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Development of a National-Scale Fish Contaminant Indicator for the National Coastal Assessment
Citation:
Harwell, L., L. Hunt, M. Bowersox, J. Bohr, AND E. Murphy. Development of a National-Scale Fish Contaminant Indicator for the National Coastal Assessment. Presented at CERF 2013, San Diego, CA, November 03 - 07, 2013.
Impact/Purpose:
Present results of development of national-scale fish contaminant indicator, based on "U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). 1997. Ecological Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund: Process for Designing and Conducting Ecological Risk Assessments. Interim Final. EPA/540/R-97/006."
Description:
Transforming measurable concentrations of chemicals found in whole-body fish and shellfish into an ecologically relevant indicator is not easily accomplished since few pertinent biologically protective contaminant-screening tools exist, and none have been published for use at a national scale. Previously, the National Coastal Assessment (2000-2006) used human-centric endpoints as proxies to elicit ecological inference from tissue contaminant concentrations. For the 2010 National Coastal Condition Assessment (NCCA), we have proposed an approach for calculating a fish tissue indicator based on USEPA’s ecological risk assessment process. The approach estimates the relevant risk potential of food-based contaminant exposure to predatory fish and piscivorous wildlife (receptors). Risk potential, accounting for receptor body weight, ingestion rate, and other exposure factors, is derived by calculating the ratio of exposure concentration divided by the concentration known to produce an adverse toxicological effect or, alternatively, not produce an adverse effect. The final series of calculations produces results that equate to threshold values for evaluating measured tissue contaminant concentrations as indicator values appropriate for NCCA’s probability analysis. Modifications were made to the methods to ensure that upper and lower threshold values were nationally applicable and protective of most, if not all, ecological receptors. The approach and results demonstrating the applicability and viability of using the ecological risk assessment methodology to generate a fish tissue contaminant indicator for use in the assessment of the Nation’s coastal resources are presented.