Author Description

This is the second of two pollution gradient studies examining the field performance of chemical & biological tools proposed for the assessment of marine sediments destined for disposal at sea. The main purpose of the study was to assess interim interpretation criteria for a battery of toxicity & bioaccumulation assays. This was done by comparing the assessment of sediment quality using current interpretation criteria with that obtained using the other assays in the battery, chemical guidelines, and assessment of the benthic community structure at the stations sampled. The study site was a known polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon pollution gradient in Sydney Harbour, Nova Scotia. The test battery included an acute test with amphipods, three sublethal tests, and one bioaccumulation test. The study also looks at the functioning of Interim Canadian Sediment Quality Guidelines as chemical benchmarks and at the relevance of other chemical assessment tools, in relation to responses in the toxicity tests and in the benthic community structure.