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Evaluation of bioassays for designing sediment cleanup strategies at a wood treatment site
Author(s) -
Athey Leslie A.,
Thomas John M.,
Miller William E.,
Word Jack Q.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
environmental toxicology and chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1552-8618
pISSN - 0730-7268
DOI - 10.1002/etc.5620080305
Subject(s) - bioassay , creosote , environmental science , remedial action , contamination , environmental chemistry , sediment , environmental remediation , chemistry , ecology , biology , paleontology
Abstract Standard bioassays were studied to evaluate their value in guiding remedial action decisions at sites contaminated with wood treatment operation wastes. The toxicities of sediment, sediment elutriate and whole water samples collected from a creek adjacent to a wood treatment site in Mississippi were estimated using six bioassays and compared with estimated concentrations of creosote and related materials obtained from the same samples by infrared spectroscopy. Of the bioassays, Daphnia and Microtox were most sensitive to the contaminants from the wood treatment operation. Based on an analysis of these samples, chemical analysis alone is insufficient to guide cleanup decisions, but bioassays alone can provide usable guidance, especially if more than one contaminant is present.