title: Distribution, magnitude and characterization of the toxicity of Ukrainian estuarine sediments.
abstract: During the Soviet era, Ukraine was an important industrial and agricultural region of the Soviet Union. This industrial and agricultural activity resulted in contamination of Ukraine's estuaries with legacy anthropogenic pollutants. Investigations on the toxicological effects of this estuarine contamination have been limited. For this research, we measured the toxicity of contaminated sediments from four Ukrainian estuaries to several aquatic organisms over 3 years. Sediment chemical analyses and whole sediment toxicity identification evaluations (TIEs) were also performed to determine the classes of contaminants contributing to toxicity. Toxic sediments were observed in several of the Ukrainian estuaries and chemical analyses of the sediments demonstrated anthropogenic contaminants were widely distributed. Contaminants were also detected in macrobenthic organisms collected from the sediments. Several lines of evidence, including TIEs, indicated hydrophobic organic chemicals (HOCs) were contributing substantially to observed toxicity. This information can guide environmental managers to prioritize portions of the estuaries requiring remediation.
authors.affiliation: US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory-Atlantic Ecology Division, 27 Tarzwell Drive, Narragansett, RI 02882, USA. burgess.robert@epa.gov
authors.forename: Robert M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Burgess
authors.forename: Igor M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Konovets
authors.forename: Ludmila S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Kipnis
authors.forename: Artem V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Lyashenko
authors.forename: Vladimir A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Grintsov
authors.forename: Alexei N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Petrov
authors.forename: Anna V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Terletskaya
authors.forename: Mykhailo V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Milyukin
authors.forename: Mark I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Povolotskii
authors.forename: Victor Y
authors.initials: VY
authors.lastname: Demchenko
authors.forename: Tatiyana A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Bogoslovskaya
authors.forename: Yuri V
authors.initials: YV
authors.lastname: Topkin
authors.forename: Tatiyana V
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Vorobyova
authors.forename: Lisa M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Portis
authors.forename: Kay T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Ho
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D059038:Black Sea; D002683:Chironomidae / Q000187:drug effects; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D003621:Daphnia / Q000187:drug effects; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis*; D007814:Larva / Q000187:drug effects; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D045483:Rivers; D018675:Toxicity Tests; D014455:Ukraine
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D019216:Metals, Heavy