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CHARACTERIZATION AND ISOLATION OF ORGANIC TOXICANTS IN WHOLE SEDIMENT TOXICITY INDENTIFICATION EVALUATIONS (TIES)
Citation:
Ho, K T., G. Cook, R Tien, R M. Burgess, A KuhnHines, J. Lebo, AND J. N. Huckins. CHARACTERIZATION AND ISOLATION OF ORGANIC TOXICANTS IN WHOLE SEDIMENT TOXICITY INDENTIFICATION EVALUATIONS (TIES). Presented at Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Annual Meeting, Philadelphia PA, November 14-18, 1999.
Description:
Development of whole sediment toxicity identification and evaluation (TIEs) methods has been under way for approximately four years. These methods are necessary to define cause and effect relationships in toxic sediments during ecological risk assessments, remediation and disposal efforts, and to understand sources of stressors in watersheds. To date, methods for selective removal of metals and ammonia from solid phase (whole sediment) matrices exist but the selective removal of organics from sediments has proven to be problematic. We report on the use of a powdered coconut charcoal to selectively sorb and isolate organic toxicants. Results of toxicity tests with the mysid Mysidopsis bahia, and the amphipod Ampelisca abdita, indicate that using coconut charcoal is effective in removing toxicity from field sediments contaminated with PCBs and spiked sediments with endosulfan. Coconut charcoal also removed some toxicity due to ammonia but not metals. Preliminary experiments to recover and extract the coconut charcoal from the sediments for further fractionation and identification (Phase II) have been encouraging. This method may be effective in removal and recovery of toxicity due to organic contaminants in marine sediments.