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de Freitas Santos da Silva AC, de Santana CO, Dos Santos Vergilio C, de Jesus TB. Distribution, toxicity and bioaccumulation of trace metals in environmental matrices of an estuary in a protected area. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2023; 191:114928. [PMID: 37146550 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Revised: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 04/07/2023] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Mangroves are productive ecosystems that are highly threatened by anthropogenic activities. We investigated the environmental quality of the Serinhaém river estuary located in a legally protected area. Through chemical analysis of sediments and tissues of Cardisoma guanhumi, in addition to bioassays with elutriate involving Nitokra sp. and Thalassiosira pseudonana, we determined the contamination status and risk factors related to trace metals in the estuary. For the sediment, the concentrations of Cr and Ni were above the limit established by CONAMA n° 454/2012 in the "City" site, and Cr above the TEL in all sampling sites. Ecotoxicological tests showed high toxicity in samples from "City" and "Tributary". The elements Cr, Mn, Ni and Zn were also higher in crabs from these sites. Cr levels exceeded the Brazilian limit for food consumption. The bioaccumulation factor was not significant. However, the overall analysis proved that this estuary is increasingly impacted by anthropogenic pressure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Carolina de Freitas Santos da Silva
- State University of Feira de Santana (UEFS), Programa de Pós-Graduação em Modelagem em Ciências da Terra e do Ambiente (PPGM), Avenida Transnordestina, s/n - Novo Horizonte, 44036-900 Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brazil.
| | - Carolina Oliveira de Santana
- State University of Feira de Santana (UEFS), Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Evolução (PPGECOEVOL), Avenida Transnordestina, s/n - Novo Horizonte, 44036-900 Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brazil
| | - Cristiane Dos Santos Vergilio
- Federal University of Espirito Santo (UFES), Laboratório de Ecotoxicologia, Departamento de Biologia, Centro de Ciências Exatas, Naturais e da Saúde, Alto Universitário, S/N, Guararema, 29.500-00 Alegre, Espírito Santo, Brazil
| | - Taíse Bomfim de Jesus
- State University of Feira de Santana (UEFS), Programa de Pós-Graduação em Modelagem em Ciências da Terra e do Ambiente (PPGM), Avenida Transnordestina, s/n - Novo Horizonte, 44036-900 Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brazil.
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Sartori D, Macchia S, Layglon N, D'Onofrio S, Misson B, Piccione ME, Bertolotto RM, Scuderi A, Pilato F, Giuliani S, Pellegrini D, Gaion A. Elutriate preparation affects embryo development test with Paracentrotus lividus: An in-depth study on the differences between two protocols and three different sediment/water mixing times. ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 2021; 212:112010. [PMID: 33550081 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2021.112010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2020] [Revised: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Coastal areas are under continuous and increasing pressure from different human activities. A mixture of contaminants (e.g. hydrocarbons, pesticides, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), emerging contaminants, and others), originating mainly from populated, industrialised and agricultural areas, can reach the marine environment through different means such as wastewater discharge, soil runoffs, leaching from agriculture, and volatilisation/deposition. In this context, marine sediments have increasingly been considered repositories for a variety of pollutants that can accumulate and be stored for long periods, acting as a secondary source of contaminants during subsequent dredging operation or vessel manoeuvring. Chemical and ecotoxicological analyses of sediments are routinely conducted to evaluate the potential hazard/risk to the environment, either on bulk sediment or elutriate. In general, sediment elutriates are commonly prepared according to ASTM Guide even if alternative protocols are proposed by USACE for the various condition that they have to represent. The goal of the present study was to determine if the toxicological properties of ASTMprepared elutriates are comparable to those obtained from the USACE protocol. Sediment coming from 3 harbours (Olbia, Cagliari, and Toulon), as part of the "Se.D.Ri.Port" Interreg Project, were processed to obtain elutriates according to ASTM Guide and USACE Dredging Elutriate protocol and tested with the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus embryo development test. Moreover, the significance of different stirring times of water/sediment mixture (1 h, 3 h, and 24 h) was tested with both the ASTM and USACE protocol. In addition to the biological analysis, for each sediment sample, heavy metals concentration, granulometry, and organic matter were determined. Even if for the ports of Toulon and Cagliari, the ASTM and USACE elutriates showed comparable results with P. lividus bioassay, for the port of Olbia the two protocols showed different criticalities. Preliminary results show that for the site Olbia elutriates prepared with the USACE protocol resulted in higher toxicity than elutriates obtained with ASTM (p < 0.001). In conclusion, differences in preparation protocols appear to be significant and can lead to different results in biological testing. To overcome this problem and to obtain more reliable evaluations of risk to the environment, standardisation and regulation must be the next goals in sediment management procedure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Sartori
- Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, ISPRA, Via del Cedro, 38, 57123 Livorno, Italy.
| | - Simona Macchia
- Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, ISPRA, Via del Cedro, 38, 57123 Livorno, Italy
| | - Nicolas Layglon
- Université de Toulon, Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, IRD, Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (MIO), UM110, France
| | - Sebastien D'Onofrio
- Université de Toulon, Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, IRD, Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (MIO), UM110, France
| | - Benjamin Misson
- Université de Toulon, Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, IRD, Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (MIO), UM110, France
| | - Maria Elena Piccione
- Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, ISPRA, Via del Cedro, 38, 57123 Livorno, Italy
| | - Rosa Maria Bertolotto
- Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione dell'Ambiente Ligure, ARPAL, Via Bombrini 8, 16149 Genova, Italy
| | - Alice Scuderi
- Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, ISPRA, Via del Cedro, 38, 57123 Livorno, Italy
| | - Fabiano Pilato
- Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, ISPRA, Via del Cedro, 38, 57123 Livorno, Italy
| | - Silvia Giuliani
- Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, ISPRA, Via del Cedro, 38, 57123 Livorno, Italy
| | - David Pellegrini
- Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, ISPRA, Via del Cedro, 38, 57123 Livorno, Italy
| | - Andrea Gaion
- University Centre South Devon, Vantage Point, Long Road, Paignton TQ4 7EJ, United Kingdom
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Cleveland D, Brumbaugh WG, MacDonald DD. A comparison of four porewater sampling methods for metal mixtures and dissolved organic carbon and the implications for sediment toxicity evaluations. ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY 2017; 36:2906-2915. [PMID: 28597934 DOI: 10.1002/etc.3884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2017] [Revised: 05/21/2017] [Accepted: 06/08/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Evaluations of sediment quality conditions are commonly conducted using whole-sediment chemistry analyses but can be enhanced by evaluating multiple lines of evidence, including measures of the bioavailable forms of contaminants. In particular, porewater chemistry data provide information that is directly relevant for interpreting sediment toxicity data. Various methods for sampling porewater for trace metals and dissolved organic carbon (DOC), which is an important moderator of metal bioavailability, have been employed. The present study compares the peeper, push point, centrifugation, and diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) methods for the quantification of 6 metals and DOC. The methods were evaluated at low and high concentrations of metals in 3 sediments having different concentrations of total organic carbon and acid volatile sulfide and different particle-size distributions. At low metal concentrations, centrifugation and push point sampling resulted in up to 100 times higher concentrations of metals and DOC in porewater compared with peepers and DGTs. At elevated metal levels, the measured concentrations were in better agreement among the 4 sampling techniques. The results indicate that there can be marked differences among operationally different porewater sampling methods, and it is unclear if there is a definitive best method for sampling metals and DOC in porewater. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:2906-2915. Published 2017 Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of SETAC. This article is a US government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle Cleveland
- Columbia Environmental Research Center, US Geological Survey, Columbia, Missouri, USA
| | - William G Brumbaugh
- Columbia Environmental Research Center, US Geological Survey, Columbia, Missouri, USA
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Passarelli MC, Cesar A, Riba I, DelValls TA. Comparative evaluation of sea-urchin larval stage sensitivity to ocean acidification. CHEMOSPHERE 2017; 184:224-234. [PMID: 28599151 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2017] [Revised: 05/16/2017] [Accepted: 06/01/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Changes in the marine carbonate system may affect various calcifying organisms. This study is aimed to compare the sensitivity of embryo-larval development of two species of sea urchins (Paracentrutos lividus and Lytechinus variegatus) collected and exposed to samples from different coastal zone (Spain and Brazil) to ocean acidification. The results showed that the larval stages are very sensitive to small changes in the seawater's pH. The larvae from P. lividus species showed to be more sensitive to acidified elutriate sediments than larvae from L. variegatus sea urchin. Furthermore, this study has demonstrated that the CO2 enrichment in aquatic ecosystems cause changes on the mobility of the metals: Zn, Cu, Fe, Al and As, which was presented different behavior among them. Although an increase on the mobility of metals was found, the results using the principal component analysis showed that the pH reduction show the highest correlations with the toxicity and is the main cause of embryo-larval development inhibition. In this comparative study it is demonstrated that both species are able to assess potential effects of the ocean acidification related to CO2 enrichment by both near future scenarios and the risk associated with CO2 leakages in the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) process, and the importance of comparative studies in different zones to improve the understanding of the impacts caused by ocean acidification.
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Affiliation(s)
- M C Passarelli
- UNESCO/UNITWIN WiCop, Physico Chemical Department, Faculty of Marine and Environmental Studies, CEIMAR, University of Cádiz, Spain.
| | - A Cesar
- Department of Ocean Sciences, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), Santos, São Paulo, Brazil; Department of Ecotoxicology, Santa Cecília University (UNISANTA), Santos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - I Riba
- UNESCO/UNITWIN WiCop, Physico Chemical Department, Faculty of Marine and Environmental Studies, CEIMAR, University of Cádiz, Spain
| | - T A DelValls
- UNESCO/UNITWIN WiCop, Physico Chemical Department, Faculty of Marine and Environmental Studies, CEIMAR, University of Cádiz, Spain
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Hwang HM, Carr RS, Cherr GN, Green PG, Grosholz ED, Judah L, Morgan SG, Ogle S, Rashbrook VK, Rose WL, Teh SJ, Vines CA, Anderson SL. Sediment quality assessment in tidal salt marshes in northern California, USA: an evaluation of multiple lines of evidence approach. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2013; 454-455:189-198. [PMID: 23542672 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.02.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2012] [Revised: 02/02/2013] [Accepted: 02/11/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of integrating a traditional sediment quality triad approach with selected sublethal chronic indicators in resident species in assessing sediment quality in four salt marshes in northern California, USA. These included the highly contaminated (Stege Marsh) and relatively clean (China Camp) marshes in San Francisco Bay and two reference marshes in Tomales Bay. Toxicity potential of contaminants and benthic macroinvertebrate survey showed significant differences between contaminated and reference marshes. Sublethal responses (e.g., apoptotic DNA fragmentation, lipid accumulation, and glycogen depletion) in livers of longjaw mudsucker (Gillichthys mirabilis) and embryo abnormality in lined shore crab (Pachygrapsus crassipes) also clearly distinguished contaminated and reference marshes, while other responses (e.g., cytochrome P450, metallothionein) did not. This study demonstrates that additional chronic sublethal responses in resident species under field exposure conditions can be readily combined with sediment quality triads for an expanded multiple lines of evidence approach. This confirmatory step may be warranted in environments like salt marshes in which natural variables may affect interpretation of toxicity test data. Qualitative and quantitative integration of the portfolio of responses in resident species and traditional approach can support a more comprehensive and informative sediment quality assessment in salt marshes and possibly other habitat types as well.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyun-Min Hwang
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
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Haring HJ, Smith ME, Lazorchak JM, Crocker PA, Euresti A, Blocksom K, Wratschko MC, Schaub MC. An interlaboratory comparison of sediment elutriate preparation and toxicity test methods. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2012; 184:7343-7351. [PMID: 22278676 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-011-2503-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2011] [Accepted: 12/26/2011] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Elutriate bioassays are among numerous methods that exist for assessing the potential toxicity of sediments in aquatic systems. In this study, interlaboratory results were compared from 96-h Ceriodaphnia dubia and Pimephales promelas static-renewal acute toxicity tests conducted independently by two laboratories using elutriate samples prepared from the same sediment. The goal of the study was to determine if the results from the elutriate tests were comparable between two U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) laboratories when different elutriate preparation procedures were employed by each lab. Complete agreement in site characterization was attained in 22 of the 25 samples for both bioassays amongst each lab. Of the 25 samples analyzed, 10 were found to be toxic to at least one of the species tested by either laboratory. The C. dubia elutriate tests conducted by the National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) indicated that 7 of the 25 sediment samples were toxic, while 8 sediment samples were characterized as such in testing conducted by USEPA Region 6 (Region 6). The P. promelas elutriate tests conducted by NERL determined 8 samples as toxic, while Region 6 tests displayed toxicity in 5 of the samples. McNemar's test of symmetry for C. dubia (S = 0.33, p = 0.5637) and P. promelas (S = 3.0, p = 0.0833) tests indicated no significant differences in designating a site toxic between NERL and Region 6 laboratories. Likewise, Cohen's kappa test revealed significant agreement between NERL and Region 6 C. dubia (K = 0.7148, p < 0.01) and P. promelas (K = 0.6939, p < 0.01) elutriate tests. The authors conclude that differences in interlaboratory elutriate preparation procedures have no bearing on the ability of either the C. dubia or P. promelas bioassay testing methods to detect toxicity while yielding similar results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Herman J Haring
- The McConnell Group, c/o U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Exposure Research Laboratory, 26 W. Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45268, USA
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Ferretti JA, Calesso DF. Toxicity of ammonia to surf clam (Spisula solidissima) larvae in saltwater and sediment elutriates. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2011; 71:189-194. [PMID: 21295341 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2011.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2010] [Revised: 01/13/2011] [Accepted: 01/13/2011] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Ammonia is a natural component of sediments and has been identified as a common contributor to toxicity in marine sediment, elutriate and porewater testing. In our study, the role of ammonia as a possible toxicant in sediment toxicity tests was evaluated using larvae of the surf clam, Spisula solidissima. Elutriates were prepared and tested using six baseline sediment samples. Ammonia was then purged from aliquots of the baseline sediment samples prior to elutriate preparation. Finally, ammonia was spiked into aliquots of the purged elutriates to mimic ammonia concentrations measured in the baseline elutriates. Toxicity was present in all of the baseline samples and was removed in the ammonia purged samples. In most cases, toxicity was comparable in the ammonia spiked samples to levels measured in the baseline samples. Water only toxicity tests revealed that larvae of the surf clam are one of the more ammonia sensitive marine species. The LC50 for survival was 10.6 mg/L total ammonia (.53 mg/L unionized ammonia) and the EC50 for shell development was 2.35 mg/L total ammonia (.12 mg/L unionized ammonia). Toxicity endpoints calculated from the water only ammonia toxicity test were good predictors of effects observed in the sediment elutriate tests.
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Affiliation(s)
- James A Ferretti
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2890 Woodbridge Avenue, Edison, NJ 08837, USA.
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Paixão JF, de Oliveira OMC, Dominguez JML, Almeida EDS, Carvalho GC, Magalhães WF. Integrated assessment of mangrove sediments in the Camamu Bay (Bahia, Brazil). ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 2011; 74:403-415. [PMID: 21074854 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2010.10.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2010] [Revised: 10/21/2010] [Accepted: 10/25/2010] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Camamu Bay, an Environmentally Protected Area, may be affected by the pressures of tourism and oil exploration in the adjacent continental platform. The current quality of the mangrove sediments was evaluated by porewater bioassays using embryos of Crassostrea rhizophorae and by an analysis of benthic macrofauna and its relationships with organic compounds, trace metals and bioavailability. Porewater toxicity varied from low to moderate in the majority of the samples, and polychaetes dominated the benthos. The Grande Island sampling station (Station 1) presented more sandy sediments, differentiated macrobenthic assemblages and the highest metal concentrations in relation to other stations and guideline values, and it was the only station that indicated a possible bioavailability of metals. The origin of the metals (mainly barium) is most likely associated with the barite ore deposits located in the Grande and Pequena islands. These results may be useful for future assessment of the impact of oil exploration in the coastal region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joana F Paixão
- Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia Baiano, Brazil.
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Batley GE, Simpson SL. Development of guidelines for ammonia in estuarine and marine water systems. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2009; 58:1472-1476. [PMID: 19595377 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2009.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2009] [Revised: 05/25/2009] [Accepted: 06/08/2009] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
The water quality guideline trigger value for ammonia in estuarine and marine waters has been revised with the addition of 38 new results to the data set of 21 used in earlier guideline derivations. Using species sensitivity distributions, a new trigger value of 460 microg total NH(3)-N/L was derived for slightly to moderately disturbed systems (95% protection concentration, PC95), with a value of 160 microg total NH(3)-N/L applying to waters of high conservation value (PC99). For sediment pore waters, a guideline trigger value of 3.9 mg total NH(3)-N/L, derived from the 80th percentile of background data from Sydney Harbour, is recommended. This value is likely to be exceeded in degraded sediments subject to dredging; however, ocean disposal of such sediments results in rapid decreases in porewater ammonia and a guideline trigger value for dissolved ammonia during disposal of dredged sediments of 1550 microg total NH(3)-N/L is proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Graeme E Batley
- Centre for Environmental Contaminants Research, CSIRO Land and Water, Private Mailbag 7, Bangor, NSW 2234, Australia.
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Libralato G, Losso C, Avezzù F, Volpi Ghirardini A. Influence of the salinity adjustment methods, salts and brine, on the toxicity of wastewater samples to mussel embryos. ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY 2009; 30:85-91. [PMID: 19213470 DOI: 10.1080/09593330802505094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
One of the main problems of the Whole Effluent Toxicity is related to the use of bioindicator species representative of the target environment. Most wastewater discharges are of fresh water, so their salinity has to be adjusted when they are discharged to transitional and marine coastal waters, in order to perform toxicity bioassays with reliable organisms. At the moment, there is no optimum technique to allow sample salinity to be adjusted and no specific information regarding salinity adjustment when bivalves are being considered for toxicity test performance. This paper provides information on the potential use of different methods to adjust the salinity of hotel/domestic wastewater samples with different brands of natural and synthetic Dry Salts (DS) and HyperSaline Brine (HSB) for use in the embryo larval development bioassay with the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. HyperSaline Brine derived from reconstructed artificial seawater proved to be more viable for wastewater salinity adjustment than DS.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Libralato
- Environmental Sciences Department, University of Venice Cà Foscari, Venice, Italy.
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Casado-Martínez MC, Fernández N, Forja JM, DelValls TA. Liquid versus solid phase bioassays for dredged material toxicity assessment. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2007; 33:456-62. [PMID: 17174396 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2006.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2006] [Revised: 06/08/2006] [Accepted: 10/23/2006] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Since 1994 the results of the analyses of key chemical compounds (trace metals, polychlorinated biphenyls and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) and the comparison with the corresponding sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) are used in decision-making for dredged material management in Spain. Nonetheless in the last decades a tiered testing approach is promoted for assessing the physical and chemical characteristics of dredged sediments and their potential biological effects in the environment. Bioassays have been used for sediment toxicity assessment in Spain but few or no experiences are reported on harbour sediments. We studied the incidence of toxicity in the 7 d bioassay using rotifers (Brachionus plicatilis) and the 48 h bioassay using sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus) embryos over a series of experiments employing 22 different elutriates. The relative performance of this exposure phase was not comparable to data on the 10-d acute toxicity test using the burrowing amphipod Corophium volutator and the polychaete Arenicola marina, carried out on the whole sediments. These results evidence the importance of the exposure route and the test selected in decision-making, as the toxicity registered for the undiluted elutriates was largely due to the different solubility of sediment-bound contaminants. This work and other studies indicate that for many sediments, a complete battery of test is recommended together with physico-chemical analyses to decide whether dredged sediments are suitable for open water disposal or not.
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Affiliation(s)
- M C Casado-Martínez
- Departamento de Química-Física, Universidad de Cádiz, Polígono Río San Pedro, S/N., C.P. 11510 Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain.
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