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3.5 Discussion
3.5.1 Discussion
Bay sediments are evaluated through comparisons to several
sets of sediment quality guidelines described in Section 3.2. Although
these guidelines hold no regulatory status, they provide concentration
thresholds that may be used to assess the status of the Bay's sediments.
They also provide one of three elements in a sediment quality assessment
approach known as the Sediment Quality Triad (the other two being sediment
toxicity and benthos (see Section 3.5.4).
High contaminant concentrations in sediments usually reflect
a proximity to a source, anthropogenic or otherwise. This was illustrated
by the RMP's Estuary Interface Pilot Study in Coyote Creek and Guadalupe
River in South Bay (SFEI, 1999). However, concentrations can vary not
only due to proximity to sources but also by the many and complex processes
involved in sediment dynamics. For example, sediments with more silt and
clay minerals contain higher concentrations of most contaminants than
coarser, more sandy sediments because of their geochemical properties
(Luoma, 1990; Horowitz, 1991). The strength and magnitude of freshwater
inflows, through the transport of sediments and contaminants in both the
dissolved and particulate fractions of the flows, may alter sediment type
and contaminant distribution, particularly in estuarine regions such as
San Francisco Bay (Krone, 1979). These kinds of relationships should be
kept in mind in reviewing this summary.
3.5.2 Spatial Distributions
The southern sloughs and South Bay exhibit elevated contaminant
concentrations when compared with the other reaches, as observed in previous
years. The Estuary Interface Pilot Study stations located upstream from
the southern sloughs also showed concentrations higher than those in the
Central Bay, Northern Estuary, and river reaches, further emphasizing
this pattern (SFEI, 1999; SFEI, 2000). Limited sampling points also hint
at concentration gradients in some of the BPTCP sites (Mission Creek,
Islais Creek, Peyton Slough), but more data are needed to confirm this.
Concentration gradients of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, selenium,
zinc, PAHs, and PCBs were seen in channelized creeks draining to San Leandro
Bay in an intensive, localized study (Daum et al., 2000).
Average concentrations of cadmium, lead, silver, zinc, PAHs,
and PCBs were highest in sediments of the Southern Sloughs. The Estuary
Interface sediment samples had the highest concentrations of chromium,
copper, mercury, nickel, and selenium. Conversely, all contaminants except
arsenic and dieldrin were lowest in the River and Central Bay reaches.
As in previous years, arsenic was an exception to these trends with the
highest average concentrations in the Northern Estuary and the lowest
in the southern sloughs. Most of the high concentration values for individual
stations were found at either southern slough or Estuary Interface stations.
Estuary Interface Study sites, and the southern slough sites
near the outfalls San Jose and Sunnyvale usually had the most Effects
Range exceedances (see
Table 3.1). This is probably due to the fact that the watersheds which
drain to this Bay reach cover a large area and consist of large percentages
of urban land uses. The lowest sediment contaminant concentrations and
number of guideline exceedances occurred at Richardson Bay, Red Rock,
and Pacheco Creek stations, all of which are either Central Bay and/or
coarse sediment stations. The 1998 El Niño produced observable
changes in chlordanes in the Central Bay and PCBs at the Rivers (SFEI,
2000).
3.5.3 Trends
Two time scales are included in the current RMP sampling
design: seasonal (wet and dry) and year to year. Trends in sediment contamination
have been observed at both scales. Seasonal variation in some contaminants
occurred at some sites, although only arsenic (Figure
3.1), mercury (Figure
3.6), and selenium (Figure
3.8) showed consistent variation throughout the Estuary based on seasonality
(higher during dry weather sampling).
There were significant long term trends at a dozen RMP sites
throughout most of the Estuary for one or more contaminants after normalizing
for grain size and total organic carbon (TOC) (Thompson and Daum, 1999).
Chromium and nickel showed significant increases at 9 and 7 of these stations
respectively. Other contaminants showed increases or decreases at three
or fewer stations. Coyote Creek, Pinole Point, and Petaluma River showed
numerous significant changes in contaminant concentrations over time.
Overall, significant long-term (five to eight years) trends have been
observed in less than 10% of RMP samples collected through 1997. The coarse
sediment stations generally had the lowest range of variation over time
for metals, but not organics.
Interestingly, the Southern Sloughs and River Stations showed
no significant trends. This may be due to the inherently dynamic hydrologic
conditions in these areas. Time trends analyses require a large enough
sample size i.e. enough measurements over time at a given location, to
produce statistically significant results. The majority of RMP samples
showed no significant changes in contaminant concentrations over time.
This may be due to the fact that there were indeed no changes, or that
there was not a large enough sample size to make a determination.
Sampling at a series of depths in the sediment can reveal
trends in historical contamination levels. Such sampling indicates that
most contaminants have dropped from peak levels seen in the 1960s and
1970s (Venkatesan et al. 1999) probably resulting from wastewater treatment
improvements, product bans, and other regulatory actions.
Changes in sediment concentrations over time reflect a complex
set of processes that include deposition, resuspension, mixing and transport,
and biogeochemistry. The interplay of these processes determines the "active
sediment layer" and any burial rates. The actual depth of the active
layer was determined to be a key factor in the mass balance, and flux
of chlorinated hydrocarbons in sediments (Davis et al. 1999). Active mixing
and low deposition rates generally account for the long resident times
of contaminants in surface sediments in the Bay.
Our understanding of sediment contamination trends in the
Estuary were placed in a historic perspective by recently published USGS
sediment coring studies (Van Geen and Luoma, 1999). The earliest evidence
of contamination associated with human occupation and industrialization
was found for mercury, in sediments deposited between 1850 and 1880 as
a result of gold mining activities. Maximum concentrations were 20 times
the baseline (i.e. pre-anthropogenic) concentrations. Silver, lead, copper,
and zinc contamination first appeared after 1910 in the Bay sediment record.
Most contaminant concentrations have decreased from the peaks seen in
the 1960s and 1970s (Hornberger, et al. 1999).
3.5.4 Sediment Toxicty
Toxicity tests were conducted to indicate whether sediments
were toxic to sensitive organisms, and are described in Section 3.3. Because
these bioassays were conducted using non-resident organisms in laboratory
exposures, the results may not necessarily indicate that actual ecological
impacts occurred.
Bay sediments were toxic to either amphipods or bivalve
embryos in 70% of the RMP samples tested between 1991 and 1998. The two
tests showed different patterns of toxicity at the different RMP sites.
Toxicity at sites near the confluence of tributaries showed higher incidence
of bivalve embryo toxicity, and sites in the South Bay showed higher incidence
of amphipod toxicity. Sediments were usually more toxic during the wet,
than the dry sampling period. Other than an increasing trend in toxicity
at Yerba Buena Is., there have been no significant increases or decreases
in the incidence of toxicity at the RMP sites.
The exact causes of the toxicity to the amphipods and bivalve
embryos are not known. However, analyses using several years of monitoring
data suggested that the cumulative effects of mixtures of contaminants
was associated with amphipod toxicity (Thompson et al. 1999c). A few individual
contaminants were identified at some sites as probable determinants of
toxicity. For example, toxicity at Grizzly Bay was related to covarying
patterns of total chlordane, silver and cadmium between 1991-1996. At
Alameda and San Bruno Shoal, seasonal variation in PAHs were related with
percent survival. For the bivalve embryos, TIEs were conducted on the
sediment elutriates from the Sacramento, and San Joaquin rivers and Grizzly
Bay in 1997 and 1998, and indicated that dissolved metals (divalent cations)
were probably responsible for the observed toxicity. Non-polar organic
contaminants were also implicated at the Sacramento River site (Phillips
et al., 1999). The above results have suggested that sediment toxicity
may be related to different contaminants at the various RMP sites, and
may change over time.
Another major study of sediment toxicity was conducted as
part of the Bay Protection and Toxic Cleanup Program (BPTCP) in 1997 (Hunt
et al. 1998). Toxicity tests of reference sites showed results in survival,
growth, and larval development similar to those observed in laboratory
controls.
During the past two years RMP investigators have conducted
additional sampling and experiments focused on discovering the cause(s)
of sediment toxicity. Those studies have demonstrated the complex nature
of sediment toxicity owing to the numerous contaminant and non-contaminant
factors in estuary sediments. Solid phase sediment toxicity to amphipods
has been frequently observed at Redwood Creek and Grizzly Bay. Exposure
to pore water from those sites did not produce toxicity, but exposure
to bulk sediment did, suggesting that the toxicity is associated with
ingestion of sediment particles. Amphipods accumulated PAHs, organochlorine
pesticides, and PCBs from exposures to both bulk sediment and pore water,
but not to levels known to cause mortality. Accumulation of PAHs accounted
for most of the accumulation and may be a key causitive agent. However,
mixtures of contaminants are also believed to be important agents (Anderson
et al. 2000).
Sediment elutriates (water soluble fraction) have been toxic
to bivalve larvae at the Sacramento, and San Joaquin River, and Grizzly
Bay sites since 1993. TIEs have been conducted to evaluate which contaminants
were responsible. Trace metals, particularly copper were shown to be,
at least partially responsible for the toxicity, but organic contaminants
were also identified as toxic components at the Sacramento River site
(Phillips et al. 2000).
3.5.5 Effects of Sediment Contamination
The only RMP component that has addressed actual ecological
effects of contamination in the Bay has been the Benthic Pilot Study.
Preliminary screening of benthic samples (n=501) collected between 1994
and 1997 indicated that 16.6% percent of those samples had some evidence
of contaminant impacts (Lowe et al. 1999). The remaining samples were
considered to be reference, or unimpacted benthic samples and used in
comparisons with samples collected by BADA near three large wastewater
discharges and samples collected by the BPTCP. Only a few samples from
near the BADA outfalls (1994-1997) were considered to be slightly impacted
(Thompson et al., 1999a). BPTCP samples from several locations along the
margins of the Bay were moderately to severely impacted (Hunt et al. 1998).
In another EPA funded study of the role of introduced species
on benthos, sites with elevated sediment contamination and slightly to
moderately impacted benthos had lower proportions of introduced species
the reference sites (Lee et al. 1999).
The USGS has also been studying the effects of sediment
contamination on benthic organisms. Bioaccumulation of metals by clams
near the Palo Alto wastewater discharge (Hornberger, et al., 2000has shown
that concentrations in their tissues has decreased as emissions of metals
have decreased from those POTWs. The reproductive cycle and condition
of the introduced Asian clam Potamocorbula amurensis, the dominant species
in the estuarine portions of the Bay, were impaired by exposure to cadmium
in sediments in the north Bay. The RMP Sediment Workgroup has recommended
that the RMP undertake studies of resident, deposit feeding bivalves to
improve our understanding contaminant uptake and effects on the benthos.
3.5.6 Assessment of Sediment Conditions using the Sediment
Quality Triad
Assessments of sediment condition are often conducted using
an approach that considers information about sediment contamination, sediment
toxicity, and benthic community conditions; bioaccumulation or other biomarkers
may also be used. That approach is known as the Sediment Quality Triad
(Chapman et al., 1997). RMP results from 1998 marked the first year that
a triad assessment could be accomplished for the RMP sites (Table
3.2).
Sediment contamination in each sample was evaluated by
considering the number of contaminants that exceeded the San Francisco
Estuary Ambient Sediment Concentration (ASC, Smith and Riege, 1998), Effects-Range
guidelines (ERL and ERM, Long et al., 1995), and the ERM quotients (Long
et al., 1998, see Sediment chapter of the 1998 RMP Annual Report for details).
The number of sediment contaminants above the ERL or ERM guidelines has
been used to predict potential sediment toxicity (Long et al., 1998).
More than four ERM exceedances predicted toxicity in 68% of the tests,
and when 10 to 14 ERLs were exceeded more than 89% of the samples were
toxic. Therefore, to evaluate the 1998 RMP sediment results, sediment
samples were considered possibly toxic if 4 or more ERMs or 10 or more
ERLs were exceeded, or if half (22) of the ASC values were exceeded.
The mean ERM quotient (mERMq) may be considered to be a
cumulative index of sediment contamination related to adverse ecological
effects. Amphipod toxicity was significantly, and inversely correlated
to mERMq (Thompson et al., 1999). Analysis of RMP data collected between
1991 and 1997 showed that mERMq values below 0.178 were never toxic toxic
to amphipods, while mERMq values above 0.288 were toxic in 64% of the
tests. Those values were used to evaluate potential for toxicity in the
1998 RMP samples.
Benthic assessments were made for nine sediment samples
each season by comparing key benthic attributes at test sites to "ambient"
reference conditions resulting in a qualitative comparison of each benthic
community to "ambient" reference communities. The preliminary benthic
assessment method used was developed under the RMP Benthic Pilot Study
(Lowe et al., 1999). The sediment assessment showed that 29 of 52 samples
had mERMq values above 0.288, suggesting a potential for toxicity. Of
those, thirteen were shown to be toxic by the RMP toxicity tests, three
were not; thirteen were not tested. Eight of the 29 samples had more than
ten ERL exceedances (one of these had more than four ERM exceedances),
which added to the weight-of-evidence for potential toxicity or impairment
at those sites.
Three samples from the benthic assessments indicated slight
ecological impacts even though toxicity tests were not toxic, mERMq values
for two of the samples predicted toxicity (were above 0.288). Six benthic
samples showed no impact but the sediments were toxic. Only two samples
had mERMq values that predicted toxicity. Redwood Creek (BA41) and San
Bruno Shoal (BB15) had no discernable benthic impact although samples
had elevated mERMqs and were toxic to amphipods in three of the four samples.
Only one sample, Davis Point (BD41), showed no evidence of in pacts in
sediment chemistry, toxicity, or benthos.
Sediment assessments are useful tools that integrate sediment
contamination, toxicity and ambient ecological condition into a weight-of-evidence
evaluation of condition of the sediments in the Estuary. Each component
of the triad is analyzed independently and should be related, but as shown,
they not always provide similar answers. This kind of ecological complexity
demonstrates the need to consider as much data as possible in sediment
assessments and to undertake studies to try to reconcile and understand
apparent contradictions.
3.5.7 References
Anderson, B., Hunt, J., Phillips, B., Sericano, J., 2000.
Investigations of chemicals associated with amphipod mortality at two
Regional Monitoring Program stations. Draft RMP Technical Report. SFEI,
16 pp.
Chapman, P. M., Anderson, B, Carr, S., et al.,1997. General
Guidelines for using the Sediment Quality Triad. Marine Pollution Bulletin.
34:368-372.
Daum, T., and G. Bartow. 2000. Sediment Contamination in
San Leandro Bay, CA: a Watershed-based Investigation. Draft Report to
SFBRWQBC, San Francisco Estuary Institute. Oakland, CA.
Davis, J.A. 1999. Technical Report of the Chlorinated Hydrocarbon
Workgroup. San Francisco Estuary Institute, Oakland, CA.
Gandesbery, T. and F. Hetzel. 1999. Ambient concentrations
of toxic chemicals in San Francisco Bay sediments: Summary. In: 1997 Annual
Report: San Francisco Estuary Regional Monitoring Program for Trace Substances.
San Francisco Estuary Institute, Oakland, CA. pp. 140Ê147.
Hornberger, M., S. Luoma, A. van Geen, C. Fuller, and R.
Anima. 1999. Historical Trends of Metals in the Sediments of San Francisco
Bay, California. Mar. Chem. 64: 39-55.
Hornberger, M., S. Luoma, D. Cain, F. Parchaso, C. Brown,
R. Bouse, C. Wellise, J. Thompson. 2000. Linkage of Bioaccumulation and
Biological Effects to Changes in Pollutant Loads in South San Francisco
Bay. Environmental Science and Technology. 60.
Horowitz, A. 1991. A Primer on Sediment-Trace Element Chemistry,
2nd rev. ed. Lewis Publishers/CRC Press, Inc. Boca Raton, FL. 136 pp.
Hunt, J.W., B.S. Anderson, S. Tudor, M.D. Stephenson, H.M.
Puckett, F.H. Palmer, and M. Reeve. 1996. Marine Bioassay Project, Eighth
Report: Refinement and implementation of four effluent toxicity testing
methods using indigenous marine species. Report #94-4. State Water Resources
Control Board, Sacramento, CA. pp. 85-104.
Hunt, J., B. Anderson, B. Phillips, J. Newman, R. Tjeerdema,
K. Taberski, C. Wilson, M. Stephenson, H. Puckett, R. Fairey, and J. Oakden.
1998. Bay Protection and Toxic cleanup Program Final Technical Report.
California State Water Resources Control Board, Sacramento, CA.
Krone, R. 1979. Sedimentation in the San Francisco Bay system,
In: San Francisco Bay, the Urbanized Estuary. T. Conomos, ed. Pacific
Div. of the Amer. Assoc. for the Advancement of Science, San Francisco.
pp. 85-96.
Long, E.R. and L.G. Morgan. 1990. The potential for biological
effects of sediment-sorbed contaminants tested in the National Status
and Trends Program. NOAA Tech. Memo NOS OMA 52. National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, Seattle, WA. 175p.
Long, E.R., D.D. MacDonald, S.L. Smith and F.D. Calder.
1995. Incidence of adverse biological effects within ranges of chemical
concentrations in marine and estuarine sediments. Env. Mgmt. 19:18Ê97.
Long, E. R., L. J. Field, and D. D. MacDonald. 1998. Predicting
toxicity in marine sediments with numerical sediment quality guidelines.
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. 17:714-727
LTMS. 1996. Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Programmatic
Environmental Impact Report, Vol. 1. Long Term Management of Sediments,
Oakland, CA.
Luoma, S.N. 1990. Processes affecting metal concentrations
in estuarine and coastal marine sediments. In: Heavy metals in the marine
environment. R.W. Furness and P.S. Rainbow, (eds.). CRC Press, Inc., Boca
Raton, FL.
Lowe, S., B. Thompson. 2000. A Preliminary Assessment of
Benthic Responses to Sediment Contamination in San Francisco Bay. Regional
Monitoring Program Technical Report. San Francisco Estuary Institute,
Oakland, CA.
Phillips, B., Anderson, B., Hunt, J. 2000. Investigations
of sediment elutriate toxicity at three estuarine stations in San Francisco
Bay, California. Draft RMP Technical Report. SFEI, 16 pp.
SFEI. 1999. 1997 Annual Report: San Francisco Estuary Regional
Monitoring Program for Trace Substances. San Francisco Estuary Institute,
Oakland, CA.
SFEI. 2000. In Preparation. 1998 Annual Report: San Francisco
Estuary Regional Monitoring Program for Trace Substances. San Francisco
Estuary Institute, Oakland, CA.
Smith, R.W. and L. Riege, 1998. San Francisco Bay Sediment
Criteria Project Ambient Analysis Report. Report prepared for the CRWQCB
by EcoAnalysis, Inc. Ojai, CA.
Taylor, K., W. Pease, J. Lacy, and M. Carlin. 1992. Mass
Emissions Reduction Strategy for Selenium. San Francisco Regional Water
Quality Control Board, Oakland, CA. 61p.
Thompson, B., Anderson, B., Hunt J., Taberski K., Phillips
B. 1999. Relationships Between Sediment Contamination and Toxicity in
San Francisco Bay. Marine Environ. Research.
Thompson, B. and T. Daum. 1999. Atlas of Sediment Contamination,
Toxicity, and Benthic Assemblages in San Francisco Bay. Draft Regional
Monitoring Program Report. San Francisco Estuary Institute. Oakland, CA.
U.S. EPA. 1991. Proposed sediment quality criteria for the
protection of benthic organisms: 5 draft reports: Acenaphthene; Dieldrin;
Endrin; Fluoranthene; Phenanthrene.
van Geen, A., and S. Luoma. 1999. The Impact of Human Activities
on Sediments of San Francisco Bay, California: an Overview. Mar. Chem.
64: 1-6.
Wolfenden, J.D. and M.P. Carlin. 1992. Sediment screening
criteria and testing requirements for wetland creation and upland beneficial
reuse. California Environmental Protection Agency and California Regional
Water Quality Control Board.
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