Abstract
Purpose
In France, contaminated seaport sediments cannot be discharged into the sea according to recent regulation. Hence, they must be managed on land. Among the solutions identified, that of filling terrestrial quarries located in the littoral zone is one of the most promising. However, this requires developing a methodology for ecological risk assessment; which was the aim of the SEDIGEST research program. In the present study, we report the results of toxicological impacts of three sediments on aquatic ecosystems close to a quarry. These results were used to formulate a risk assessment methodology.
Materials and methods
The ecotoxicological approach was based on laboratory microcosm assays applied to leachates obtained from the sediments. The microcosms contained synthetic water and sediment and five pelagic (micro-algae, duckweeds and daphnids) and benthic (chironomids and amphipods) freshwater species. The biota were exposed for 3 weeks to a range of leachate concentrations; metals were monitored in the water column and the effects (i.e. mortality, growth inhibition and midge emergence) were measured.
Results and discussion
The results showed an absence of acute toxicity at concentrations of <10% (v/v) but sublethal effects for concentrations between 1 and 10%. Given the complex nature of the leachates, it was difficult to determine the factors of toxicity. Metals, especially Cu, might have been responsible for some of the effects on the amphipods.
Conclusions
Future quarries filled with seaport sediments might emit pollutants to aquatic ecosystems in their vicinity, and risk assessors should ensure that predicted environmental concentrations of leachates are below the maximum leachate concentration acceptable for the whole ecosystem; for example, by multiplying the concentration safe for the microcosm organisms by a factor of 10.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank all the teams that participated in the “SEDIGEST” research program focusing on the assessment of ecological risks linked to filling-in coastal quarries with treated, dredged harbour sediments and which belonged to the following organisations: ENTPE, INSA de Lyon, BRGM, INSAVALOR, INERIS, IN VIVO Environment, CETMEF, CG 83, CG 29 and EEDEMS. The details of all the participants in the program can be consulted on the internet site www.sedigest.org). The authors also thank the French National Research Agency (ANR) and the “AXELERA”, “Mer PACA” and “Mer Bretagne” clusters respectively for their financial assistance and the labelling assigned to the SEDIGEST project.
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Clément, B., Guillen, B., Xu, J. et al. Ecotoxicological risk assessment of a quarry filling with seaport sediments using laboratory freshwater aquatic microcosms. J Soils Sediments 14, 183–195 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-013-0782-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-013-0782-3