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EVALUATION OF PILOT TREATMENT EFFLUENTS FROM SUMMITVILLE MINE, CO, USING CERIODAPHNIA DUBIA, FATHEAD MINNOW (PIMEPHALES PROMELAS), AND RAINBOW TROUT (ONCORHYNCHUS MYKISS) TOXICITY TESTS
Citation:
Lazorchak, J M., M E. Smith, E R. Bates*, AND G. Miller. EVALUATION OF PILOT TREATMENT EFFLUENTS FROM SUMMITVILLE MINE, CO, USING CERIODAPHNIA DUBIA, FATHEAD MINNOW (PIMEPHALES PROMELAS), AND RAINBOW TROUT (ONCORHYNCHUS MYKISS) TOXICITY TESTS. Presented at Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Baltimore, MD, November 11-15, 2001.
Impact/Purpose:
The current goals of this task's research are to (1) develop miniaturized sediment exposure methods using selected marine and freshwater fish and amphipods that can be used for screening contaminants in sediments from surface waters and remediation studies and (2) to modify present sediment toxicity methods to include molecular methods for the detection of sublethal changes associated with exposure to contaminants.
Description:
As part of a Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) Program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency evaluated a remediation technology at the Summitville Mine Superfund site in southern Colorado. The technology evaluated was a successive alkalinity producing system (SAPS) for removing high concentrations of metals (aluminum, copper, iron, manganese and zinc). Two treated and one untreated water samples were evaluated using a series of acute aquatic toxicity tests with the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) and the daphnid (Ceriodaphnia dubia), and a subchronic 7-day survival and growth toxicity test using rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). All tests used moderately hard reconstituted water as the control and dilution water. The fathead minnows used in this study were three days old, the C. dubia were <24 hr old, and the rainbow trout used were 18 days old, 5 days post swimup. The trout tests were conducted at 15oC, the two other species were tested at 20oC. C. dubia were more sensitive than rainbow trout, which were more sensitive than the fathead minnow. Both treated samples reduced toxicity of the mine discharge by approximately 7-8 fold for C. dubia, 10 fold for rainbow trout, and about 5 fold for the fathead minnow. However, in order to remove all the acute toxicity from the mine discharge, a 1000 fold reduction in metals in both treatments would be needed for C. dubia survival, a 100 fold more reduction in the concentration of metals would be needed for rainbow trout survival, and a 50 fold reduction for fathead minnow survival.