Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology Volume 237

Jacob G. Gruzalski, James T. Markwiese, Neil E. Carriker, William J. Rogers, Rock J. Vitale, David I. Thal, Gruzalski, Jacob G., Markwiese, James T., Carriker, Neil E., Rogers, William J., Vitale, Rock J., Thal, David I.

Investigating the ecological impacts of contaminants released into the environment requires the integration of information from multiple lines of evidence. The collection and analysis of interstitial (pore) water is often used as one of the lines of evidence for developing benthic exposure estimates in aquatic ecosystems. It is a well-established principle that chemical and toxicity data on interstitial water samples should represent in-situ conditions. Unfortunately collection and processing of pore water is not standardized to address the possibility of geochemical transformations introduced by atmospheric exposure. Furthermore there are no suitable benchmarks (ecological risk or regulatory) against which to measure chemical concentrations in pore water.The literature research conducted and the data presented here focus on heavy metals concentrations in sediment and pore water, however other inorganics are considered. The importance of minimizing atmospheric exposure during sample collection and processing to minimize the effects of geochemical changes is clear. The authors propose that with these considerations in mind pore water data should be evaluated by considering the bioavailability of metals, the partitioning of contaminants between the aqueous and solid phases and comparing these concentrations to Interstitial Water Toxicity Units/Interstitial Water Benchmark Units.