"Predicting the Toxicity of Metals to Aquatic Organisms:
An Introduction to the Biotic Ligand Model"

Instructors

• Ray Arnold – Lead Instructor
  Industry Vice President Environmental Sciences and Government Relations
  Copper Development Association, Inc.
  260 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10016
  Phone: 212-251-7220
  Fax: 212-251-7220
  Email: rarnold@cda.copper.org
   

• Bob Santore – Consulting Project Manager
  HydroQual, Inc.
  4914 West Genesee St.
  Cmillus, NY 13031
  Phone: 315-484-6220
  Fax: 315-484-6221
  Email: rsantore@hydroqual.com

Course Objectives

The attendee will learn about metal toxicity, factors that alter metal toxicity, metal water quality criteria development, sites and modes of action of metals, metal speciation, ligands, toxicity modeling and applications of the biotic ligand model.
 

Course Outline

• 1.      Introduction (15 minutes)
  • a.      Greeting
  • b.      Review of course materials
  • c.      Survey instructions
  • d.      Introduction of instructors
  • e.      Course overview
• 2.      Assessing the Effects of Metals in the Environment (30 minutes)
  • a.      Public awareness
  • b.      Assessing risk
  • c.      Natural sources
  • d.      Analytical complexity
  • e.      Speciation
  • f.        Toxicity testing
  • g.      History of Metal Water Quality Criteria
  • h.      The model: BLM
  • i.        Define: Bioavailability and Ligands
  • j.         Effects of ligands
  • k.      What the BLM Calculates
  • l.         SAB Review
• 3.      Background and Rationale for the BLM (60 minutes)
  • a.      Introduction
  • b.      Metal Water Quality Criteria
  • c.      Limitation of Metal WQC
  • d.      The BLM of Acute Toxicity
• 4.      Break (15 minutes)
• 5.      Biotic Ligand Model of Acute Toxicity: Technical Basis (60minutes)
  • a.      Introduction
  • b.      Description of the model
    •   i.      Toxicity model
    •   ii.      Chemical model
    •  iii.      WHA model (WHAM)
  • c.      Relationship of Metal Accumulation to Acute Toxicity
  • d.      Model Application
    •  i.      Effects of DOC on toxicity
    •  ii.      Effects of hardness on toxicity
    • iii.      Effects of pH on Toxicity
  • e.      Water Effect Ratio
  • f.        Summary and conclusion
• 6.      Biotic Ligand Model of Acute Toxicity: Application to Fish and Daphnia (30 minutes)
  • a.      Introduction
  • b.      Model development
  • c.      Model testing: Chemical Adjustments in Synthetic and Natural Waters
  • d.      Model testing: Water Effect Ratios Using Fathead Minnows
  • e.      Model testing: Water Effect Ratios Using Daphnia
  • f.        Summary and Conclusion
• 7.      Question and Answer (30 minutes)
• 8.      Lunch (60 minutes)
• 9.      Example Applications of the Biotic Ligand Model (45 minutes)
  • a.      Introduction
  • b.      Setting Site Specific Water Quality Criteria (POTW)
  • c.      Assessing Impacts of a Copper Discharge from Water Cooled Condensers
  • d.      Aquatic Risk Assessment for Copper in San Francisco Bay
  • e.      Determination of Water Effect Ratios from Historical Water Quality Data
  • f.        Summary and Conclusions
• 10. Application Definition Needed for Biotic Ligand Model (45 minutes)
  • a.      Introduction
  • b.      Defining the application
    •   i.      Prediction of potential effluent or receiving water toxicity
      • 1.      Measure or preserve in field
    •   ii.      Prediction of toxicity in tests
      • 1.      Measure or preserve in test
    •  iii.      Prediction of toxicity in tests of metal amended effluent or field samples
      • 1.      Time constraints for initiating tests
      • 2.      Time needed for medal/ligand equilibrium
    •   iv.      Prediction of toxicity in tests of metal amended lab water
  • c.      Special Considerations
    •   i.      Prediction of toxicity in effluent or receiving water tests
      • 1.      Aeration effects
      • 2.      pH Drift effects
    •   ii.      Prediction of toxicity in different types of tests
      • 1.      Static
      • 2.      Static renewal
      • 3.      Flow through
    •  iii.      Prediction of toxicity in estuarine or marine samples
      • 1.      Salting up effects
      • 2.      Time needed for medal/ligand equilibrium
    •   iv.      Prediction of toxicity in lab water
      • 1.   Low detection limits needed
• 11.      Break (15 minutes)
• 12.   Chemical Analyses for Biotic Ligand Model (45 minutes)
  • a.   Introduction
  • b.   Parameters and recommended methods for each metal including rationale
  • c.   Data Quality Objectives
    • i.     MDL
    • ii.    PQL
    • iii.   Reproducibility
• 13.   Model Demonstration (45 minutes)
  • a.   Introduction
  • b.   Example 1
  • c.   Example 2
  • d.   Example n
• 14.  Question and Answer (30 minutes)
• 15.  Questionnaire