Appalachian State University, Department of Geography and Planning, NC 28607, USA.
U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA 20192, USA.
Sci Total Environ. 2019 Aug 10;677:362-372. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.04.180. Epub 2019 Apr 19.
Organic chemicals from industrial, agricultural, and residential activities can enter surface waters through regulated and unregulated discharges, combined sewer overflows, stormwater runoff, accidental spills, and leaking septic-conveyance systems on a daily basis. The impact of point and nonpoint contaminant sources can result in adverse biological effects for organisms living in or near surface waters. Assessing the adverse or toxic effects that may result when exposure occurs is complicated by the fact that many commonly used chemicals lack toxicity information or water quality standards. To address these challenges, an exposure-activity ratio (EAR) screening approach was used to prioritize environmental chemistry data in a West Virginia watershed (Wolf Creek). Wolf Creek is a drinking water source and recreation resource with documented water quality impacts from point and nonpoint sources. The EAR screening approach uses high-throughput screening (HTS) data from ToxCast as a method of integrating environmental chemical occurrence and biological effects data. Using water quality schedule 4433, which targets 69 organic waste compounds typically found in domestic and industrial wastewater, chemicals were screened for potential adverse biological affects at multiple sites in the Wolf Creek watershed. Cumulative EAR mixture values were greatest at Sites 2 and 3, where bisphenol A (BPA) and pentachlorophenol exhibited maximum EAR values of 0.05 and 0.002, respectively. Site 2 is downstream of an unconventional oil and gas (UOG) wastewater disposal facility with documented water quality impacts. Low-level organic contaminants were found at all sample sites in Wolf Creek, except Site 10, where Wolf Creek enters the New River. The application of an EAR screening approach allowed our study to extend beyond traditional environmental monitoring methods to identify multiple sites and chemicals that warrant further investigation.
工业、农业和住宅活动产生的有机化学物质会通过有规和无规排放、合流污水溢流、雨水径流、意外溢漏和渗漏的化粪池输送系统，每天进入地表水中。点源和非点源污染物的影响可能会对生活在地表水中或附近的生物产生不利的生物影响。当发生暴露时，评估可能产生的不利或毒性影响是复杂的，因为许多常用的化学物质缺乏毒性信息或水质标准。为了解决这些挑战，采用暴露-活性比 (EAR) 筛选方法对西弗吉尼亚流域（Wolf Creek）的环境化学数据进行优先级排序。Wolf Creek 是饮用水源和娱乐资源，有记录表明其水质受到点源和非点源的影响。EAR 筛选方法使用 ToxCast 的高通量筛选 (HTS) 数据作为整合环境化学物质出现和生物效应数据的方法。使用水质计划 4433，该计划针对通常在家庭和工业废水中发现的 69 种有机废物化合物，在 Wolf Creek 流域的多个地点筛选潜在的不利生物影响的化学物质。在 Sites 2 和 3 的化学物质的累积 EAR 混合物值最大，其中双酚 A（BPA）和五氯苯酚的 EAR 值分别为 0.05 和 0.002。Site 2 在有记录的水质影响的非常规石油和天然气 (UOG) 废水处理设施的下游。在 Wolf Creek 的所有采样点都发现了低水平的有机污染物，除了 Site 10，那里是 Wolf Creek 进入新河的地方。EAR 筛选方法的应用使我们的研究能够超越传统的环境监测方法，以确定多个需要进一步调查的地点和化学物质。
