Threshold levels for toxic effects of sediment-associated PAHs on marine biota from urban and nonurban embayments of the United States

• Main Authors: Lomax, D.P., Horness, B.H., Johnson, L.L., Landahl, J.T., Varanasi, U.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: 540320 > Environment, Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-); AQUATIC ORGANISMS; AROMATICS; BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS; COASTAL REGIONS; CONTAMINATION; ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; HYDROCARBONS; ORGANIC COMPOUNDS 560300 > Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology; POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS; RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT; SEDIMENTS; TOXICITY; URBAN AREAS
• ISSN: 0012-9623; 2327-6096

The Environmental Conservation Division of the National Marine Fisheries Service has been conducting studies investigating the effects of marine pollution on the health of benthic fish since 1979. A large amount of data relating biological effects to exposure to sediments contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exists as a result of the many field and laboratory studies conducted since this time. These effects include the presence of hepatic lesions, high biliary levels of PAH metabolites, elevated activity of hepatic xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes and include the presence of hepatic lesions, high biliary levels of PAH metabolites, elevated activity of hepatic xenobotic metabolizing enzymes and impaired reproductive success. A comprehensive analysis of these data was undertaken in an effort to estimate thresholds for concentrations of PAHs in sediment below which the effects previously describe did not occur. Our primary objectives were to determine: (1) at what levels of chemical contamination are thresholds observed for those species examined and (2) how our findings compare with the sediment quality standards of other agencies. Thresholds were determined with the Hockey Stick regression model. Our results show that most effects exhibit thresholds at 500-1000 ng/g, with slight variances among species due to differences in sensitivity. These values are considerably lower than standards derived from the Apparent Effects Threshold and other similar methods used for evaluating sediment toxicity. This approach yields significant insight into the impact of low level contamination and may provide a useful alternative for evaluating sediment quality within urban areas.