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DDT Toxicity to Perching Birds and Soil Preliminary Remedial Goals (Prgs), Velsicol Site, St

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DDT Toxicity to Perching Birds and Soil Preliminary Remedial Goals (Prgs), Velsicol Site, St UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY REGION 5 DATE: March 25, 2011 SUBJECT: DDT Toxicity to Perching Birds and Soil Preliminary Remedial Goals (PRGs), Velsicol Site, St. Louis, Michigan. FROM: James Chapman, Ph.D., Ecologist TO: Tom Alcamo, RPM Conclusions A spatially-averaged 5 mg/kg total DDT soil concentration is recommended for a preliminary remedial goal (PRG) for acceptable robin reproduction and development of offspring. An initial PRG range of 2-9 mg/kg total DDT in soil for robin reproduction is based on a high quality laboratory toxicological study (performed with Japanese quail showing decreased post- hatch chick survival) and a robin exposure model based on site-specific data on soil-earthworm bioaccumulation. Various field studies of robin exposed to DDT indicate that robin reproduction is not impaired within this range of soil DDT concentrations or, in some cases, even somewhat higher. However, an important uncertainty, not adequately addressed by field or laboratory studies, is whether the exposure levels that do not adversely affect robin reproduction are adequately protective for long-term survival and the reproductive performance of offspring. Some studies indicate, but, as yet do not prove, that developmental effects may occur in offspring at some exposure levels that do not impair parental reproduction, which might result in neurobehavioral impairment. The studies indicate that the possible onset of developmental effects might begin within the upper portion of the initial PRG range given above, but there is too much uncertainty to develop specific PRG values. A laboratory study of ring doves performed with a single exposure treatment at a dose intermediate to the ones bracketing adverse effects in the Japanese quail study also showed decreased post-hatch chick survival. The soil PRG for Velsicol conditions derived from this study is 5.6 mg/kg. Selection of this PRG decreases the likelihood of encountering the possible developmental effects indicated by the aforementioned studies. Background This memo presents additional refinement of soil preliminary remedial goals (PRGs) for DDT based on risk to songbirds as a follow-up to Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) (undated) Revised Approach for Calculating DDT Soil Preliminary Remedial Goals (hereafter referred to as “MDEQ Revised Approach”), which was prepared in response to U.S. EPA (12/10/08) Approach for Calculating DDT Soil Preliminary Remedial Goals. Additional laboratory and field studies have been reviewed and a summary is presented of relevant studies. DDT TRVs and PRGs for passerines edited edited.doc 2 Songbirds are conspicuously absent from the lists of sensitive species to DDT-related reproductive impairment. In contrast to raptors or fish-eating birds, DDT-induced egg-shell thinning is not the mechanism of reproductive toxicity in American robins (Turdus migratorius, thrush family: Turdidae), instead, reproductive impairment may result from embryonic mortality (low hatch rates), nestling mortality (low fledge rates), adult mortality that interrupts nesting and brood care, or developmental effects that impair neurobehavioral processes. These effects occur at higher levels of exposure to DDT compared to the exposures causing eggshell thinning in sensitive species. For example, brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) may suffer reproductive failure with egg DDE residues less than 4 µg/g (Blus 1996). In contrast, robin clutch size, nest success, hatching rate, and fledge rate were not adversely affected by egg residues an order of magnitude higher: geometric mean total DDT residues of 45 µg/g fresh weight (fw) (87 % DDE) (Gill, et al. 2003). Field studies of robin reproduction indicate robins are less sensitive to DDT compared to the species susceptible to eggshell thinning. However, an important uncertainty not adequately addressed by field studies is whether the levels of exposures to DDT that appear to be acceptable for reproduction are adequately protective over the full life cycle. In addition to acceptable reproduction, the long-term survival of the offspring and their reproductive performance determine the sustainability of local populations. To date, field studies have not shown significant impacts of DDT exposures in robins on immune system functions, so this potentially important endpoint is not discussed further in this memo. Laboratory Studies The ideal source of toxicity data would be laboratory studies of chronic DDT exposures to American robins, but none were located. The second choice would be studies of related species in the thrush family (Turdidae) (none located), and, third, species from the same taxonomic order as robins –perching birds (Passeriformes). Only a very small number of laboratory DDT studies have been preformed with passerines. The most promising, a study of white-throated sparrows (Mahoney 1975), did not prove to be suitable as discussed below. Therefore, studies of birds in other taxonomic orders in which egg shelling thinning is not responsible for DDT reproductive impairment were reviewed, including studies of chicken, quail (both Galliformes), pigeon, and dove (both Columbiformes).1 Japanese Quail (Cortunix cortunix japonica) The highest quality study reviewed for this memo, Ueda, et al. (2005), followed a draft revision of the Japanese quail one-generation reproduction test guideline by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD 2000).2 The study is high quality because of 1 The taxonomy of birds is under revision as new data and improved methods are applied to discern evolutionary relationships among birds. The taxonomic orders used in this memo are an older classification (Blair, et al. 1968), however, the newer approaches also show that pigeons, doves, quail, or chicken are not closely related to thrushes (Cracraft and Donoghue 2004). 2 Ueda, et al. (2005) was published too late for inclusion in the literature review for the DDT Eco-SSL (U.S. EPA 2007a). 3 the detailed protocols regarding husbandry and study design, quality control measures such as verification of nominal dietary exposure concentrations and study acceptance criteria based on the performance of the control group, and comprehensive data presentation including bodyweight-normalized doses for each treatment. Three experiments were performed: acute toxicity, subchronic toxicity, and one-generation reproduction studies, all with dietary exposure to p,p’-DDT. The range of doses included in the reproduction study was informed by the results of the first two experiments. The 5-day dietary p,p-‘DDT median lethal concentration (LC50) 3 was 520 ppm dry weight (dw), and the concentration lethal to 10 % of exposed birds (LC10) was 205 ppm dw. Based on the bodyweight-normalized doses reported for the subchronic toxicity study, the LC10 corresponds to 26 – 31 mg/kgBW-d for male and female quail, respectively (BW – bodyweight; d – day). The lowest observed adverse effect level (LOAEL) of the reproduction study was 30 ppm dw diet, based on a statistically discernible doubling of chick mortality through 14 days after hatching (40-41 % chick mortality with 4-5 weeks parental DDT exposure compared to 18-21 % control chick mortality over the same time periods). The no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) was 6 ppm dw diet. The bodyweight normalized toxicity reference values (TRVs) for reproduction are 0.84 – 4.5 mg/kgBW-d, NOAEL – LOAEL, respectively (Ueda, et al. 2005). Incorporation of the TRVs into the Velsicol site-specific DDT bioaccumulation model for robin results in a soil PRG range of 2 – 9 mg/kg (rounded values). White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) The MDEQ Revised Approach relied on TRVs based on adverse growth effects in white- throated sparrows exposed to technical DDT 4 (Mahoney 1975), adopted from the calculations presented in the Ecological Soil Screening Level (Eco-SSL) for DDT (U.S. EPA 2007a). Reduced growth was reported with 5 ppm dw technical DDT in feed. However, on review of this study, the growth effects are not biologically relevant and are unsuitable for baseline risk assessment purposes. There are two issues. Statistically significant differences were reported for a single sample period, after 5 weeks of exposure to DDT, but differences in growth were not statistically discernible in any of the subsequent 5 sampling periods through 11 weeks exposure, or in any of the 5 sampling periods earlier than 5 weeks (Mahoney 1975). A single statistically significant difference out of 11 sample times might be acceptable for screening purposes,5 but is dubious for baseline risk assessment. The second issue concerns the magnitude of the growth effects. Mahoney (1975) reported transformed data (arcsine √(% weight change + 0.2)), but not the original untransformed growth data. Back transformation 6 of the data in Mahoney (1975) 3 Ueda, et al (2005) did not report the moisture content basis for dietary DDT concentrations as recommended by OECD (2000), but the reported treatment feed intake rates are consistent with dry-weight food ingestion values, and the reported bodyweight-normalized chemical intake rates can be verified from the respective treatment feed intake and dietary DDT data if the dietary DDT units represent dry-weight concentrations. 4 78 % p,p’-DDT and 21 % o,p’-DDT or p,p’-DDE (Mahoney 1975). 5 Although included in the literature review, Mahoney (1975) was not used to derive the DDT Eco-SSL (U.S. EPA 2007). 2 6 % weight change = (sin Y) - 0.2, where Y is a transformed value
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