Abstract
We evaluate the roles of a long-term comprehensive toxicity assessment and monitoring program in management and for ecological recovery of a freshwater receiving stream impacted by industrial discharges and legacy contamination. National Pollution Discharge Elimination Permit (NPDES)-driven whole effluent toxicity (WET) tests using Ceriodaphnia and fathead minnows were conducted for more than twenty years to characterize wastewaters at the US National Nuclear Security Agency�s Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Ambient toxicity tests also were conducted to assess water samples from EFPC, the stream receiving the wastewater discharges. The ambient tests were conducted as part of an extensive biological monitoring program that included routine surveys of fish, invertebrate and periphyton communities. WET testing, associated toxicant identification evaluations (TIEs), and ambient toxicity monitoring were instrumental in identifying toxicants and their sources at the Y-12 Complex, guiding modifications to wastewater treatment procedures, and assessing the success of various pollution-abatement actions. Through time, as requirements changed and water quality improved, the toxicity monitoring program became more focused. Ambient testing with Ceriodaphnia and fathead minnow larvae also was supplemented with less-standardized but more-sensitive alternative laboratory and in situ bioassays. The Y-12 Complex biological monitoring experience demonstrates the significant roles effluent and ambient toxicity testing can have in controlling and managing toxic discharges to receiving waters. It also emphasizes the value of supplementing WET and standardized ambient toxicity tests with alternative laboratory and in situ toxicity tests tailored to address specific problems.
