title: Relating fish health and reproductive metrics to contaminant bioaccumulation at the Tennessee Valley Authority Kingston coal ash spill site.
abstract: A 4.1 million m(3) coal ash release into the Emory and Clinch rivers in December 2008 at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant in east Tennessee, USA, prompted a long-term, large-scale biological monitoring effort to determine if there are chronic effects of this spill on resident biota. Because of the magnitude of the ash spill and the potential for exposure to coal ash-associated contaminants [e.g., selenium (Se), arsenic (As), and mercury (Hg)] which are bioaccumulative and may present human and ecological risks, an integrative, bioindicator approach was used. Three species of fish were monitored-bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), redear sunfish (L. microlophus), and largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)-at ash-affected and reference sites annually for 5 years following the spill. On the same individual fish, contaminant burdens were measured in various tissues, blood chemistry parameters as metrics of fish health, and various condition and reproduction indices. A multivariate statistical approach was then used to evaluate relationships between contaminant bioaccumulation and fish metrics to assess the chronic, sub-lethal effects of exposure to the complex mixture of coal ash-associated contaminants at and around the ash spill site. This study suggests that while fish tissue concentrations of some ash-associated contaminants are elevated at the spill site, there was no consistent evidence of compromised fish health linked with the spill. Further, although relationships between elevated fillet burdens of ash-associated contaminants and some fish metrics were found, these relationships were not indicative of exposure to coal ash or spill sites. The present study adds to the weight of evidence from prior studies suggesting that fish populations have not incurred significant biological effects from spilled ash at this site: findings that are relevant to the current national discussions on the safe disposal of coal ash waste.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA. pracheilbm@ornl.gov.
authors.forename: Brenda M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Pracheil
authors.affiliation: Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marshall Adams
authors.affiliation: Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA.
authors.forename: Mark S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Bevelhimer
authors.affiliation: Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA.
authors.forename: Allison M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Fortner
authors.affiliation: Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA.
authors.forename: Mark S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Greeley
authors.affiliation: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Lyman Briggs College, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.
authors.forename: Cheryl A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.affiliation: Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA.
authors.forename: Teresa J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Mathews
authors.affiliation: Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA.
authors.forename: Mark J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Peterson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001151:Arsenic; D055884:Chemical Hazard Release; D060729:Coal Ash; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005399:Fishes; D008628:Mercury; D010473:Perciformes; D012098:Reproduction / Q000502:physiology*; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry; D012643:Selenium; D013714:Tennessee; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D060729:Coal Ash; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D008628:Mercury; D012643:Selenium; D001151:Arsenic
keywords: Arsenic; Bioaccumulation; Coal-ash; Contaminant; Fish; Fish health; Mercury; Selenium