title: Determination of buildup and dilution of wastewater effluent in shellfish growing waters through a modified application of super-position.
abstract: Since 1925, dilution analysis has been used to minimize pathogenic impacts to bivalve molluscan shellfish growing areas from treated wastewater effluent in the National Shellfish Sanitation Program (NSSP). For over twenty five years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended a minimum of 1000:1 dilution of effluent within prohibited closure zones established around wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) discharges. During May 2010, using recent technologies, a hydrographic dye study was conducted in conjunction with a pathogen bioaccumulation study in shellfish adjacent to a WWTP discharge in Yarmouth, ME. For the first time an improved method of the super-position principle was used to determine the buildup of dye tagged sewage effluent and steady state dilution in tidal waters. Results of the improved method of dilution analysis illustrate an economical, reliable and more accurate and manageable approach for estimating the buildup and steady state pollutant conditions in coastal and estuarine waters.
authors.affiliation: Office of Food Safety, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, US Food and Drug Administration, College Park, MD 20740, USA. Electronic address: Gregory.Goblick@fda.hhs.gov.
authors.forename: Gregory N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Goblick
authors.affiliation: Office of Food Safety, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, US Food and Drug Administration, College Park, MD 20740, USA.
authors.forename: Yaping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ao
authors.affiliation: The Central Region, Office of Regulatory Affairs, US Food and Drug Administration, 6000 Metro Drive, Suite 101, Baltimore, MD 21215, USA.
authors.forename: Julie M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Anbarchian
authors.affiliation: Office of Food Safety, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, US Food and Drug Administration, Dauphin Island, AL 36528, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Calci
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049872:Bivalvia; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D012722:Sewage; D012758:Shellfish; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D062065:Wastewater
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage; D062065:Wastewater
keywords: Dilution; Fluorometers; Rhodamine WT dye tracing; Shellfish growing area; Super-position; Wastewater treatment plant