| Content Provider |
World Health Organization (WHO)-Global Index Medicus |
| Author |
Pracheil, Brenda M. Marshall Adams, S. Bevelhimer, Mark S. Fortner, Allison M. Greeley, Mark S. Murphy, Cheryl A. Mathews, Teresa J. Peterson, Mark J. |
| Description |
Country affiliation: United States Author Affiliation: Pracheil BM ( Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA. pracheilbm@ornl.gov.); Marshall Adams S ( Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA.); Bevelhimer MS ( Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA.); Fortner AM ( Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA.); Greeley MS ( Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA.); Murphy CA ( Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Lyman Briggs College, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.); Mathews TJ ( Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA.); Peterson MJ ( Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA.) |
| Abstract |
A 4.1 million m(3) coal ash release into the Emory and Clinch rivers in December 2008 at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant in east Tennessee, USA, prompted a long-term, large-scale biological monitoring effort to determine if there are chronic effects of this spill on resident biota. Because of the magnitude of the ash spill and the potential for exposure to coal ash-associated contaminants [e.g., selenium (Se), arsenic (As), and mercury (Hg)] which are bioaccumulative and may present human and ecological risks, an integrative, bioindicator approach was used. Three species of fish were monitored-bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), redear sunfish (L. microlophus), and largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)-at ash-affected and reference sites annually for 5 years following the spill. On the same individual fish, contaminant burdens were measured in various tissues, blood chemistry parameters as metrics of fish health, and various condition and reproduction indices. A multivariate statistical approach was then used to evaluate relationships between contaminant bioaccumulation and fish metrics to assess the chronic, sub-lethal effects of exposure to the complex mixture of coal ash-associated contaminants at and around the ash spill site. This study suggests that while fish tissue concentrations of some ash-associated contaminants are elevated at the spill site, there was no consistent evidence of compromised fish health linked with the spill. Further, although relationships between elevated fillet burdens of ash-associated contaminants and some fish metrics were found, these relationships were not indicative of exposure to coal ash or spill sites. The present study adds to the weight of evidence from prior studies suggesting that fish populations have not incurred significant biological effects from spilled ash at this site: findings that are relevant to the current national discussions on the safe disposal of coal ash waste. |
| File Format |
HTM / HTML |
| ISSN |
09639292 |
| Issue Number |
6 |
| Journal |
Ecotoxicology |
| Volume Number |
25 |
| e-ISSN |
15733017 |
| Language |
English |
| Publisher |
Springer |
| Publisher Date |
2016-08-01 |
| Publisher Place |
United States |
| Access Restriction |
One Nation One Subscription (ONOS) |
| Subject Keyword |
Discipline Ecology Discipline Environmental Health Discipline Toxicology |
| Content Type |
Text |
| Resource Type |
Article |
| Subject |
Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis Medicine Toxicology Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law |
