Baseline Ecological Risk Assessment Salmon Site, Lamar County
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
DOE/NV-394 UC-700 BASELINE ECOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT SALMON SITE LAMAR COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI Prepared for DOE Nevada Operations Office Las Vegas, Nevada J Prepared by £3 rr CORPORATION 4330 South Valley View Boulevard, Suite 114 CO Las Vegas, Nevada 89103 sI— o Q Work Performed Under Contract No. CO DE-AC08-92NV10972 O o2: f— S3 CE CO Q April 1995 DISTRIBUTE > I I IIS - 3 I III k jam is vNUMITEfr MASTER DISCLAIMER This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by the United States Government. Neither the United States nor the United States Department of Energy, nor any of their employees, makes a warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, mark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. DISCLAIMER Portions of this document may be illegible in electronic image products, images are produced from the best available original document. Table of Contents List of Figures v List of Tables vi List of Acronyms and Abbreviations ix Executive Summary ES-1 1.0 Introduction 1-1 1.1 Background 1-1 1.2 Objectives 1-1 1.3 Organization 1-2 2.0 Area Description 2-1 2.1 Site Location 2-1 2.1.1 Site Description 2-1 2.1.2 Site Maps 2-1 2.2 Sources of Site Historical Data 2-1 2.2.1 Site Operational History and Current Status 2-11 2.2.2 Hazardous Substance and Waste Management 2-14 2.3 Issues of Public Concern 2-15 3.0 Problem Formulation 3-1 3.1 Site Description 3-1 3.1.1 Physical Features 3-1 3.1.2 Biological Features 3-2 3.1.3 Species of Special Concern 3-11 3.2 Constituents of Potential Concern Selection 3-11 3.2.1 Data Collection 3-12 3.2.1.1 Reference Samples 3-12 3.2.1.2 Sediment and Surface Water 3-12 3.2.1.3 Surficial Soil 3-16 3.2.2 Data Evaluation 3-16 i Table of Contents (Continued) 3.2.2.1 Analytical Methods 3-16 3.2.2.2 Detection Limits 3-19 3.2.2.3 Qualified Data 3-20 3.2.2.4 Blanks 3-22 3.2.2.5 Frequency of Detection 3-22 3.2.2.6 Essential Nutrients 3-23 3.2.2.7 Water Chemistry 3-24 3.2.2.8 Physiochemical Properties and Bioaccumulation Potential 3-24 3.2.2.9 Reference Data 3-25 3.2.3 Analytical Results 3-26 3.2.3.1 Sediment 3-26 3.2.3.2 Surface Water 3-39 3.2.3.3 Surficial Soil 3-39 3.2.4 Constituents of Potential Concern 3-41 3.2.4.1 Sediment 3-41 3.2.4.2 Surface Water 3-41 3.2.4.3 Surficial Soil 3-41 3.3 Exposure Pathway Identification 3-43 3.3.1 Animal Exposure Routes 3-46 3.3.2 Plant Exposure Routes 3-48 3.4 Ecological Receptor Identification 3-49 3.4.1 Terrestrial Ecosystems 3-50 3.4.1.1 Vegetation 3-50 3.4.1.2 Animals 3-50 3.4.2 Aquatic Ecosystems 3-50 3.4.2.1 Macrobenthos 3-50 3.4.2.2 Reptiles and Amphibians 3-51 3.4.2.3 Finfish 3-51 3.5 Potential Ecological Effects 3-53 3.6 Endpoints 3-55 3.6.1 Aquatic Ecosystems 3-55 3.6.2 Terrestrial Ecosystems 3-57 ii Table of Contents (Continued) 3.7 Problem Formulation Summary 3-59 4.0 Exposure Characterization 4-1 4.1 Transport and Fate Estimation 4-1 4.2 Ecological Receptors 4-1 4.3 Estimated Receptor Exposures 4-5 4.3.1 Aquatic Biota Tissue Analysis 4-5 4.3.2 Terrestrial Vegetation Tissue Analysis 4-8 4.3.3 Terrestrial Wildlife Tissue Analysis 4-9 5.0 Ecological Effects Characterization 5-1 5.1 Potential Ecological Effects 5-1 5.1.1 Aquatic Ecosystems 5-1 5.1.1.1 Surface Waters 5-1 5.1.1.2 Sediment 5-3 5.1.1.3 Potential Aquatic Ecosystem Effects Summary 5-6 5.1.2 Terrestrial Ecosystems 5-9 5.1.2.1 Soil 5-9 5.1.2.2 Potential Terrestrial Ecosystem Effects Summary 5-18 5.1.3 Laboratory Studies 5-18 5.1.3.1 Aquatic Toxicity Tests 5-18 5.1.3.2 Terrestrial Toxicity Tests 5-19 5.1.4 Field Investigations 5-19 5.1.4.1 Benthic Ecology Investigations (Rapid Bioassessment Protocol I) 5-19 5.1.4.2 Benthic Ecology Investigations (Rapid Bioassessment Protocol III) 5-21 5.1.4.3 Aquatic Field Observations 5-24 5.1.4.4 Terrestrial Field Observations 5-24 6.0 Risk Characterization 6-1 6.1 Risk Estimation 6-1 6.2 Risk Description 6-1 iii Table of Contents (Continued) 6.2.1 Aquatic Ecosystem 6-2 6.2.1.1 Water Pathway 6-2 6.2.1.2 Sediment Pathway 6-2 6.2.2 Terrestrial Ecosystems 6-3 6.2.2.1 Soil Pathway 6-3 6.2.2.2 Air Pathway 6-3 6.3 Uncertainty Analysis 6-4 6.4 Conclusions and Recommendations 6-4 7.0 References 7-1 Appendix A - Analytical Data A-l IV List of Figures Number Title Page 2-1 General Location Map of the Salmon Site 2-2 2-2 Salmon Site Map 2-3 2-3 Source Area 1 Surface Ground Zero 2-4 2-4 Source Area 2 Northern Disposal Area 2-5 2-5 Source Area 3 Southern Storage Area 2-6 2-6 Source Area 4 Western Disposal Area 2-7 2-7 Source Area 5 Injection Well Area 2-8 2-8 Source Area 6 Helicopter Pad and Storage Area 2-9 3-1 Salmon Site Surface-Water and Sediment Sampling Locations 3-3 3-2 Salmon Site Soil- and Vegetation-Sampling Locations 3-13 3-3 Screening Criteria for Selection of Constituents of Potential Concern 3-42 3-4 Conceptual Site Model, Salmon Site 3-44 4-1 Food Web Model - Salmon Site 4-2 4-2 Salmon Site Location of Traplines 4-20 v List of Tables Number Title Page 2-1 Sites within each Source Area. Salmon Site 2-10 3-1 Species List - Vegetation Survey, July 13 to 19, 1992, Salmon Site 3-4 3-2 Species List - Avian Survey, July 13 to 19, 1992, Salmon Site 3-7 3-3 Species List - Reptiles and Amphibian Survey, July 13 to 19, 1992, Salmon Site 3-8 3-4 Species List - Mammalian Survey, July 13 to 19, 1992, Salmon Site 3-9 3-5 Species Collected, February 22 to 28, 1993, Salmon Site 3-9 3-6 Fish Biosurvey Results, July 13 to 19, 1992, Salmon Site 3-10 3-7 Surface Water and Sediment Sample Locations for the Aquatic Ecosystem Investigation, Salmon Site 3-14 3-8 Summary of Samples Collected for the Aquatic Ecosystem Investigation, Salmon Site 3-15 3-9 Sample Locations for the Terrestrial Ecosystem Investigation, Salmon Site .... 3-17 3-10 Summary of Samples Collected for the Terrestrial Ecosystem Investigation, Salmon Site 3-18 3-11 Summary of Inorganic Concentrations in Sediment, Salmon Site 3-27 3-12 Summary of Semivolatile and Volatile Organic Concentrations in Sediment, Salmon Site 3-28 3-13 Summary of Radionuclide Activity in Sediment, Salmon Site 3-29 3-14 Grain-Size Analysis, Salmon Site 3-30 3-15 Summary of Inorganic Concentrations in Surface Water, Salmon Site 3-31 3-16 Summary of Radionuclide Activity in Surface Water, Salmon Site 3-32 3-17 Summary of Inorganic Concentrations in Surficial Soil, Salmon Site 3-33 vi List Of Tables (Continued) 3-18 Summary of Pesticide and PCB Concentrations in Surficial Soil. Salmon Site 3-35 3-19 Summary of Semivolatile and Volatile Organic Concentrations in Surficial Soil, Salmon Site 3-36 3-20 Summary of Radionuclide Activity in Surficial Soil, Salmon Site 3-37 3-21 Macrobenthos Qualitative Field Data, Salmon Site 3-52 3-22 Assessment and Measurement Endpoints for Aquatic Ecosystems, Salmon Site 3-56 3-23 Assessment and Measurement Endpoints for Terrestrial Ecosystems, Salmon Site 3-58 4-1 Summary of Constituent Concentrations in Fish Tissue, Salmon Site 4-6 4-2 Summary of Constituent Concentrations in Vegetation, Salmon Site 4-10 4-3 Summary of Constituent Concentrations in Large Mammal Tissues, Salmon Site 4-21 4-4 Summary of Constituent Concentrations in Small Mammal Tissues, Salmon Site 4-26 5-1 Final Selection of Constituents of Concern in Surface Water, Salmon Site 5-1 5-2 Final Selection of Constituents of Concern in Sediment, Salmon Site 5-4 5-3 Total Dose due to Sediments, Surface Water, and Soil Pathways, Salmon Site 5-8 5-4 Selected Radionuclides of Importance and Their Half-Lives, Salmon Site 5-8 5-5 Final Selection of Constituents of Concern in Soil, Salmon Site 5-9 5-6 Comparison of Copper Concentrations in Mammal Tissues to Literature Reference Values, Salmon Site 5-11 vii List Of Tables (Continued) 5-7 Comparison of Lead Concentrations in Mammal Tissues to Literature Reference Values.