Toxicology of white phosphorus (P<sub>4</sub>) to ducks and risk for their predators: Effects of particle size

Roebuck, Bill D.; Nam, Sae-Im; MacMillan, Denise L.; Baumgartner, Karen J.; Walsh, Marianne E.

doi:10.1002/etc.5620170323

Cited by 12 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…When the waterfowl sieve through the silts for food items, particles of WP the size of seeds are found by the birds and consumed. These particles, around 1 mtn in size and weighing at least 1 mg, are large enough to kill a duck the size of a Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) (Roebuck et al 1998;Steeleetal. 1997).…”

Section: Site Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Remediation of white phosphorus contamination in an Alaskan wetland

Walsh¹,

Zufelt²,

Collins³

2006

Journal of Environmental Engineering and Science

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Eagle River Flats, an estuarine salt marsh located on Fort Richardson near Anchorage, Alaska, has been utilized as a military impact area for almost 60 years and is contaminated with white phosphorus, a highly toxic element used as an obscurant. When munitions containing white phosphorus were fired into the cool, wet glacial sediments of the Flats, particles of the disbursed chemical became extinguished. Dabbling ducks and swans sieve the.se seed-size particles from the bottoms of ponds throughout the range. The persistence of the particles in the saturated sediments has resulted in thousands of waterfowl deaths that continue 15 years after the cessation of the munition's use. A remediation method was devised to attenuate the contaminant that will be effective in the short, cool summer season while minimally impacting the environment. Although the cold climate limits the efficiency of the remediation, we were also able to use it to our advantage.Résumé: Le marai salé estuarien Eagle River Flats, situé à Fort Richard.son près d'Anchorage, en Alaska, a servi comme zone d'impact de tir militaire pendant près de 60 ans et est contaminée par du phosphore blanc, un élément hautement toxique utilisé comme agent obscurcissant. Lorsque des munitions contenant du phosphore blanc sont tirées dans les sédiments glaciaires froids et humides de l'estuaire, les particules du produit chimique consommé s'éteignent. Les canards de surface et les cygnes filtrent ces particules de la grosseur de graines dans le fond des étangs sur tout le champ de tir. La longévité des particules dans les sédiments saturés a causé la mort de milliers de sauvagines et ce phénomène se poursuit encore, plus de 15 ans après la cessation des activités militaires. Une méthode de restauration a été conçue pour atténuer le contaminant: cette méthode sera efficace durant la courte .saison fraîche d'été tout en minimisant l'impact sur l'environnement. Bien que le climat froid limite l'efficacité de la restauration, nous pouvons l'utiliser à notre avantage.

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Section: Site Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Remediation of white phosphorus contamination in an Alaskan wetland

Walsh¹,

Zufelt²,

Collins³

2006

Journal of Environmental Engineering and Science

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“…Walsh et al 1995a), and the toxicological effects of avian ingestion of white phosphorus (Nam et al 1994;Sparling et al 1997) were conducted to determine the impact of the contaminant in this ecosystem and its properties. Food chain implications, especially with respect to raptors, were also investigated (Roebuck et al 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Remediation methods for white phosphorus contamination in a coastal salt marsh

Walsh

Collins

1999

Envir. Conserv.

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With the closure of many military bases worldwide and a closer scrutiny of practices on remaining bases, the environmental impact of the military is now an important consideration in the operation of bases. Many previously-unknown environmental problems related to chemicals are surfacing. White phosphorus, a chemical commonly used as an obscurant, is a chemical previously thought to be innocuous after use. In 1990, however, it was linked to the deaths of thousands of waterfowl at the Eagle River Flats impact area on Ft Richardson near Anchorage, Alaska, USA, and shortly after, a series of remedial investigations was initiated. This paper describes three of the remedial methods currently under investigation, namely enhanced in-situ remediation, pond draining through ditching or pumping, and dredging. These three approaches are best applied in different environments, but they can be used together or in conjunction with other strategies. Their impacts on the environment will vary as well.Experience with these remediation strategies has proven very useful in determining the direction that the clean-up effort at Eagle River Flats (ERF) should take. Dredging, an effective means of removing contaminated sediments for off-site remediation, has been shown to be too slow and expensive at the ERF because unexploded ordnance is present. Enhanced natural remediation is effective under favourable climatological conditions in areas that experience intermittent flooding, but desaturation of the sediments is critical to its effectiveness. Pond draining by blasting a ditch effectively removes waterfowl feeding habitat, but attenuation of the contaminant is inhibited because the ditch increases flooding frequency, and the habitat alteration is permanent. Pond pumping, where feasible, has shown great potential for the desaturating of wide areas of ERF, enabling the natural attenuation mechanism to progress. Further investigation will be necessary to confirm these initial conclusions and determine the overall effectiveness of all three methodologies. Methods developed over the course of this work may be applied to other remediation projects where in-situ volatilization can occur and limited disturbance of wetlands is critical.

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“…Dabbling waterfowl, sieving the pond sediments for food items, may pick up these particles and ingest them while feeding. The ingested particles quickly poison the waterfowl, leading to their eventual death (Racine et al 1992, Steele et al 1997, Roebuck et al 1998. To remediate the contaminant in Eagle River Flats, the sediment containing unreacted white phosphorus needs to be either physically removed and dried, covered, or treated in situ.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%