ALBERT

Notes: Coal ash effluent effects including particulates, acidic pH excursions, elemental concentrations and bioconcentration in selected organisms have been studied as changes in water quality and densities of benthic macroinvertebrate and mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) populations in a swamp drainage system over an eight-year period. Three changes in the ash basin settling system were made between mid- 1973 and January 1982. Initial density of the aquatic biota was altered severely by heavy ash siltation, followed by acidic pH excursions and perhaps overall by elemental concentrations and bioaccumulation. Heavy ash siltation, followed by acidic Ph excursions (mean of 5.5, extreme of 3.5) after the addition of fly ash to the original settling basin system, had the most profound effect on biota. Dipterans (chironomids) and some odonates (Plathemis lydia and Libellula spp.) were resistant to heavy ash siltation, while mosquitofish, which showed no discernible responses to ash siltation, were absent at acidic pH, along with the few previously surviving invertebrate populations.Elemental concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, selenium, and zinc did not appear to limit aquatic flora and fauna on a short-term, acute basis. Long, chronic elemental exposures may have been instrumental in retarding the recovery of all forms of aquatic life in the receiving system. Elemental concentrations (except for arsenic and selenium) in the receiving system were generally one to two orders of magnitude higher than the Water Quality Criteria set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1980) for protection of aquatic life for the minimum and 24-hour mean values. From collective elemental exposures in the receiving system, bioconcentration factors in macrophytes, invertebrates and fish were generally lower than those reported in the literature for laboratory, single elemental concentrations. By 1978, when the new settling basin systems were operating effectively, invertebrate populations were largely recovered, and mosquitofish populations recovered within one year afterward.

Notes: : Protein, carbohydrate, and organic content of Aufwuchs samples from artificial streams dosed separately With chlorine, copper, or dextrose were altered by changes in the taxonomic composition or physiological condition of the community. Protein content increased as community composition shifted toward a dominance. by blue-green algae or heterotrophs. Bluegreens or cyanobacteria were dominant most often in Aufwuchs developing under copper or chlorine treatments and when water temperatures approached the seasonal maximum (22.8 C-25.8 0, while heterotrophs proliferated in the dextrose-enriched stream. Due to the associated extracellular mucilage, carbohydrate content also tended to be higher when blue-green algae or bacteria were abundant. However, carbohydrate content decreased in communities developing under chlorine or copper treatments at low or moderate temperatures (3 C-22.8 C), indicating a utilization of stored photosynthetic products to adapt to the stress. The organic content of Aufwuchs was related to the extent of mucilage production and the tendency of the community to accumulate detritus and suspended inorganic sediment. Protein and carbohydrate estimates were significantly correlated with dry weight and ash-free dry weight, a result of the copious extracellular mucilage associated with rapidly growing blue greens and other bacteria. Estimates of Aufwuchs food quality are important in evaluating the impact of pollutants on higher trophic levels; however, the tendency of change with both taxonomic shifts and physiological adaptations tends to confound interpretations for water quality assessment.

Notes: : The responses of the spotfin shiner (Notropis spilopterus) and bluntnose minnow (Pimephales notatus) to intermittent chlorine discharges from a fossil fuel power plant in the New River were investigated by seine collections in the chlorinated discharge channel, and chlorine avoidances were obtained in a field laboratory at the power plant in Glen Lyn, Virginia. No fish were captured by seine during chlorination periods when the total chlorine (TCR) and free chlorine (FCR) residuals were, respectively, 0.46 and 0.27 mg/1 or higher at river water temperatures of 12 C or less. For collections made between eight-hour chlorination periods, the number of fish was reduced by approximately 50% at 0.20 and 0.06 mg/1 TCR and FCR, respectively. Significant (0.05 level) laboratory avoidances occurred at 0.10 to 0.20 mg/1 TCR (0.03 to 0.14 mg/1 FCR) for both species when exposed to increasing TCR concentrations of 0.10, 0.20, 0.30 and 0.40 mg/1. Responses varied with acclimation temperature (6, 12, 18 and 24 C) with no consisteent trends between species. When exposed to a constant TCR concentration during any one test (0.14, 0.18 and 0.26 mg/1 for the spotfin shiner, and 0.11 and 0.17 mg/1 for the bluntnose minnow), significant avoidances were observed at 0.26 and 0.17 mg/1 for each species, respectively. In all laboratory trials, occurrence or residence times decreased with increasing chlorine concentration, with residence times as high as 64.7% at 0.10 mg/1 TCR and as low as 8.3% at 0.40 mg/1 being observed.

Notes: SUMMARY. 1. Vulnerability of two species of net-spinning caddisflies (Chimarra sp. and Hydropsyche morosa) to predation by the stonefly, Paragnetina media, was significantly greater in experimental streams dosed with copper (target concentration=6 μg 1-1) than in control streams.2. Results of stomach analyses showed that Hydropsychidae was the major component of stonefly diets in experimental streams and that the number of Hydropsychidae per stonefly gut was significantly greater in dosed streams than controls.3. Since these results could not be predicted using single species bioassays, we suggest that such simple tests be supplemented with more environmentally realistic procedures that account for species interactions.

Notes: : The uptake of ten chemical elements was measured in water, sediment, fly ash, and the major biotic components of an ash basin drainage system. The biota tested represent several trophic levels observed in the settling basin and receiving swamp of the system. Concentrations were measured by neutron activation (NAA) in the major biotic groups including aquatic bacteria, algae, macrophytes, midges, dragonflies, crayfish, tadpoles, and fish. Only three elements (Cu, Zn, Cd) were more highly concentrated in water from a nearby unpolluted stream than in the fly ash effluent. Sediment concentrations of all elements were highest in the ash drainage system with Al and Fe being consistently highest. Among the biota, Hydrodictyon sp. and Lemna perpusilla had the highest concentrations of Al and Fe while other macrophytes were the major accumulators of Mn and Ba. Invertebrates generally concentrated high amounts of Cu and Zn although Cd and Hg were accumulated most by crayfish. Selenium was selectively concentrated by bacteria, crayfish (Procambarus sp.) and mosquitofish (Gambusia afflnis). Consequences of elemental concentrations in sediment and in specific trophic level groups are discussed.

Notes: : The potentially toxic components in coal ash (ash particles, heavy metals) were evaluated in laboratory static, acute (96 hr) bioassays, both separately and in various combinations with extreme pH (5.0 and 8.5), using rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) and bluegifi sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus). Ash particle morphology and metal distribution anlaysis, using electron microscopy and surface-subsurface analysis by ion microscopy, showed that metals could be either clumped or evenly distributed on the surface of fly ash. Surface enrichment on fly ash particles from electrostatic precipitators, as measured by ion microscopy, was found for cadmium, copper, chromium, nickel, lead, mercury, titanium, arsenic, and selenium.Bottom (heavy) ash was not acutely toxic to either fish species at concentrations of up to 1500 mg/l total suspended solids (TSS) at pH 5.0, 7.5, or 8.5. Fly ash particles were not acutely toxic to blue-gill at levels up to 1360 mg/l TSS. Rainbow trout were highly sensitive to fly ash (25 to 60 percent mortality) at concentrations of 4.3 to 20.5 mg/I TSS when dissolved metal availability was high but were not sensitive at higher particulate concentrations (58 to 638 mg/I TSS) when dissolved metals were low. When metals were acid-leached from fly ash prior to testing, no rainbow trout mortality occurred at TSS concentrations of up to 2,350 mg/l TSS. When the percent of dissolved metal was high (e.g., 50–90 percent of the total), fish mortality was increased. Rainbow trout were nearly two orders of magnitude more sensitive than bluegill when subjected to a blend of cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel, lead, and zinc. The two species were similar in their acute sensitivity to acidic pH at levels at or below 4.0 and alkaline pH of 9.1.If the pH of coal ash effluent is contained within the range 6.0 to 9.0, acute toxicity to fish can be attributed to trace element availability from fly ash but not heavy ash. Control of holding pond and effluent pH and maximizing pond residence time are important strategies for minimizing effects of ash pond discharges on fish.

Notes: : The drainage system for an ash basin serving a coal-fired power plant at the Savannah River Project, Aiken, South Carolina, has been studied for 15 months to determine abiotic and biotic characteristics and mechanisms of pollutant removal. Measurements made included temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, alkalinity, conductance, flow rate, sulfate, nitrate, and phosphate. In addition, neutron activation analysis was employed to determine concentrations of 40 chemical elements in water, benthos, bacterial, plant, invertebrate, and vertebrate samples collected at six sampling stations. Five-day toxicity tests were performed using organisms from within and from outside the system.Conductance, pH, alkalinity and sulfate concentration varied little throughout the system. Temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, nitrate, phosphate, and flow rate decreased at stations farther removed from the ash basin.Concentrations of most chemical elements measured were greatest in benthos (75 percent of total) and least in water (less than one percent of total), indicating that a major removal mechanism was sedimentation of suspended particulate matter. Eight elements (Br, Ca, C1, Cd, Na, Sb, Se, and Zn) were more highly concentrated in one or more biotic forms than in benthos. Among heavy metals only Cr was concentrated to a greater extent by plants than by animals. Midges were the greatest concentrators of Fe, Cu, Cr, Hg, Co, Sb, and As among all organisms. Plants concentrated only 15 percent of the total heavy metal concentration found in the benthos.Light, metals were more highly concentrated in animals than in plants, although all plants were found to possess 19 percent of the concentration present in the benthos and water. As and Sb were in low concentration within the system; however, on a percentage basis, these potentially toxic elements were relatively highly concentrated by a number of organisms. Active metals (Ca, Na, and K) and halogens (CI, Br, and I) were highly concentrated by most organisms. Active metals were more concentrated in crayfish and mosquito fish, Gambusia affinis, than in benthos, whereas most organisms had higher concentrations of halogens than were found in benthic sediments. Primary producers within the system were least efficient in concentration of all elements except Mn. Consumers (invertebrates and vertebrates) were found to possess highest concentrations of all other elements.Organisms found within the drainage system were observed to be able to survive a five-day toxicity test at any point within the system, whereas organisms not existing within the system were observed to vary in their resistance to the drainage system environment.The findings of this study demonstrate the necessity for the operation of entire food chains in pollutant removal and indicate potential means for increasing cycling efficiency by selective addition of resistant consumers to such a system.

Notes: : Natural aquatic bacterial populations in three streams located at the Savannah River Project, Aiken, S.C. have been studied in relation to the effects of ambient temperatures, dissolved River Project, Aiken, oxygen (DO), nitrate and phosphate concentrations./〉 Samples collected at monthly intervals for a period of one year from each system, were plated in duplicate at each of two dilutions on 1/4 strength Standard Plate Count Agar (Difco). After incubation at 25±1 °C for four days, total colony forming units, percent chromagens, and number of colony types (diversity) were determined and colonies were picked for identification.Temperatures were generally equal in two of the streams throughout the year, being lowest in Upper Three Runs (U3R) and Tirns Branch (TB), and highest in the Ash Basin System (ABS). DO content did not vary appreciably between the streams. Nitrates and phosphates were lowest in U3R, next lowest in TB, higher in the last station in ABS, and highest in the ash basin per se. Total colony forming units were highest in the ash basin, whereas chromagen percentage and diversity were highest in the last station in ABS. Results of these studies indicate that high nitrates and phosphates, in the absence of high organic carbon concentrations, have little, if any detrimental effect on the stability of natural aquatic bacterial populations.

Notes: Abstract Macroinvertebrate community responses to copper (Cu) in laboratory streams receiving dechlorinated tap water and field streams receiving natural river water were compared. Since both tap water and natural river water were taken from the same source in these experiments, several of the important water quality parameters known to influence heavy metal toxicity were similar. Despite the fact that field streams were initially dominated by metal-sensitive Ephemeroptera, effects of Cu were greater in the laboratory. After 10 days of exposure to Cu (11.3 (μg/L), macroinvertebrate abundance was reduced by 75% in laboratory streams compared to 44% in field streams. In the field, the number of taxa was reduced by 10% in treated streams compared to 56% in the laboratory. The response of dominant taxa to Cu exposure was also greater in the laboratory. In the field, abundance of metaltolerant caddisflies (Hydropsychidae:Trichoptera) was similar in control and treated streams (11.3 μg/L). These organisms were reduced by 71% in laboratory streams at similar Cu levels. The greater impact of Cu observed in laboratory streams may have resulted from the inability of certain taxa to acclimate to laboratory conditions. The usefulness of community-level toxicity tests in the laboratory may be limited due to the overestimation of metal toxicity. We recommend that future experiments be conducted in field mesocosms receiving water directly from the system under investigation.