Aquatic ecological risk assessment frameworks in Canada: a case study using a single framework in South Baymouth, Ontario, Canada

Quanz, Meaghan; Willis, Rob; Burr, Darin; Recoskie, Renee; Walker, Tony R.

doi:10.1007/s10661-020-08500-1

Cited by 14 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Both provincial and federal guidelines were used in this study as the Boat Harbour remediation project is currently undergoing a federal environmental assessment (Eichinger and Walker 2020; Government of Canada 2020) but is also subject to provincial regulatory oversight (Province of Nova Scotia 2020). This study followed common risk assessment frameworks to assess contaminants in Boat Harbour Treatment Facility wetlands (Quanz et al 2020) using a tiered approach where abiotic media is sampled initially and compared to applicable provincial and federal guidelines. Typically, if samples exceed these guidelines, further sampling is recommended, including sampling biotic media such as animal tissue.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contaminant characterization in wetland media surrounding a pulp mill industrial effluent treatment facility

Quanz

Walker

Oakes

et al. 2021

Wetlands Ecol Manage

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Three media (sediment, surface water, and dragonfly larvae tissue) were collected from wetlands surrounding an industrial effluent treatment facility prior to closure. Samples were analyzed for metals, total mercury, and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/PCDF) concentrations. Sediment and surface water concentrations were compared to provincial and federal guidelines, as well as reference wetland concentrations. Exceedances of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, zinc, and PCDD/PCDF guidelines were found in deeper areas of wetlands historically contaminated from effluent, as well as wetlands exposed to current effluent inputs. Composite Libellulidae samples were collected from wetlands, and comparisons were made to reference tissue concentrations + 20%. Elevated As, Cu and Pb tissue concentrations were measured at two site wetlands, but total mercury (THg) and PCDD/PCDF reference tissue concentrations were higher than wetlands near the effluent treatment facility. Spearman rho tests identified a significant correlation between sediment and tissue Pb concentrations and between surface water and sediment THg concentrations. Results suggest relatively low ecological risk to macroinvertebrates within wetlands near the effluent treatment facility from current effluent inputs, and highlight strengths and weaknesses of federal and provincial guidelines.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contaminant characterization in wetland media surrounding a pulp mill industrial effluent treatment facility

Quanz

Walker

Oakes

et al. 2021

Wetlands Ecol Manage

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“…Typically, FEQGs and CCME guidelines are used widely in monitoring of aquatic environments for ecological risk assessments at contaminated sites Zhang et al 2019;Quanz et al 2020), for determining presence or absence of aquatic contaminants when establishing baseline conditions against which future monitoring can be compared against (Chaudhary et al 2020), for determining compliance during environmental impact assessments (e.g., exceedance of CCME guidelines during project construction or operation could indicate non-compliance of some project activities, requiring mitigation) (Roach and Walker 2017), or for environmental effects monitoring (Walker 2014;Hoffman et al 2015;Romo et al 2019 fluoxetine by the EU using the most recent European risk assessment guideline (EMEA 2006;Oakes et al 2010). Naproxen was also subject to an ERA based on acute ecotoxicity data for western Europe (Straub and Stewart 2007).…”

Section: Water Quality Guidelines and Erasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products and their sublethal and lethal effects in aquatic organisms

2021

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Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) include over-the-counter and prescription drugs, veterinary drugs, fragrances, and cosmetics. PPCPs have been detected in aquatic environments at low concentrations and are emerging as contaminants of concern. PPCPs are primarily released into aquatic environments via untreated sewage, wastewater treatment plants, landfill leachate and can affect aquatic life through persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity. However, there are limited reviews of lethal and sublethal effects of PPCP exposures on aquatic organisms. To understand PPCP toxicity on aquatic organisms, a literature review was conducted which identified aquatic organisms known to be affected by PPCPs; concentrations of PPCPs reported as producing sublethal and lethal effects in aquatic organisms; and research gaps on PPCP aquatic toxicity. Twelve PPCPs were selected from three seminal studies for review, including bisphenol A, carbamazepine, erythromycin, fluoxetine, linear alkylbenzene sulfonate, metoprolol, naproxen, nonylphenol, ofloxacin, sertraline, sulfamethoxazole, and triclosan. Many aquatic species were affected by PPCPs at sublethal and lethal exposures, including sublethal effects at environmentally relevant concentrations. Because lethal effects were seldom observed at environmentally relevant concentrations, many studies considered PPCPs non-toxic. Few studies have compared effects of PPCPs on the same organisms for identical exposure parameters (time and concentration), resulting in wide variation in reported toxicity levels with limited consensus in the academic literature. Consensus in lethal concentrations was reported for Daphnia magna with 48 h exposure for bisphenol A and triclosan and Vibrio fischeri with 15 min exposure to carbamazepine. Environmentally relevant sublethal concentrations were higher than water quality guidelines developed for Canada and predicted no-effect concentrations derived globally. Species sensitivity distributions for some PPCPs show that aquatic species are affected lethally at environmentally relevant concentrations. More studies on indirect, and long-term ecological effects along with testing chronic toxicity of PPCPs at environmentally relevant concentrations, is recommended. These will help guide future research to determine extent and magnitude of PPCP concentrations in aquatic environments and help inform management decisions to reduce sources of PPCPs into the environment. Future management requires effective monitoring strategies regarding use, disposal, occurrence, and impacts at different life cycle stages of PPCPs in the environment.

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“…According to Quanz et al (2020) [10], they conducted an ecological risk assessment (ERA) to determine the potential effect of human activities and industries within an aquatic ecosystem on sediments using the Canada-Ontario Decision-Making Framework for Assessment of Great Lakes Contaminated Sediments (COA) method. Historical data (1996 to 2005) from South Baymouth were examined to determine contaminants of potential concern, especially bioaccumulative metals from a comparison with sediment quality standards (SQG).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grey Clustering Approach to Assess Sediment Quality in a Watershed in Peru

Delgado¹,

Altaminarano²,

Pariona³

et al. 2021

IJACSA

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The evaluation of sediment quality is a relevant topic that involves the analysis of various parameters that are altered by natural or anthropogenic causes. Therefore, the Grey Clustering method provides an alternative to evaluate sediment quality. In the present study, the sediment quality of the Chontayacu river watershed was evaluated considering the results of the monitoring of twenty-three points carried out in the early evaluations by the Environmental Impact Evaluation Agency (OEFA by its Spanish acronym). These twenty-three points were separated into three blocks considering the monitoring points upstream of the Uchiza town center and the Chontayacu Alto and Chontayacu Bajo hydroelectric plants. Seven parameters were analyzed: As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Hg and Zn, which were compared with Canadian sediment quality standards for the protection of aquatic life. The results of the assessment showed that all points in the Chontayacu River were classified as having unlikely adverse biological effects from heavy metals. However, a quality ranking was established between the points of each block where it was found that points P3, P4 and P17 correspond to the lowest values for the high CH, low CH and CP Uchiza blocks respectively. Finally, the results obtained will provide integrated information for decision making by the competent authorities in Peru, as well as indicate the level of sediment contamination that should be taken into account for the proposal of hydroelectric projects that influence sediment transport and entrainment.

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Aquatic ecological risk assessment frameworks in Canada: a case study using a single framework in South Baymouth, Ontario, Canada

Cited by 14 publications

References 32 publications

Contaminant characterization in wetland media surrounding a pulp mill industrial effluent treatment facility

Contaminant characterization in wetland media surrounding a pulp mill industrial effluent treatment facility

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products and their sublethal and lethal effects in aquatic organisms

Grey Clustering Approach to Assess Sediment Quality in a Watershed in Peru

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