Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Multiple lines of evidence to assess risk from dioxins and dioxin-like chemicals in sediment and fish from waterbodies along a large prairie river

  • Sediments, Sec 1 • Sediment Quality and Impact Assessment • Research Article
  • Published:
Journal of Soils and Sediments Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Many large inland rivers are contaminated by historic industrial and agricultural activities along their shorelines. Redistribution of contaminated river sediments via dredging or flooding can reintroduce previously stored toxic persistent organic pollutants into the aquatic environment.

Materials and methods

We used multiple lines of evidence, including chemical measurements using gas chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry and cell-based bioassays using the fish liver cell line RTL-W1, to determine the risk to aquatic biota associated with sediment in three reservoirs and one delta lake in the Saskatchewan River, a large Canadian prairie river.

Results

Concentrations of dioxins and furans (maximum ~ 30 ng kg−1 dry weight) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (maximum < 300 μg kg−1 dry weight) were generally low in sediments, though hotspots were identified in parts of reservoirs rich in clay and organic matter wherein these chemicals accumulated. Concentration measurements agreed well with bioassay results, as the samples with the highest chemical concentrations induced the greatest EROD activity (biological equivalent concentration = 4010 ng kg−1). With one exception, all fishes tested were below the tolerable intake level for dioxins, and PAH metabolites were only rarely detected in bile, suggesting limited risk to human consumers.

Discussion

Based on our findings, the overall effects of dioxins and dioxin-like chemicals on biota in this system are likely limited. Nonetheless, disturbance and intentional movement of sediments in this river basin for potential sediment restoration in the future should be done cautiously, paying attention to sediment characteristics and local hotspots.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Arnot JA, Mackay D, Bonnell M (2008a) Estimating metabolic biotransformation rates in fish from laboratory data. Environ Toxicol Chem 27:341–351

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Arnot JA, Mackay D, Parkerton TF, Bonnell M (2008b) A database of fish biotransformation rates for organic chemicals. Environ Toxicol Chem 27:2263–2270

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ashmore PE, Day TJ (1988) Spatial and temporal patterns of suspended-sediment yield in the Saskatchewan River basin. Canadian J Earth Sci 25:1450–1463

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barron MG, Heintz R, Rice SD (2004) Relative potency of PAHs and heterocycles as aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonists in fish. Marine Environ Res 58:95–100

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bednarek AT (2001) Undamming rivers: a review of the ecological impacts of dam removal. Environ Manag 27:803–814

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Best J (2019) Anthropogenic stresses on the world’s big rivers. Nature Geosc 12:7–21

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Borenfreund E, Puerner JA (1985) Toxicity determined in vitro by morphological alterations and neutral red absorption. Toxicol Lett 24:119–124

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brack W, Dulio V, Ågerstrand M, Allan I, Altenburger R, Brinkmann M, Bunke D, Burgess RM, Cousins I, Escher BI (2017) Towards the review of the European Union Water Framework Directive: recommendations for more efficient assessment and management of chemical contamination in European surface water resources. Sci Total Environ 576:720–737

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • DeBofsky A, Xie Y, Jardine TD, Hill JE, Jones PD, Giesy JP (2020) Effects of the husky oil spill on gut microbiota of native fishes in the North Saskatchewan River. Canada Aquatic Toxicol 229:105658

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Echols KR, Brumbaugh WG, Orazio CE, May TW, Poulton BC, Peterman PH (2008) Distribution of pesticides, PAHs, PCBs, and bioavailable metals in depositional sediments of the lower Missouri River, USA. Arch Environ Contam Toxicolo 55:161–172

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eichbaum K, Brinkmann M, Buchinger S, Reifferscheid G, Hecker M, Giesy JP, Engwall M, van Bavel B, Hollert H (2014) In vitro bioassays for detecting dioxin-like activity—Application potentials and limits of detection, a review. Sci Total Environ 487:37–48

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • El-Shahawi M, Hamza A, Bashammakh AS, Al-Saggaf W (2010) An overview on the accumulation, distribution, transformations, toxicity and analytical methods for the monitoring of persistent organic pollutants. Talanta 80:1587–1597

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Environment Canada (1991) Priority substances list assessment report no. 2 : effluents from pulp mills using bleaching. ISBN 0-662-18734-2

  • Escher BI, Aїt-Aїssa S, Behnisch PA, Brack W, Brion F, Brouwer A, Buchinger S, Crawford SE, Du Pasquier D, Hamers T (2018) Effect-based trigger values for in vitro and in vivo bioassays performed on surface water extracts supporting the environmental quality standards (EQS) of the European Water Framework Directive. Sci Total Environ 628:748–765

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans MS, Muir DC (2016) Persistent organic contaminants in sediments and biota of Great Slave Lake, Canada: slave river and long-range atmospheric source influences. J Great Lakes Res 42:233–247

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Förstner U, Hollert H, Brinkmann M, Eichbaum K, Weber R, Salomons W (2016) Dioxin in the Elbe river basin: policy and science under the water framework directive 2000–2015 and toward 2021. Environ Sci Europe 28:1–25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galay VJ, Pentland RS, Halliday RA (1985) Degradation of the South Saskatchewan River below Gardiner Dam. Canadian J Civil Engin 12:849–862

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gao L, Huang H, Liu L, Li C, Zhou X, Xia D (2015) Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, dibenzofurans, and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls in sediments from the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22:19804–19813

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gober P (2018) Meaning, purpose, and value of water. In: Building resilience for uncertain water futures. Springer, pp 91–120

  • Heinrich P, Diehl U, Förster F, Braunbeck T (2014) Improving the in vitro ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) assay with RTL-W1 by metabolic normalization and use of β-naphthoflavone as the reference substance. Comparative Biochem Physiol Part C: Toxicol Pharmacol 164:27–34

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson RB, Carpenter SR, Dahm CN, McKnight DM, Naiman RJ, Postel SL, Running SW (2001) Water in a changing world. Ecol Applic 11:1027–1045

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jahnig SC, Carolli M, Dehnhardt A, Jardine T, Podschun S, Pusch M, Scholz M, Tharme RE, Wantzen KM, Langhans SD (2022) Ecosystem services of river systems – irreplaceable, undervalued, and at risk. In: Mehner T, Tockner K (eds) In Encyclopedia of inland waters, 2nd edn. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 424–435

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Jardine T, Reed M, Strickert G, Massie M, McKay-Carriere L, MacColl I, Carriere R, Carriere S, Abu R, Steelman T (2023) Healthy delta, healthy people: the past, present and future of the Saskatchewan River Delta. In: Wantzen KM (ed) In River cultures: life as a dance to the rhythm of the water. UNESCO Publishing, Paris, pp 397–421. https://doi.org/10.54677/FJXJ5653

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kammann U, Akcha F, Budzinski H, Burgeot T, Gubbins MJ, Lang T, Le Menach K, Vethaak AD, Hylland K (2017) PAH metabolites in fish bile: from the Seine estuary to Iceland. Mar Environ Res 124:41–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2016.02.014. Epub 2016 Mar 3. PMID: 26970879

  • Kondolf GM (1997) PROFILE: hungry water: effects of dams and gravel mining on river channels. Environ Manag 21:533–551

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kondolf GM, Gao Y, Annandale GW, Morris GL, Jiang E, Zhang J, Yang CT (2014) Sustainable sediment management in reservoirs and regulated rivers: experiences from five continents. Earth’s Future 2:256–280

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kukučka P, Audy O, Kohoutek J, Holt E, Kalábová T, Holoubek I, Klánová J (2015) Source identification, spatio-temporal distribution and ecological risk of persistent organic pollutants in sediments from the upper Danube catchment. Chemosphere 138:777–783

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kvasnicka J, Stylianou KS, Nguyen VK, Huang L, Chiu WA, Burton GA Jr, Jolliet O (2019) Human health benefits from fish consumption vs. risks from inhalation exposures associated with contaminated sediment remediation: dredging of the Hudson River. Environ Health Persp 127:127004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee LE, Clemons JH, Bechtel DG, Caldwell SJ, Han KB, Pasitschniak-Arts M, Mosser DD, Bols NC (1993) Development and characterization of a rainbow trout liver cell line expressing cytochrome P450-dependent monooxygenase activity. Cell Biol Toxicol 9:279–294

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liber Y, Mourier B, Marchand P, Bichon E, Perrodin Y, Bedell JP (2019) Past and recent state of sediment contamination by persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the Rhône River: Overview of ecotoxicological implications. Sci Total Environ 646:1037–1046

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Malhão F, Urbatzka R, Navas J, Cruzeiro C, Monteiro R, Rocha E (2013) Cytological, immunocytochemical, ultrastructural and growth characterization of the rainbow trout liver cell line RTL-W1. Tissue Cell 45:159–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muir DCG, Lawrence S, Holoka M, Fairchild WL, Segstro MD, Webster GRB, Servos MR (1992) Partitioning of polychlorinated dioxins and furans between water, sediments and biota in lake mesocosms. Chemosphere 25:119–124

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pomeroy J, de Boer D, Martz L (2005) Hydrology and water resources of Saskatchewan, Citeseer

  • Prajapati S, Challis JK, Jardine TD, Brinkmann M (2022) Levels of pesticides and trace metals in water, sediment, and fish of a large, agriculturally-dominated river. Chemosphere 308:136236

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rocha PS, Azab E, Schmidt B, Storch V, Hollert H, Braunbeck T (2010) Changes in toxicity and dioxin-like activity of sediments from the Tietê River (São Paulo, Brazil). Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 73:550–558

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Samoiloff MR, Bell J, Birkholz DA, Webster GB, Arnott EG, Pulak R, Madrid A (1983) Combined bioassay-chemical fractionation scheme for the determination and ranking of toxic chemicals in sediments. Environ Sci Technol 17:329–334

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sando SK, Lambing JH (2011) Estimated loads of suspended sediment and selected trace elements transported through the Clark Fork Basin, Montana, in selected periods before and after the breach of Milltown Dam (water years 1985–2009). US Department of the Interior, US Geological Survey

  • Seiler TB, Rastall A, Leist E, Erdinger L, Braunbeck T, Hollert H (2006) Membrane dialysis extraction (MDE): a novel approach for extracting toxicologically relevant hydrophobic organic compounds from soils and sediments for assessment in biotests. J Soils Sediments 6:20–29

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smith ND, Morozova GS, Pérez-Arlucea M, Gibling MR (2016) Dam-induced and natural channel changes in the Saskatchewan River below the EB Campbell Dam, Canada. Geomorphol 269:186–202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sundqvist KL, Tysklind M, Geladi P, Cato I, Wiberg K (2009) Congener fingerprints of tetra-through octa-chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans in Baltic surface sediments and their relations to potential sources. Chemosphere 77:612–620

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Swanson S, Schryer R, Firth B (1996) Whole organism and population response of sentinel fish species in a large river receiving pulp and paper mill effluent. In: Servos MR, Munkittrick KR, Carey JH, van der Kraak GJ (eds) Environmental fate and effects of bleached pulp mill effluents. St. Lucie Press, Delray Beach, Fla, pp 555–570

    Google Scholar 

  • Van den Berg M, Birnbaum L, Bosveld AT, Brunström B, Cook P, Feeley M, Giesy JP, Hanberg A, Hasegawa R, Kennedy SW, Kubiak T, Larsen JC, van Leeuwen FX, Liem AK, Nolt C, Peterson RE, Poellinger L, Safe S, Schrenk D, Tillitt D, Tysklind M, Younes M, Waern F, Zacharewski T (1998) Toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) for PCBs, PCDDs, PCDFs for humans and wildlife. Environ Health Perspect 106:775–792

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Villeneuve DL, Blankenship AL, Giesy JP (2000) Derivation and application of relative potency estimates based on in vitro bioassay results. Environ Toxicol Chem 19:2835–2843

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wayland M, Trudeau S, Marchant T, Parker D, Hobson KA (1998) The effect of pulp and paper mill effluent on an insectivorous bird, the tree swallow. Ecotoxicol 7:237–251

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang Z, Shah K, Laforest S, Hollebone BP, Situ J, Crevier C, Lambert P, Brown CE, Yang C (2020) Occurrence and weathering of petroleum hydrocarbons deposited on the shoreline of the North Saskatchewan River from the 2016 Husky oil spill. Environ Pollut 258:113769

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yunker MB, Cretney WJ, Ikonomou MG (2002) Assessment of chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin and dibenzofuran trends in sediment and crab hepatopancreas from pulp mill and harbor sites using multivariate-and index-based approaches. Environ Sci Technol 36:1869–1878

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Mr. Gary Carriere and the Cumberland House Fishermen’s Co-op for their generous help during fieldwork. Dr. Markus Brinkmann is currently a faculty member of the Global Water Futures (GWF) program, which received funds from the Canada First Research Excellence Funds (CFREF). This research was funded through the GWF project “We need more than just water: Assessing sediment limitation in a large freshwater delta.” This research was supported by a grant from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) towards analytical infrastructure, as well as NSERC Discovery grants to Drs. Brinkmann and Jardine. We acknowledge the support of Mr. Saurabh Prajapati in creating the map of sampling sites included in this article.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, 44 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5B3, Canada

    Markus Brinkmann, Stephanie Petersen, Alexander Pelletier, Leland Bryshun, Nicole Schaefer, Michaella Barnes, Lorne Doig & Timothy Jardine

  2. School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada

    Markus Brinkmann, Graham Strickert & Timothy Jardine

  3. Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada

    Markus Brinkmann, Lorne Doig, Graham Strickert & Timothy Jardine

Authors
  1. Markus Brinkmann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Stephanie Petersen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Alexander Pelletier
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Leland Bryshun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Nicole Schaefer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Michaella Barnes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Lorne Doig
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Graham Strickert
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Timothy Jardine
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Markus Brinkmann.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Henner Hollert

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 26 KB)

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Brinkmann, M., Petersen, S., Pelletier, A. et al. Multiple lines of evidence to assess risk from dioxins and dioxin-like chemicals in sediment and fish from waterbodies along a large prairie river. J Soils Sediments 24, 414–424 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-023-03620-w

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-023-03620-w

Keywords

Search

Navigation