This study, published in the journal Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, was a “real world” evaluation of two methods that US EPA delineated for site-specific assessments of their 2016 nationally recommended selenium aquatic life criteria.  EPA established both fish tissue and water column water quality criteria for consideration of adoption by US states and tribes.  The agency recognized, however, that in some settings the fish tissue and/or water column criteria may not be appropriated at a given location.  In this study, fish and water samples were collected at two power plant locations on the Ohio River.  None of the fish tissue samples (representing 5 distinct species) had selenium levels that exceeded the EPA tissue criteria.  The calculated water column site-specific water quality criteria were stringent, lower than EPA’s recommended criteria.  This study showed that dischargers should use caution when evaluating the option of calculating site-specific selenium criteria, as these values may be more stringent that EPA’s recommended values.

This presentation was made at the 2016 North American Society of Toxicology and Chemistry conference.  The presentation summarized the ecological and physiochemical factors that affect selenium bioaccumulation in freshwater organisms.

Rob was a co-author of a technical paper published in the journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, in which laboratory studies were conducted to determine if the adverse effects of a form of selenium (selenate) could be ameliorated by a form of sulfur (sulfate).  Sulfate is a common constituent in streams, rivers, and lakes.  The study showed that as sulfate levels increase, the toxicity of selenate is reduced proportionately.