Emerging and Legacy
Contaminants in the Foodweb:
Columbia River Contaminants and Habitat
Characterization (ConHab) Project
Elena Nilsen
USGS Oregon Water Science Center
1
ConHab Team Coauthors
(2008-2012)
Bob Grove, Chuck Henny
BRD, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
Jill Jenkins, Reynaldo Patiño, Leticia Torres
Cooperative Research Units
Dave Alvarez
BRD, Columbia Environmental Research Center
Tim Counihan, Matt Mesa
BRD, Western Fisheries Research Center, Cook, WA
Guy Gelfenbaum, Edwin Alias
GD, Menlo Park, CA
Jennifer Morace, Elena Nilsen, Ian Waite
WRD, Oregon Water Science Center
2
Motivation
45
•  Forty-nine wastewater indicator contaminants
detected in CR basin sediments
•  Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs)
detected at 22 of 23 sites sampled
Nilsen et al. 2007
bisphenol A
triclosan
40
anthraquinone
35
Compound (mg gOC-1)
tonalide (AHTN)
30
galoxolide (HHCB)
carbazole
25
para-nonylphenol (total)
20
benzophenone
15
4-tert-octylphenol
10
butylated hydroxyanisole
(BHA)
skatol
5
indole
0
CS2 CS1 W5
Jo
W4
Ke
W3 W2
Site
Tr
W1
T2
T1
Fa2 Fa1
3
Motivation
Percent of compounds detected in
WWTP effluent
0
20
40
60
80
100
plasticizers
steroids
detergent metabolites
pharmaceuticals
personal care products
PAHs
flame retardants
miscellaneous
PCBs
pesticides
overall
Contact Jennifer Morace: jlmorace@usgs.gov
4
Motivation
•  PBDEs doubling in fish in upper Columbia River (CR)
every 1.6 years early 2000s (Rayne et al. 2003)
•  PBDEs adversely affecting osprey reproduction; egg
concentrations increased rapidly in 2000s
•  PBDE widespread in lower
CR (LCREP 2007)
•  Urban/industrial signal in
Salmon bodies (LCREP 2007)
5
LCREP 2007
Motivation
Endocrine Disrupting Compounds (EDCs)
•  What they do: mimic or block hormones and disrupt
normal function
•  Examples of affected wildlife:
-Feminization of males; collapse of lake population of fathead
minnow in Ontario, Canada (Kidd et al., 2007)
-Common carp in Lake Mead, Nevada (e.g., Patiño et al., 2003;
Snyder et al., 2004)
-Reproductive biomarker responses by multiple species in
Columbia River Basin (Hinck et al., 2006) and Colorado
Basin (Hinck et al., 2007)
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Motivation
Endocrine Disrupting Compounds (EDCs)
•  Affect organism development &
population viability
•  PBDEs (Kuriyama et al. 2005)
-Alter thyroid function
-Reduce sperm counts
-Delay sperm maturation
•  Goal: sample foodweb across sites
representing a chemical gradient
Chemical &
Engineering News
NOAA
7
Organic Baby Wearhouse
Area Map
Tacoma
PACIFIC OCEAN
WASHINGTON
Columbia R.
Portland
Study Area
RM 54-136
Willamette R.
OREGON
8
Estrogenicity (YES) Passive Samplers
Spring 2008
Between Lewis & Cowlitz Rivers
Beaver Army Terminal
Columbia
River
Columbia City (RM 84)
Longview
EEQ level suggests
WWTP input
Alvarez et al., in prep.
Multnomah Channel
Downstream end of Hayden Island
Willamette at mouth of
Multnomah Channel
Downstream of Government
Island
“Reference” sites
• Willamette River near Keizer
• Skamania Landing
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PBDEs and PCBs Passive Samplers
Spring 2008
Between Lewis and Cowlitz Rivers
Beaver Army Terminal
Columbia River
Moderate PBDEs & PCBs
Low PBDEs
Columbia City (RM 84)
Longview
Alvarez et al., in prep.
Highest PBDEs
Higher PCBs
Multnomah Channel
Downstream end of Hayden Island
Higher PBDEs
Low PCBs
Willamette at mouth of
Multnomah Channel
Downstream of Government Island
Higher PBDEs
Higher PCBs
Low PBDEs
Highest PCBs
Low PBDEs
Highest PCBs
“Reference” sites deployed at
• Willamette River near Keizer Higher PBDEs, Low PCBs
• Skamania Landing Low PBDEs, Low PCBs
10
PBDEs in Osprey Eggs
ConHab Study Area
Concentrations in ppb
Portland
C. Henny and B. Grove
11
PBDEs in Osprey Eggs
Henny et al., 2011*
*Ecotoxicology DOI 10.1007/s10646-011-0608-2
12
Longview
Foodweb Site Map
Columbia City
Portland
Skamania
13
Foodweb Sampling
Passive samplers
-contaminant analyses
-estrogen screen
Sediments
Invertebrates
-contaminant analyses
-contaminant analyses
-sediment transport modeling -community assessment
Largescale Suckers
-contaminant analyses
-biomarkers
Osprey
-contaminant analyses
-productivity assessment
-well bird blood analyses 14
Contaminants in Fish Tissues 2009
Concentration (ng/g)
200
150
100
50
PCBs
DDTs/10
OC Pest
PBDEs
gonad
liver
fillet
stomach
Columbia City
brain
gonad
stomach
liver
fillet
brain
gonad
liver
stomach
Longview
fillet
brain
0
Skamania
Nilsen et al., in prep.
15
Contaminants in Fish Tissues 2009
FDA Action Levels
DDT = 5,000 ppb
PCBs = 2,000 ppb
400
Concentration (ppb)
350
300
250
EPA Cancer Risk Levels
Liver
Fillet
200
150 DDT = 117 ppb
100
PCB = 20 ppb
50
0
p,p-DDTs
PBDEs
PCBs
%RSD: DDTs = 15%; PBDEs = 2-12%; PCBs = 2-11%
16
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Concentration (ppb)
Contaminants in Fish Livers 2009
EPA Cancer Risk Level
5
4
3
2
1
0
17
Contaminants in Fish Livers (ng/g)
2009
2010
225
200
175
150
125
100
75
50
25
0
OC (w/o DDT)
PCBs
PBDEs
triclosan
Longview
Columbia
City
Skamania
Longview Columbia Skamania
City
current use
pest/herb
18
Contaminants in Passive Samplers (ng/L)
SPMD & POCIS
2009
2010
6
5
4
OCs
3
PCBs
2
PBDEs
1
0
Longview
Columbia
City
Skamania
Longview
Columbia
City
Skamania
19
Contaminants in Sediments 2009
Concentration (ng g-1)
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
PCBs
1
PBDEs
0
Longview
OC Pest
Columbia
City
Skamania
20
Halogenated Contaminants in
Sediments 2010
0.35
Concentration (ng g-1)
0.3
0.25
0.2
OC Pest
0.15
PBDEs
PCBs
0.1
0.05
0
Longview
Columbia
City
Skamania
21
Wastewater Contaminants in
Sediments 2010
800
Concentration (ng g-1)
700
600
500
400
I/PCP
300
PAH
200
100
0
Longview
Columbia
City
Skamania
I/PCP = Industrial/Personal Care Products
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Biomarkers of PBDE and EDC Exposure
and Effects in Resident Fish
•
•
•
•
•
Androgens (11-ketotestosterone)
Estrogens (17β-estradiol)
Blood vitellogenin
Gonad size (gonadosomatic index)
Gonad, kidney, spleen, liver
abnormalities (histopathology)
•
•
•
•
•
•
Condition factor (length: weight)
Shortening of opercula
External (skin) parasites
Gill parasites
Sperm quality
Oligonucleotide microarray
Largescale Suckers
(Catostomus macrochelius)
Torres et al., in prep.
Christiansen et al., submitted
Jenkins et al., in prep.
23
Biomarkers Show Fish More Stressed
Downstream Compared to Upstream
•
•
•
•
•
Androgens (11-ketotestosterone)
Estrogens (17β-estradiol)
Blood vitellogenin
Gonad size (gonadosomatic index)
Gonad, kidney, spleen, liver
abnormalities (histopathology)
•
•
•
•
•
•
Condition factor (length: weight)
Shortening of opercula
External (skin) parasites
Gill parasites
Sperm quality
Oligonucleotide microarray
Largescale Suckers
(Catostomus macrochelius)
Torres et al., in prep.
Christiansen et al., submitted
Jenkins et al., in prep.
24
Biomarkers Show Fish More Stressed
Downstream Compared to Upstream
spleen
abnormalities
kidney abnormalities
Torres et al., in prep.
gill abnormalities
25
Summary
•  Fish tissue contaminant concentrations increase moving
downstream - gradient of exposure achieved in 2009, 2010
•  Gradient less in 2010, although median still similar
•  Many of same compounds in passive samplers
accumulating in fish tissues, but trends not always same
•  Sediment transport model a very useful tool to predict
accumulation of fine-grained sediments and contaminants
•  With sampling based on model, sediment concentrations
follow fish (increasing downstream)
•  Median sediment concentrations lower in 2010 than 2009,
except wastewater compounds
•  Biomarkers show fish more stressed downstream sites
relative to upstream (not statistically linked to measured
toxics)
26
Acknowledgements
Water
NWQL
Geology
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More Information
Websites:
http://or.water.usgs.gov/proj/Conhab/ (public)
http://or.water.usgs.gov/preview/uo/internal_htmls/
ConHab/
(internal USGS)
Video:
http://or.water.usgs.gov/proj/Conhab/#video
Contact:
Elena Nilsen – enilsen@usgs.gov
Jennifer Morace – jlmorace@usgs.gov
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