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Using a Sediment Quality Triad Approach to Evaluate Benthic Toxicity in the Lower Hackensack River, New Jersey

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Abstract

A Sediment Quality Triad (SQT) study consisting of chemical characterization in sediment, sediment toxicity and bioaccumulation testing, and benthic community assessments was performed in the Lower Hackensack River, New Jersey. Chemistry data in sediment and porewater were evaluated based on the equilibrium partitioning approach and other published information to investigate the potential for chemical effects on benthic organisms and communities. Relationships were supported by laboratory toxicity and bioaccumulation experiments to characterize chemical effects and bioavailability. Benthic community results were evaluated using a regional, multimetric benthic index of biotic integrity and four heterogeneity indices. Evidence of slight benthic community impairment was observed in five of nine sediment sample stations. Severe lethal toxicity to amphipods (Leptocheirus plumulosus) occurred in four of these five stations. Although elevated total chromium concentrations in sediment (as high as 1900 mg/kg) were the rationale for conducting the investigation, toxicity was strongly associated with concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) rather than total chromium. PAH toxic units (ΣPAH TU) in sediment and ΣPAH concentrations in laboratory organisms from the bioaccumulation experiment showed a clear dose–response relationship with toxicity, with 0% survival observed in sediments in which ΣPAH TU > 1–2 and ΣPAH concentrations in Macoma nasuta were >2 μmol/g, lipid weight. Metals detected in sediment and porewater, with the possible exception of copper, did not correlate with either toxicity or levels in tissue, likely because acid-volatile sulfide levels exceeded concentrations of simultaneous extracted metals at all sample locations. The study reinforces the value of using multiple lines of evidence approaches such as the SQT and the importance of augmenting chemical and biological analyses with modeling and/or other approaches to evaluate chemical bioavailability and toxicity of sediments.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this study was provided by Honeywell International Inc. Ocean Surveys Inc. (Old Saybrook, CT) and HydroQual, Inc. (Mahwah, NJ) assisted with the collection of sediment samples and benthic invertebrate surveys. The authors also wish to acknowledge the helpful comments of three anonymous reviewers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ENVIRON International Corporation, 1600 Parkwood Circle, Suite 310, Atlanta, Georgia, 30339, USA

    Mary T. Sorensen

  2. ENVIRON International Corporation, 2010 Main Street, Suite 900, Irvine, California, 92614, USA

    Jason M. Conder

  3. ENVIRON International Corporation, 13801 West Center Street, Suite 1, Burton, Ohio, 44021, USA

    Phyllis C. Fuchsman

  4. ENVIRON International Corporation, 6001 Shellmound Street, Suite 700, Emeryville, California, 94608, USA

    Linda B. Martello & Richard J. Wenning

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  1. Mary T. Sorensen
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Correspondence to Mary T. Sorensen.

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Sorensen, M.T., Conder, J.M., Fuchsman, P.C. et al. Using a Sediment Quality Triad Approach to Evaluate Benthic Toxicity in the Lower Hackensack River, New Jersey. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 53, 36–49 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-006-0165-5

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