HydroQual Capabilities for Pathways Analysis in Support of Natural Resource Damage Assessment

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HydroQual Capabilities for Pathways Analysis in
Support of Natural Resource Damage Assessment
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Why Consider Models for Pathways Analysis?

• Models link the sources with observed body
  burdens in organisms
• Models can add value to data by extending spatial
  and temporal coverage
• Models have predictive capabilities - what will
  the future of the resource be after remedial
  action?

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Pathways Analysis Model Components
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Noted HydroQual Model Component Experts

• Hydrodynamic Transport Nicholas Kim
• Organic Carbon Production James Fitzpatrick
• Chemical Fate and Transport Robin Landeck
  Miller
• Biotic Ligand Model Robert Santore
• Food Chain/Bioaccumulation Kevin Farley
• Toxicity Prediction Joy McGrath

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Hydrodynamic Transport

• Rivers, lakes, streams, estuaries, coastal
  ocean, embayments in 1-D, 2-D, or 3-D
• Landside loadings and atmospheric exchanges and
  fluxes
• Several model codes (ECOM, EFDC, RRMP, SWMM)
• Accounts for physical movement of the water and
  dissolved and particulate substances

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Selected Hydrodynamic Circulation Studies
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Sediment Transport

• Directly linked to hydrodynamic model results
• Can be used to support contaminant fate and
  transport with foc approach
• Addresses both cohesive and non-cohesive sediment
  types
• ECOMSED and GLERL codes
• Provides vertical phase transport terms for
  particulate contaminants (settling, burial,
  resuspension)

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Organic Carbon Production

• Directly linked to hydrodynamic model results
• May also be linked to sediment transport model
  results
• A refinement over foc approaches (particularly
  for low molecular weight PCB homologs)
• RCA code
• Provides direct calculation of the phase to which
  hydrophobic organic contaminants partition with
  independent checks

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Selected Eutrophication Studies
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Contaminant Fate and Transport

• Directly linked to hydrodynamic transport and
  organic carbon production model results
• Multiple pollutant types (HOCs, metals, methyl
  mercury)
• Can be modified to support relevant processes
  (volatilization, photolysis, dechlorination,
  phase partitioning)
• WASTOX, GISTOX, RCATOX codes
• Provides for the movement and transformation of
  dissolved and particulate phases of contaminants

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Selected Toxic/Chemical Fate Modeling
Housatonic River NY/NJ Harbor recently completed
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The Biotic Ligand Model (BLM)

• Uses standard chemical parameters as inputs (pH,
  DOC, alkalinity, cations, anions)
• Can predict metal toxicity to aquatic organisms
• BLM predictions can be used to assess potential
  risk due to environmental metal concentrations
• Can be used to look at spatial, temporal trends
  in a water body or region

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Generalized BLM Framework
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San Francisco Bay Case Study
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BLM Application Status

• Applied to Cu, Ag, Zn
• Cd, Ni, Pb under development
• No Al or Cr
• Acute toxicity, aqueous exposures
• Mostly freshwater

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Where BLM is Heading

• Chronic Exposures
• Multiple routes of exposure (i.e., particulate
  metals)
• Multiple metals
• Include sediment pore water effects in addition
  to SEMAVS

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Toxicity Prediction

• Answer the question, What level of a contaminant
  causes an effect?
• Difficult because bioavailability varies over a
  wide range of contaminant concentrations
• Approaches developed
• Equilibrium partitioning
• SEMAVS
• Narcosis theory/target lipid model
• Has led to sediment quality criteria

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Selected Ecological Risk Evaluations
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Equilibrium Partitioning (EqP)

• Sediment concentrations normalized to correct for
  varying bioavailability.
• Published by EPA ORD as Sediment Quality
  Benchmarks (2000)
• - Nonionic Organics (EPA-822-R-00-001,
  -002)
• - Dieldrin, Endrin (EPA-822-R-00-003,
  -004)
• - Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn and Ag as mixtures
• (EPA-822-R-00-005)
• - Total PAHs as mixtures

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Pore Water Normalization
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PAH Criteria

• Narcotics
• Based on Universal Narcosis Slope
• Toxicity is Additive
• Lipid Based Body Burden

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Predicted Toxicity for Single PAHs and PAH
Mixtures in Sediments
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Contact Information

• Further information on HydroQuals Natural
  Resource Damage Assessment services may be
  obtained from
• Robin Landeck Miller
• HydroQual, Inc.
• 1200 MacArthur Boulevard
• Mahwah, New Jersey 07430
• 201-529-5151 ext. 7119
• rmiller_at_hydroqual.com