Sediment Toxicity and Bioaccumulation Testing

Because many persistent chemicals tend to accumulate in sediments and evidence of impact on benthic communities exists in areas where water quality standards are not exceeded, the assessment of sediment quality continues to receive increasing attention from regulatory agencies. Sediment toxicity and bioaccumulation testing may be required under a range of federal and state programs. Coastal Bioanalysts, Inc. has the facilities and experience to perform toxicity and bioaccumulation tests in compliance with EPA, Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) and ASTM methods.

Whole sediment, elutriate and water column tests can be performed with either fresh or saltwater species (for water column tests see Effluents (WET) and Test Materials). Static, static-renewal and flow-through testing capabilities are available. To insure correct interpretation of biological data, sediment characteristics that may affect toxicity or bioavailability, such as grain size, percent water, pore water pH and ammonia, are routinely analyzed in accordance with referenced methods. In addition to the species and methods listed here, testing can also be performed with other species and in compliance with site-specific, State or other protocols. Many of the acceptable species are cultured in house. Other species can be obtained from commercial suppliers or field collected. Individual staff experiences of up to 28 years in conducting sediment toxicity tests encompass most of the ACE/EPA-recommended benchmark species.