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POREWATER CHEMISTRY: EFFECTS OF SAMPLING, STORAGE, HANDLING, AND TOXICITY TESTING
Citation:
Adams, W. J., R M. Burgess, G. GoldBouchot, L. Leblanc, K. Liber, AND B. Williamson. POREWATER CHEMISTRY: EFFECTS OF SAMPLING, STORAGE, HANDLING, AND TOXICITY TESTING. Chapter 5, RS Carr, M Nipper (ed.), Porewater Toxcity Testing: Biological, Chemical, and Ecological Conderations. SETAC Press, Pensacola, FL, , 95-124, (2003).
Description:
As a general principle, it is nearly impossible to remove a porewater sample from sediment, use it in a toxicity testing vessel with test organisms, and prevent changes in the chemistry of the natural and anthropogenic organic and inorganic constituents. The degree of change in the chemistry of various constituents that occurs in the process of porewater sampling, extraction, manipulation, storage, and testing can be significant. In spite of these suspected, known, and observed changes, we believe that with careful handling, extraction, and storage of the samples, along with rapid testing, the results of porewater toxicity tests can be meaningful. This belief is supported by several lines of evidence, including
1) reproducible toxicity tests,
2) companion solid-phase experiments,
3) toxicity identification evaluation (TIE) procedures, and
4) infaunal surveys.
In this chapter, we will offer guidance on advantages and disadvantages of different procedures used in sediment porewater sampling and on processing and storage from the viewpoint of how they affect the porewater chemistry. We will also briefly discuss sediment collection and the changes in porewater chemistry that may occur during the test procedure. Several of these issues have been discussed in other reviews (Adams 1991; American Society for Testing and Materials [ASTM] 1994; Bufflap and Allen 1995a; Burton 1998). However, the objective of this chapter is to update the state of the science. We will also conclude this review with a series of recommendations based on our expertise and experience. Finally, the chapter will end with a brief list of research needs to reduce the uncertainties surrounding porewater chemistry as it relates to toxicity testing.