DOE/ORO/2327 Oak Ridge Reservation Annual Site Environmental ...

Annual Site Environmental Report
Fig. 5.37. Taxonomic richness (top) and richness of the pollutionintolerant
taxa (bottom) of the benthic macroinvertebrate community in
Fifth Creek, April sampling periods, 1987−2009. FFK = Fifth Creek kilometer;
EPT = Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera; FFK 1.0 = reference site.
5.5.9 PCBs in the WOC Watershed
Bioaccumulation monitoring has shown that PCBs are not discharged from ORNL outfalls into the
WOC watershed at levels detected by standard analytical methods, but largemouth bass collected
from White Oak Lake continue to have tissue PCB concentrations higher than those recommended by
TDEC and EPA for frequent consumption. While past monitoring efforts were instrumental in
establishing a baseline for PCBs, focus has historically been on PCB levels in fish related to consumption
advisories. These studies were not designed to identify specific stream reaches contributing to PCB
bioaccumulation.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory 5-65