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A Risk-Based Characterization of Sediment Contamination by Legacy and Emergent Contaminants of Concern in Coastal British Columbia, Canada

  • Special Issue: Indicators of Ocean Pollution
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Abstract

Sediments have long been used to help describe pollution sources, contaminated sites, trends over time, and habitat quality for marine life. We collected surficial sediments from 12 sites at an average seawater depth of 25 m in three near-urban areas of the Salish Sea (British Columbia, Canada) to investigate habitat quality for marine life, including heavily contaminated killer whales. Samples were analyzed using high-resolution instrumentation for a wide variety of congeners of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs), hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD), polybrominated biphenyls, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans, organochlorine pesticides, and polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs). The top six contaminant classes detected in sediments were ∑PCB > ∑PBDE > ∑PCDD/F > DDT > ∑HBCDD > ∑PCN. Near-urban harbor sediments had up to three orders of magnitude higher concentrations of contaminants than more remote sites. With limited tools available to characterize biological risks associated with complex mixtures in the real world, we applied several available approaches to prioritize the pollutant found in our study: (1) sediment quality guidelines from the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment where available; (2) US NOAA effects range low and other international guidelines; (3) total TEQ for dioxin-like PCBs for the protection of mammals; and (4) the calculation of risk quotients. Our findings provide an indication of the state of contamination of coastal environments in British Columbia and guidance for chemical regulations and priority setting, as well as management actions including best-practices, dredging, disposal at sea, and source control. In this regard, the legacy PCB and the emergent PBDEs should command continued priority monitoring.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the financial contribution of the Species at Risk Act Science Program of the Department of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard. The authors thank Chelsea Haselhan for field assistance, feedback, and support on study design. They also thank Andrew Ross for oversight of the samples analysed at the Institute of Ocean Sciences, Charles Fort for support aboard the MV Walker Rock, and Dr. Steven Macdonald and Leo Van Kalsbeek of West Vancouver Laboratory for use of their rigid hull inflatable. Special thanks to Dr. Marie Noel for critical comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript.

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  1. Ocean Pollution Research Program, Coastal Ocean Research Institute, Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre, P.O. Box 3232, Vancouver, BC, V6B 3X8, Canada

    Carmen Morales-Caselles, Jean-Pierre W. Desforges & Peter S. Ross

  2. Department of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, 9860 West Saanich Rd, Sidney, BC, V8L 4B2, Canada

    Neil Dangerfield

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  1. Carmen Morales-Caselles
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Correspondence to Peter S. Ross.

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Morales-Caselles, C., Desforges, JP.W., Dangerfield, N. et al. A Risk-Based Characterization of Sediment Contamination by Legacy and Emergent Contaminants of Concern in Coastal British Columbia, Canada. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 73, 270–284 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-017-0403-z

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