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AMBIENT WATER, POREWATER, AND SEDIMENT
Citation:
WALLER, W. T., H. A. BAILEY, V. DE VLEMING, K. T. HO, J. W. HUNT, J. L. MILLER, D. A. PILLARD, C. D. ROWLAND, AND B. J. VENABLES. AMBIENT WATER, POREWATER, AND SEDIMENT. Chapter 4, TJ Norberg-king, LW Ausley, DT Burton, WL Goodfellow, JF Miller, WT Waller (ed.), Toxicity Reduction and Toxicity Identification Evaluations for Effluents, Ambient Waters, and Other Aqueous Media: Proceedings of the Workshop on Toxicity Identification Evaluations: What Works, What Doesn't, and Development for Effluents, Ambient Waters, and Other Aqueous Media, June 23-28, 2001, Pesacola, FL. SETAC Press, Pensacola, FL, , 93-114, (2005).
Description:
Sediment assessments may be performed for a variety of purposes; these include: dredging and dredged sediment disposal, for evaluations of sediments as a capping material, to determine sediment quality, to assess biological impairment and to assess the status of environment monitoring trends. The simplest of all assessments might include the use of single lines of evidence (LOE) such as a small set of toxicity tests (bioassays) or the use of sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) to make a decision regarding impairment. In many cases, however, a more detailed assessment will be required to increase certainty and better characterize the degree and extent of contamination. Moving beyond the simplest assessment requires careful consideration of the types of data that will be needed to make a determination of sediment quality. This chapter considers various LOEs and weighs the pros and cons of the tools that exist to assess sediments. It also includes general guidance on how to assemble LOEs into credible WOE approaches to assessment.