National Sediment Bioaccumulation Conference Proceedings

During September 11-13, 1996, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sponsored the National Sediment Bioaccumulation Conference in Bethesda, Maryland. The assessment of bioaccumulative sediment contaminants has become an important issue for EPA and other agencies. Data compiled to date for EPA's National Sediment Quality Survey and the National Listing of Fish and Wildlife Consumption Advisories indicate that the presence of bioaccumulative substances in sediments is a potentially serious national problem. EPA uses bioaccumulation data to make regulatory decisions in a number of its programs. The Superfund Program uses bioaccumulation data to assess contaminated sites for cleanup. Results of bioaccumulation tests are used in the (TSCA) and in the review process for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits and dredged material discharge permits. Bioaccumulation studies are also required to support regustration of pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Advances in the science of bioaccumulation testing and assessment and interpretation of test results will benefit all of these programs. The purpose of this conference was to present the current state of our knowledge of assessment of bioaccumulative sediment contaminants and to discuss how bioaccumulation data are integrated into EPA's decision-making processes. The conference was organized into the following seven sessions: Session One - Field and Laboratory Methods for Measuring Bioaccumulation; Session Two - Interpretation and Applications of Bioaccumulation Results; Session Three - Modeling Bioavailability of Sediment Contaminants; Session Four - Food Chain Models and Bioenergetics; Session Five - Human Health-Based Risk Assessment; Session Six - Ecological-Based Risk Assessment; Session Seven - Integrating Bioaccumulation Results into EPA's Decision-Making Process.