11.07.2015 Views

Potential Effects of Contaminants on Fraser River Sockeye Salmon

Potential Effects of Contaminants on Fraser River Sockeye Salmon

Potential Effects of Contaminants on Fraser River Sockeye Salmon

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

Chapter 4 Preliminary Evaluati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> Chemicals <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>Potential</str<strong>on</strong>g> C<strong>on</strong>cern4.1 Introducti<strong>on</strong>The Inventory <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> Aquatic <str<strong>on</strong>g>C<strong>on</strong>taminants</str<strong>on</strong>g> (Chapter 3) identifies over 200 chemicalsubstances (termed chemicals <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> potential c<strong>on</strong>cern) that have been released or are likely tohave been released into aquatic habitats within the <strong>Fraser</strong> <strong>River</strong> Basin. As it is challengingto c<strong>on</strong>duct a detailed evaluati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the effects <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> each <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> these chemicals <strong>on</strong> sockeyesalm<strong>on</strong>, a comm<strong>on</strong>ly-utilized screening procedure was applied to identify the substancesthat occur in abiotic envir<strong>on</strong>mental media (i.e., surface water or sediment) atc<strong>on</strong>centrati<strong>on</strong>s sufficient to pose potential risks to aquatic organisms, including sockeyesalm<strong>on</strong>, utilizing habitats in the study area. This procedure is c<strong>on</strong>sistent with the methodsthat are typically used to c<strong>on</strong>duct screening-level ecological risk assessments (CCME1996; USEPA 1997; SAB 2005) and c<strong>on</strong>sisted <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> five general steps, including:• Pathway Analysis (i.e., which was c<strong>on</strong>ducted to identify potentially-completeexposure pathways through which sockeye salm<strong>on</strong> could be exposed to thechemicals <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> potential c<strong>on</strong>cern);• <str<strong>on</strong>g>Effects</str<strong>on</strong>g> Assessment (i.e., which was c<strong>on</strong>ducted to identify c<strong>on</strong>servativethresholds for adverse effects <strong>on</strong> aquatic organisms, which are termed toxicityscreening values; TSVs);• Exposure Assessment (i.e., which was c<strong>on</strong>ducted to identify the c<strong>on</strong>centrati<strong>on</strong>s<str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> chemicals <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> potential c<strong>on</strong>cern that sockeye salm<strong>on</strong> and other aquaticorganisms could be exposed to, which are termed exposure pointc<strong>on</strong>centrati<strong>on</strong>s or EPCs);• Hazard Evaluati<strong>on</strong> [i.e., which was c<strong>on</strong>ducted to identify the substances thatoccur in <strong>on</strong>e or more media types at c<strong>on</strong>centrati<strong>on</strong>s sufficient to pose potentialrisks to aquatic organisms, including sockeye salm<strong>on</strong>; i.e., by calculatinghazard quotients, (HQs), where HQ = EPC/TSV]; and,• Uncertainty Analysis (i.e., which was c<strong>on</strong>ducted to identify the substances forwhich insufficient informati<strong>on</strong> was available to determine if they pose potentialrisks to aquatic organisms, including sockeye salm<strong>on</strong>).The screening-level assessment was designed to provide a c<strong>on</strong>sistent basis for identifyingall <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the chemicals <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> potential c<strong>on</strong>cern that pose potential risks to aquatic organisms,including sockeye salm<strong>on</strong> utilizing spawning and incubati<strong>on</strong> habitats, rearing habitats, andmigrati<strong>on</strong> corridors within the <strong>Fraser</strong> <strong>River</strong> Basin. Accordingly, c<strong>on</strong>servative assumpti<strong>on</strong>s45

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!