Abstract
Approximately 5.4 million cubic yards of coal fly ash and water spilled into the Emory River embayment of Watts Bar Reservoir in east Tennessee on Dec 22, 2008. Raccoons were collected in 2009 and 2010 from the spill site (10/y) and unexposed areas (5/y) to determine whether metals and metalloids were accumulating in raccoons and if any negative health effects resulted from exposure to the spilled coal fly ash. Tissues were analyzed from each animal to determine the concentrations of 26 metals/metalloids. Complete blood cell counts (CBC), plasma biochemistry panels, and histopathology of select tissues also were performed. Results were analyzed by year and exposure status. Although significant differences were present in some tissues for some metals/metalloids, only arsenic in hair, iron in muscle, nickel in hair, selenium in hair and muscle, strontium in hair, and vanadium in hair and liver were increased in spill site animals (one or both years) compared with unexposed animals. No clinically important differences were observed between groups regarding CBC or plasma biochemistry analyses. Lesions were observed on histopathology in some tissues, but there was no difference in the prevalence of lesions between spill site and unexposed animals. There does not seem to be any important accumulation of metals/metalloids or negative health effects in raccoons associated with exposure to coal fly ash compared with unexposed animals.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barstch RC, Ward BC (1976) Visceral lesions in raccoons naturally infected with Heterobilharzia americana. Vet Pathol 13:241–249
Bigler WJ, Jenkins JH, Cumbie RM, Hoff GL, Prather E (1975) Wildlife and environmental health: Raccoons as indicators of zoonoses and pollutants in the southeastern USA. J Am Med Assoc 167:592–597
Bryan AL, Hopkins WA, Parikh JH, Jackson BP, Unrine JM (2012) Coal fly ash basins as an attractive nuisance to birds: Parental provisioning exposes nestlings to harmful trace elements. Environ Pollut 161:170–177
Burger J, Lord CG, Yurkow EJ, McGrath L (2000) Metals and metallothionein in the liver of raccoons: Utility for environmental assessment and monitoring. J Toxicol Environ Health A 60:243–261
Burger J, Gaines KF, Lord CG, Brisbin IL, Shukla S, Gochfeld M (2002) Metal levels in raccoon tissues: Differences on and off the Department of Energy’s Savannah River site in South Carolina. Environ Monit Assess 74:67–84
Clark DR, Ogasawara PA, Smith GJ, Ohlendorf HM (1989) Selenium accumulation by raccoons exposed to irrigation drainwater at Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge, California, 1986. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 18:787–794
Elinder CG, Piscator M (1979) Iron. In: Friberg L, Nordberg GF, Bouk VB (eds) Handbook on the toxicology of metals. Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press, New York, pp 435–450
Fowler BA, Ishinishi N, Tsuchiya K, Vahter M (1979) Arsenic. In: Friberg L, Nordberg GF, Bouk VB (eds) Handbook on the toxicology of metals. Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press, New York, NY, pp 293–319
Frank A, Madej A, Galgan V, Petersson LR (1996) Vandium poisoning of cattle with basic slag. Concentrations in tissues from poisoned animals and from a reference, slaughter house material. Sci Total Environ 181:73–92
Gaines KF, Lord CG, Boring CS, Brisbin IL, Burger J, Gochfeld M (2000) Raccoons as potential vectors of radionuclide contamination to human food chains from a nuclear industrial site. J Wildl Manage 65:199–208
Gavin PJ, Kazacos KR, Shulman ST (2005) Baylisascaris. Clin Microbiol Rev 18:703–718
Herbert GB, Peterle TJ (1990) Heavy metal and organochlorine compound concentrations in tissues of raccoons from east-central Michigan. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 44:331–338
Hopkins WA, Mendonca MT, Rowe CL, Congdon JD (1998) Elevated trace element concentrations in Southern toads, Bufo terrestris, exposed to coal combustion waste. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 35:325–329
Law RJ (1996) Metals in marine mammals. In: Beyer WN, Heinz GH, Redmon-Norwood AW (eds) Environmental contaminants in wildlife. Lewis, New York, pp 357–376
Lord CG, Gaines KF, Boring CS, Brisbin IL, Gochfeld M, Burger J (2002) Raccoon (Procyon lotor) as a bioindicator of mercury contamination at the United States Department of Energy’s Savannah River site. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 43:356–363
Mahajan VE, Yadav RR, Dakshinkar NP, Dhoot VM, Bhojane GR, Naik MK, et al. (2012) Influence of mercury from fly ash on cattle reared nearby thermal power plant. Environ Monit Assess 184(12):7365–7372
National Research Council (2006) Managing coal combustion residues in mines. The National Academies Press, Washington
Neill JD (2006) Knobil and Neill’s physiology of reproduction, 3rd edn. Elsevier Academic, St. Louis, p 917
Norseth T, Piscator M (1979) Nickel. In: Friberg L, Nordberg GF, Bouk VB (eds) Handbook on the toxicology of metals. Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press, New York, NY, pp 541–553
Okuyama MW, Shimozuru M, Takahasi N, Fukui D, Nakamura R, Tsubota T (2012) Seasonal changes in spermatogenesis and peripheral testosterone concentration in raccoons (Procyon lotor) in Hokkaido. J Vet Med Sci 74:727–732
Olson EJ, Conboy GA, Stromberg BE, Hayden DW (2011) Pulmonary tremotodosis (Pharyngostomoides sp.) in a juvenile raccoon (Procyon lotor). J Vet Diagn Invest 23:560–564
Patra KC, Rautray TR, Tripathy BB, Nayak P (2012) Elemental analysis of coal and coal ASH by PIXE technique. Appl Radiat Isot 70:612–616
Porcella DB, Zillioux EJ, Grieb TM, Newman JR, West GB (2004) Retrospective study of mercury in raccoons (Procyon lotor) in South Florida. Ecotoxicology 13:207–221
Rowe CL, Hopkins WA, Congdon JD (2002) Ecotoxicological implications of aquatic disposal of coal combustion residues in the United States: A review. Environ Monit Assess 80:207–276
United States Environmental Protection Agency (2012) Region 4: TVA Kingston fossil plant fly ash release. http://www.epa.gov/region04/kingston/index.html. Accessed June 13, 2012
Acknowledgments
Funding for this research was provided by the Tennessee Valley Authority. The authors thank Agricola Odoi for statistical consultation and Kenneth Weisz and Jesse Morris for assistance with this study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Souza, M.J., Ramsay, E.C. & Donnell, R.L. Metal Accumulation and Health Effects in Raccoons (Procyon lotor) Associated with Coal Fly Ash Exposure. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 64, 529–536 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-012-9865-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-012-9865-1