Ecological Evaluation Technical Guidance - State of New Jersey

environment. As noted in ERAGS, the purpose of a field-collected tissueresidue study usually is to measure contaminant concentrations in foodsconsumed by the species associated with the assessment endpoint.The primary purpose of tissue residue analysis for ERA is to determine wholebody contaminant concentrations in prey consumed by the receptor of interest.This analysis provides an estimate of the contaminant dose to the receptor ofinterest, which can be compared to literature-based tissue residue effectslevels (toxicity reference values (TRV)) for the purpose of estimating risk.Tissue residue data can play an important role at different stages in theprocess of evaluating hazardous waste sites, including ecological riskassessment, modeling conducted to evaluate different remedial alternatives,and monitoring necessary to determine the effectiveness of remediation (Field,1998; Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment, 1999; Jarvinen andAnkley, 1999). Evaluation of tissue residue effects relies on the identificationof whole body concentrations of a chemical that has been demonstrated to beassociated with adverse effects on a target organ or system in a variety ofaquatic organisms or phylogenetic groups. Tissue residue effects arecontaminant and taxon specific threshold concentrations measured inbiological tissue above which adverse effects of ecological relevance wouldbe anticipated to occur based on field or laboratory studies. Data may be usedfrom a surrogate species when studies for a particular species cannot be found.Tissue residue effects are generally based on mortality, reproductive orgrowth endpoints, which are most relevant for estimating the potential foradverse population level effects. Databases for tissue residue effect levelsinclude the ERED database (Environmental Residue Effects Database,http://el.erdc.usace.army.mil/ered/).Prerequisites for BioaccumulationStudiesIn the event field tissue collection is not feasible, the investigator may chooseto conduct field or laboratory bioaccumulation studies using laboratorycultured organisms. Bioaccumulation studies can be expensive and timeconsuming.Before conducting a bioaccumulation study, the toxicity of thesoil or sediment should be assessed either through historical toxicity data orthrough screening toxicity studies (exposing toxicity test organisms for one toten days to determine toxic effect). Field reference locations should also bescreened to ensure that they are appropriate for inclusion in testing. The effortand expense of a bioaccumulation study are unnecessary if site soil orsediment is determined to negatively impact organism survival, based ontoxicity tests or field evaluations. If survival is significantly reduced,bioaccumulation is not the primary concern.Bioaccumulation Study Design ConsiderationsBioaccumulation studies require careful consideration of many variablesincluding physical and chemical conditions of the matrices being tested,sample selection, sample volume (i.e., tissue mass requirements), laboratoryQA/QC (e.g., replicates, tissue preparation and processing). WhenEcological Evaluation Technical Guidance Document 42Version 1.2 8/29/12