Estimation of waterborne selenium concentrations that are toxicity thresholds for wildlife

An evaluation of selenium concentrations in water, sediment, invertebrates, and fish from the Solomon River Basin

“…In addition to the work of Lemly, TETs have been reported by others (Table 1), and these include TETs for water (Peterson and Nebeker 1992; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2005), sediment , and fish diet, wholebody fish, and fish ovaries (DeForest et al 1999;Skorupa et al 1996). Whereas the TET for water has been determined at 2 μg/L by Lemly (2002) and Peterson and Nebeker (1992), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2005) has established a criteria continuous concentration (CCC) of 5 μg/L for total recoverable selenium in water.…”

“…Whereas the TET for water has been determined at 2 μg/L by Lemly (2002) and Peterson and Nebeker (1992), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2005) has established a criteria continuous concentration (CCC) of 5 μg/L for total recoverable selenium in water. For the North Fork, 31 out of 45 collected water samples (69%) exhibited selenium concentrations exceeding 5 μg/L.…”

“…Published TETs (Table 1) include those by Peterson and Nebeker (1992), Skorupa et al (1996), Van Derveer and Canton (1997), DeForest et al (1999), Lemly (1993aLemly ( , 2002, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2004,2005). A selenium TET consists of a selenium concentration in a specific environmental component (i.e., water, sediment, food-chain organisms, fish tissues or eggs, aquatic bird liver or eggs) at which toxic effects (i.e., reproductive failure), have been observed to occur in sensitive species of fish and aquatic birds.…”

Assessing the toxic threat of selenium to fish and aquatic birds

“…Subsequent research on selenium indicated that food-chain bioaccumulation, dietary intake, and reproductive effects should be given high priority in hazard assessment (Woock and Summers, 1984;Garrett and Inman, 1984;Sorensen et al, 1984;Lemly, 1985aLemly, , 1985bBaumann and Gillespie, 1986;Gillespie and Baumann, 1986;Heinz et al, 1987). Utilizing this and other information, some investigators have developed mathematical models to describe and predict selenium cycling and toxicity (e.g., Porcella et al, 1991;Peterson and Nebeker, 1992;Bowie and Grieb, 199 1;Bowie, 1995). Models can be a useful tool for predicting toxicological risk.…”

“…Despite the large amount of new toxicity information generated during the past decade (e.g., USFWS, 1990aUSFWS, , 1990bFigure l), and the need to evaluate selenium hazards at many locations across the U.S. (Peterson and Nebeker, 1992;Presser et al, 1994;Seiler and Skorupa, 1995), there is no common assessment method in use. This has resulted in confusion and frustration for those involved in hazard assessment of both site-specific and regional selenium contamination problems (Sylvester et al, 1991;Presser et al, 1994).…”