the River. The chemical data for each decade were compared to available benchmark sediment quality values that represent levels of chemicals that may be toxic to benthic invertebrates in estuarine systems. Benchmark exceedances in the River were then calculated and characterized spatially and temporally using quantitative Geographic Information System (GIS) analyses, and the area of “impacted” sediments was calculated for each chemical and decade. Results of this assessment suggest that the ability of Passaic River sediments to support “normal” benthic invertebrate populations was limited by sediment contaminants throughout the 20^th century. Conditions have improved somewhat since the 1950s, although impacts to benthic populations remain from several metals and organic compounds despite some overall improvements in sediment quality in recent years.     

化工废水生态毒性原因鉴别的实例研究

以南京市某一化工厂排出的废水为对象,对其生态毒性原因作了鉴别研究．结果表明,废水对Ｄａｐｈｎｉａｍａｇｎａ具有急性毒性,Ｃ１８固相提取可去除废水毒性,存在的主要毒物为非极性有机化合物．废水经Ｃ１８固相提取,发现废水中的主要可疑毒物为苯并吡喃酮和苯酚,是导致废水毒性的关键污染物,对废水毒性的贡献率分别为４４．６％和３２．９％．     

Predicting Sediment Toxicity at Former Manufactured Gas Plants Using Equilibrium Partitioning Benchmarks for PAH Mixtures

This study was conducted to examine the application of Equilibrium Partitioning Sediment Benchmarks (ESBs) for assessing the toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediments at former manufactured gas plant (MGP) and coke sites. Samples of freshwater sediment from four MGP and coke sites in the U.S. Northeast and Midwest were analyzed for 34 individual PAHs, total organic carbon, “black” carbon (potentially composed of pitch, soot, and other forms of pyrogenic carbon), and sediment toxicity (28-day Hyalella azteca toxicity test). The sum of the Toxic Units in each sample was calculated from a one-phase model that accounts for sorption of PAHs to total sediment organic carbon, and a two-phase model that accounts for sorption to black carbon as well as to natural organic carbon. Although both the one-phase and two-phase models accurately predicted concentrations of PAHs that were not toxic to aquatic invertebrates, the two-phase model was more often in agreement with results of sediment toxicity tests. While the bioavailability and toxicity of PAHs may vary at other sites, the two-phase model correctly predicted that sediments from these sites with concentrations of total PAHs as high as 52 mg/kg were not toxic to invertebrates.