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9 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2023

Organohalogenated contaminants in multiple life stages of the Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus), Oregon, USA

Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) are ecologically and culturally important anadromous animals native to the West Coast of the United States. Pacific lamprey populations are in decline, and contaminants may be a contributing factor. Between 2017 and 2021, three life stages of Pacific lamprey and collocated sediment samples were collected in Oregon (larval lamprey, sediment, and returning adult lamprey) and off the coast of Oregon and Washington (ocean juvenile lamprey). Tissue and sediment samples were analyzed for 56 organohalogenated compounds that included legacy pesticides, current use pesticides, polybrominated diphenyl ether congeners, and polychlorinated biphenyl congeners. Organohalogenated compounds were detected in all three Pacific lamprey life stages. The organohalogenated compounds detected in collocated sediment and larval lamprey samples were generally dissimilar, and compounds detected in larval lamprey indicate potential point sources along the rivers. Ocean-caught juvenile lamprey had significantly higher lipid contents than returning adult lamprey, but lipid content and concentrations of select compounds were not strongly correlated. Concentrations of select compounds detected in both ocean juvenile and returning adult lamprey were either not significantly different or were higher in returning adult lamprey. Concentrations of some compounds in returning adult lamprey—which are consumed by Indigenous peoples—exceeded state and national human health consumption thresholds. Collaboration among Tribes and public-sector agencies helped make this study successful.

Oregon↗
USGS2019

Current state of knowledge on biological effects from contaminants on arctic wildlife and fish

Since the last Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) effort to review biological effects of the exposure to organohalogen compounds (OHCs) in Arctic biota, there has been a considerable number of new Arctic effect studies. Here, we provide an update on the state of the knowledge of OHC, and also include mercury, exposure and/or associated effects in key Arctic marine and terrestrial mammal and bird species as well as in fish by reviewing the literature published since the last AMAP assessment in 2010. We aimed at updating the knowledge of how single but also combined health effects are or can be associated to the exposure to single compounds or mixtures of OHCs. We also focussed on assessing both potential individual as well as population health impacts using population-specific exposure data post 2000. We have identified quantifiable effects on vitamin metabolism, immune functioning, thyroid and steroid hormone balances, oxidative stress, tissue pathology, and reproduction. As with the previous assessment, a wealth of documentation is available for biological effects in marine mammals and seabirds, and sentinel species such as the sledge dog and Arctic fox, but information for terrestrial vertebrates and fish remain scarce. While hormones and vitamins are thoroughly studied, oxidative stress, immunotoxic and reproductive effects need further investigation. Depending on the species and population, some OHCs and mercury tissue contaminant burdens post 2000 were observed to be high enough to exceed putative risk threshold levels that have been previously estimated for non-target species or populations outside the Arctic. In this assessment, we made use of risk quotient calculations to summarize the cumulative effects of different OHC classes and mercury for which critical body burdens can be estimated for wildlife across the Arctic. As our ultimate goal is to better predict or estimate the effects of OHCs and mercury in Arctic wildlife at the individual, population and ecosystem level, there remain numerous knowledge gaps on the biological effects of exposure in Arctic biota. These knowledge gaps include the establishment of concentration thresholds for individual compounds as well as for realistic cocktail mixtures that in fact indicate biologically relevant, and not statistically determined, health effects for specific species and subpopulations. Finally, we provide future perspectives on understanding Arctic wildlife health using new in vivo, in vitro, and in silico techniques, and provide case studies on multiple stressors to show that future assessments would benefit from significant efforts to integrate human health, wildlife ecology and retrospective and forecasting aspects into assessing the biological effects of OHC and mercury exposure in Arctic wildlife and fish.

Science of the Total Environment↗
USGS2014

Time-integrated passive sampling as a complement to conventional point-in-time sampling for investigating drinking-water quality, McKenzie River Basin, Oregon, 2007 and 2010-11

The Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) supplies drinking water to approximately 200,000 people in Eugene, Oregon. The sole source of this water is the McKenzie River, which has consistently excellent water quality relative to established drinking-water standards. To ensure that this quality is maintained as land use in the source basin changes and water demands increase, EWEB has developed a proactive management strategy that includes a combination of conventional point-in-time discrete water sampling and time‑integrated passive sampling with a combination of chemical analyses and bioassays to explore water quality and identify where vulnerabilities may lie. In this report, we present the results from six passive‑sampling deployments at six sites in the basin, including the intake and outflow from the EWEB drinking‑water treatment plant (DWTP). This is the first known use of passive samplers to investigate both the source and finished water of a municipal DWTP. Results indicate that low concentrations of several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and organohalogen compounds are consistently present in source waters, and that many of these compounds are also present in finished drinking water. The nature and patterns of compounds detected suggest that land-surface runoff and atmospheric deposition act as ongoing sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, some currently used pesticides, and several legacy organochlorine pesticides. Comparison of results from point-in-time and time-integrated sampling indicate that these two methods are complementary and, when used together, provide a clearer understanding of contaminant sources than either method alone.

Oregon↗
USGS2006

Basic alumina flash chromatographic separation of bulk ortho-PCBs from on-ortho-PCBs, PBDEs, PCDFs, PCDDs, PCDTs, OCPs, and PCTs

Comprising nearly 100 congeners in environmental samples, PCBs are often still prevalent in concentrations exceeding 1 μg/g. To effectively measure PCBs, they are isolated as a group from other persistent organic pollutants using silica gel, Florisil, or alumina column chromatography for analysis by GC/MS or dual capillary column GC/ECD. When organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are also targeted, PCBs are often split into two chromatographic eluates. In contrast to the major ortho-substituted PCB congeners, much lower concentrations occur for congeners of polychlorinated- dibenzo- p -dioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs), dibenzothiophenes (PCDTs), naphthalenes (PCNs), and dioxin-like non- ortho -PCBs 1 . Such co-planar compounds are usually separated from the bulk PCBs using a carbon LC 2 or reusable porous graphitic carbon HPLC column 3 eluted forward ( o -PCBs, mono- o -PCBs, then non- o -PCBs) before reversal with toluene (PCDFs and PCDDs) and additional separation with basic alumina to remove PCNs, polychlorinated diphenyl ethers (PCDEs), and residual lipid for PCDF/PCDD GC/HRMS analysis. Recently, smaller particle-size normal phase adsorbents including active basic alumina have become available along with custom-made glass columns for use in low pressure flash chromatography. With low gas pressure (< 1-2 bar) and particles 32-63 μm, flash chromatography is a rapid, inexpensive technique with enhanced resolution compared to gravity column chromatography 4 . However, few environmental researchers use the technique, but basic alumina is in the automated PowerPrep LC system for PCDFs, PCDDs, PCBs and PBDEs 5 . A flash LC column is quickly dry-packed, gives improved flow performance, and has sufficient resistance to gravity flow without a shutoff valve. Contamination from lab air, dust, and sample carryover is minimized by using high purity nitrogen, much smaller eluate volumes and blown down in tubes with high purity nitrogen. The disposable adsorbent is used only once with an inert, nonleachable, reusable and cleanable glass column with glass joints and disposable glass fiber. We evaluated basic alumina flash chromatography initially for PCBs, because Loos et al. 6 had separated 13 selected o -PCB congeners from three non- o -PCBs (77, 126, and 169) and then from PCDFs and PCDDs with eluants of 150- 200 mL each from a large 25-g basic alumina (Super 1 active) column. Because the elution properties of other PCB congeners were unknown in addition to some PBDEs, PCDTs, and other compounds, we chose to evaluate basic alumina flash chromatography comprehensively. We optimized the separation of all bulk o-PCBs from all non- o- PCBs, tested other pollutants (PBDEs, PCDTs, PCDFs and PCDDs) under similar elution conditions, and finally applied the chromatographic technique to samples known or suspected to contain complex mixtures of these.

Organohalogen Compounds↗
USGS2015

Changes in thyroid parameters of hatchling American kestrels ( Falco sparverius ) following embryonic exposure to technical short chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs; C 10-13 , 55.5% CL)

Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) are complex mixtures of polychlorinated n-alkanes categorized according to their carbon chain length: short chain (SCCPs, C10 – C13), medium (C14 - C17), and long chain (C>17), chlorinated paraffins. SCCPs are primarily used in metalworking applications, as flame retardants, and in paints, adhesives, sealants, textiles, plastics and rubber (UNEP 2012). In 2012, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP 2012) reported in the Revised Draft Risk Profile for SCCPs, that CPs were produced in the United States, the European Union (EU), Slovakia, Brazil, India, Japan and China. While annual global consumption of SCCPs is large (>25 tonnes/year), it has sharply declined over the past 20 years. SCCPs are released through wastewater, landfills, and air emissions (UNEP 2012). Concentrations of SCCPs have been reported in fish and marine mammals in North and South America, Europe, Japan, Greenland and the Arctic (UNEP 2012 and references therein). Characterization of SCCP concentrations and exposure in terrestrial wildlife is limited. In 2010, SCCP concentrations were reported in the eggs of yellow-legged gulls (Larus michahellis) (4536 ± 40 pg/g wet weight (ww)) and Audouin’s gulls (Larus audouinii) (6364 ± 20 pg/g ww) in Spain (Morales et al. 2012), and little auks (Alle alle) (5 - 88 ng/g ww) and kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) (5 - 44 ng/g ww) in the European Arctic (Reth et al. 2006). In Sweden, muscle of ospreys contained CPs of unspecified chain length (Jansson et al. 1993). Although the toxicity of SCCPs has been demonstrated in aquatic invertebrates, fish, frogs, and laboratory rats, there are limited avian studies and these reported no effects of SCCPs on egg parameters of domestic hens (Gallus gallus domesticus) and ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) (UNEP 2012). Despite reported accumulation of SCCPs in wild birds, to our knowledge, exposure-related toxicities and effects with respect to avian wildlife remain unknown.

Organohalogen Compounds↗