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In situ toxicity and bioaccumulation tests with Ceriodaphnia dubia (48 h), Chironomus tentans (96 h), Hyalella azteca (96 h), and Lumbriculus variegatus (96 h) were conducted at three stations on a river that was contaminated primarily with chlorobenzenes (CBs), and results were compared to a nearby reference site. Exposures were characterized by using minipiezometers for contaminant profiling and determination of hydraulic heads and vertical flow direction within the sediments and measuring contaminants in sediment, surface water, and exposure chamber water samples. Localized zones of upwelling and downwelling existed in the exposure areas at contaminated sites 5 and 18, while site 23 was downwelling at all measurement positions. Pore-water samples from minipiezometers contained CBs at the three contaminated sites that were highest at site 23. However, sediment and water samples from exposure chambers at site 23 contained the lowest levels of CBs among the contaminated sites. The CBs were not detected at the reference site, but other organic contaminants and metals were detected at all sites, with the highest concentrations occurring at sites 5 and 18. In water column exposures, no significant (p > 0.05) differences were observed in species survival between the contaminated sites and the reference. Mean percentage survival of H. azteca, C. dubia, and C. tentans exposed to surficial sediments (SS) at sites 5 and 18 was significantly (p < 0.05) reduced compared to the reference, whereas only C. tentans survival was significantly reduced at site 23. Body residues of total CB congeners in L. variegatus exposed to SS were highest at site 18 (618 micromol/kg lipid) and lowest at site 23 (21 micromol/kg lipid). The data suggest that downwelling reduced the bioavailability of CBs in surficial sediments, most likely by mobilizing the freely dissolved and colloid-bound fractions to deeper sediments. Overall, downwelling conditions reduced the in situ exposure of organisms in surficial sediments and hence the toxicity and bioaccumulation of CBs. Hydrologic and chemistry data from nested minipiezometers improved the interpretation of exposure-effects relationships.

Methods for assessing the long-term toxicity of sediments to Hyalella azteca and Chironomus tentans can significantly enhance the capacity to assess sublethal effects of contaminated sediments through multiple endpoints. Sublethal tests allow us to begin to understand the relationship between short-term and long-term effects for toxic sediments. We present an interlaboratory evaluation with long-term and 10-d tests using control and contaminated sediments in which we assess whether proposed and existing performance criteria (test acceptability criteria [TAC]) could be achieved. Laboratories became familiar with newly developed, long-term protocols by testing two control sediments in phase 1. In phase 2, the 10-d and long-term tests were examined with several sediments. Laboratories met the TACs, but results varied depending on the test organism, test duration, and endpoints. For the long-term tests in phase 1, 66 to 100% of the laboratories consistently met the TACs for survival, growth, or reproduction using H. azrteca, and 70 to 100% of the laboratories met the TACs for survival and growth, emergence, reproduction, and hatchability using C. tentans. In phase 2, fewer laboratories participated in long-term tests: 71 to 88% of the laboratories met the TAC for H. azteca, whereas 50 to 67% met the TAC for C. tentans. In the 10-d tests with H. azteca and C. tentans, 82 and 88% of the laboratories met the TAC for survival, respectively, and 80% met the TAC for C. tentans growth. For the 10-d and long-term tests, laboratories predicted similar toxicity. Overall, the interlaboratory evaluation showed good precision of the methods, appropriate endpoints were incorporated into the test protocols, and tests effectively predicted the toxicity of sediments.

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