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SEDIMENT TOXICITY IDENTIFICATION EVALUATION (TIE)PHASE I,II,III GUIDANCE DOCUMENT
Citation:
HO, K. T., R. M. BURGESS, D. R. MOUNT, T. J. NORBERG-KING, AND J. HOCKETT. SEDIMENT TOXICITY IDENTIFICATION EVALUATION (TIE)PHASE I,II,III GUIDANCE DOCUMENT. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/R-07/080, 2007.
Impact/Purpose:
This guidance document provides an overview and guidance for the conduct of Toxicity Identification and Evaluations (TIE) in both marine and freshwaters, as well as interstitial waters and whole sediments. TIEs are methods used to identify the cause of toxicity in sediments and this guidance will help Program Offices, States and Regions conduct and oversee the identification of the causes(es) of toxicity in sediments. This document will aid those conducting ecological risk assessments and TMDLs to identify the cause of toxicity in watersheds.
Description:
Sediment contamination in the United States has been amply documented and, in order to comply with the 1972 Clean Water Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must address the issue of toxic sediments. Contaminated sediments from a number of freshwater and marine sites have demonstrated acute and/or chronic toxicity to a variety of test species, as well as adverse ecological effects such as population declines and changes in community structure. However, simply knowing that a sediment is toxic has limited use. This document provides guidance on the performance of sediment Toxicity Identification and Evaluation (TIE). TIE methods allow for the identification of toxic chemicals or chemical classes causing observed toxicity. The identification of pollutants responsible for toxicity of contaminated sediments has broad application in a number of EPA programs as the methods can be used within the total maximum daily load (TMDL) framework, to link sediment toxicity to specific dischargers, to design cost-effective remediation programs, and to identify environmentally protective options for dredged material disposal. In addition, the identification of specific problem contaminants in sediments could prove to be very useful to EPA programs involved in the development of water or sediment quality guidelines, and the registration of new products such as pesticides. Finally, knowledge of the causes of toxicity that influence ecological changes such as community structure would be useful in performing ecological risk assessments not only for the Agency but also for the scientific and regulated community as a whole. This document provides guidance for both interstitial water and whole sediment TIEs and combines our current understanding of TIE methods for both marine and freshwater interstitial waters and whole sediments. This guidance does not include approaches for the implementation of sediment TIE in a regulatory context. This document contains Phase I TIE (characterization) methods for interstitial waters and whole sediments, including guidance on when to use whole sediment or interstitial water methods, the collection of interstitial waters for testing, and test volume considerations. Interstitial water methods include the following manipulations: graduated pH, aeration, filtration, C18 reverse-phase chromatography extraction, EDTA addition, and cation exchange solid phase extraction. Whole sediment methods include general procedures and considerations for whole sediment testing and the following manipulations: Ulva lactuca, zeolite, cation exchange resin, anion exchange resin, acid volatile sulfide, Ambersorb, and powdered coconut charcoal additions and base metal substitution. Existing guidance for Phases II and III methods have been tailored for chemical classes normally found in sediments.
URLs/Downloads:
Sediment%20TIE%20Guidance%20Document.pdfREVIEW 9.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 70 KB, about PDF)
REVIEW 8.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 172 KB, about PDF)
REVIEW 7.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 149 KB, about PDF)
REVIEW 6.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 18 KB, about PDF)
REVIEW 4.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 73 KB, about PDF)
REVIEW 3.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 60 KB, about PDF)
REVIEW 2.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 60 KB, about PDF)
REVIEW 1.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 16 KB, about PDF)
TIE CHARGE.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 14 KB, about PDF)