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ACID-VOLATILE SULFIDE AS A FACTOR MEDIATING CADMIUM AND NICKEL BIOAVAILABILITY IN CONTAMINATED SEDIMENTS
Citation:
Ankley, G., G. Phipps, E. Leonard, D. Benoit, V. Mattson, P. Kosian, A. Cotter, J. Dierkes, D.J. Hansen, AND J. Mahoney. ACID-VOLATILE SULFIDE AS A FACTOR MEDIATING CADMIUM AND NICKEL BIOAVAILABILITY IN CONTAMINATED SEDIMENTS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-91/291 (NTIS PB92124296).
Description:
We investigated the influence of sulfide, measured as acid-volatile sulfide (AVS), on the bioavailability of cadmium and nickel in sediments. eventeen samples from an estuarine system heavily contaminated with cadmium and nickel were analyzed for AVS and simultaneously extracted metals (SEM) and tested in 10-d exposures with the amphipod Hyalella azteca and the oligochaete Lumbriculus variegatus. olar SEM (cadmium + nickel)/AVS ratios in the sediments ranged from less than one to greater than 200, with several in the range of 1 to 10. amples with SEM/AVS ratios greater than one were consistently toxic to Hyalella azteca, whereas sediments with ratios less than one were not. umbriculus variegatus was less sensitive to the test sediments that Hyalella azteca, which was consistent with their relative sensitivity to cadmium and nickel in water-only exposures. EM/AVS ratios in the sediments also appeared to be important in determining bioaccumulation of metals by Lumbriculus variegatus. hese results support other studies with metal-spiked sample sin demonstrating the importance of AVS in determining metal bioavailability in sediments and suggest that AVS normalization is a reasonable means for assessing the hazard of some sediment-associated metals to aquatic ecosystems.