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Role of passive sampling and Porewater Remedial Guidelines (PWRGs) in long-term monitoring
Citation:
Burkhard, L. Role of passive sampling and Porewater Remedial Guidelines (PWRGs) in long-term monitoring. CLU-IN Contaminated Sediments Virtual Workshop, MN, Duluth, November 20, 2019.
Impact/Purpose:
A brief overview on the development pore water remedial goals (PWRGs) for the protection of benthic organisms and their application in relation to sediment toxicity testing results will be provided in US-EPA Contaminated Site Cleanup Information (CLU-IN), Contaminated Sediments Virtual Workshop Session 4 Long-Term Monitoring. The aim of the virtual workshop is to provide interactive discussions between expert panelists and workshop participants on Long-Term Monitoring at Superfund Sites. The brief presentation (10 minutes) will cover the development of PWRGs and their subsequent application in evaluating sediment toxicity testing data from Superfund sites.
Description:
Long-term monitoring at contaminated sediment sites has unique challenges including logistical burdens and elevated costs associated with extended field activity. Passive sampling and Porewater Remedial Guidelines (PWRGs) are both relatively new technologies that offer to reduce the impacts of some of these logistical and financial challenges. Passive sampling is a simple but effective technology for measuring porewater and water column concentrations of bioavailable contaminants particularly readily bioaccumulated pollutants such as PCBs, PAHs, chlorinated pesticides and dioxin-like compounds. The workshop will explain the basics of passive sampling, provide an overview of their deployment, and discuss applications relevant to long-term monitoring including estimating bioaccumulation and assessing remedy effectiveness (e.g., capping). The development of Porewater Remediation Goals (PWRG) for the protection of the benthos using exposures measured with passive sampling will also be discussed. The focus will be on the development of a site specific PWRGs and the calculation of a sediment RG based on a site-specific Equilibrium Partitioning Model. The workshop will demonstrate the utility of passive sampling and PWRGs as part of a scientifically-sound and robust long-term monitoring program.