Rodent sperm analysis in field-based ecological risk assessment: pilot study at Ravenna army ammunition plant, Ravenna, Ohio

Authors

Lawrence V. Tannenbaum, US Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive MedicineFollow
Matthew Bazar, US Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine
Melanie S. Hawkins, US Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine
Barney W. Cornaby, Science Applications International Corporation
Elizabeth A. Ferguson, US Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District
L. Chantelle Carroll, C eco
Patrick F. Ryan, Science Applications International Corporation

Date of this Version

2003

Comments

Published in Environmental Pollution No. 123 (2003) pp. 21–29.

Abstract

Ecological risk assessment (ERA) guidance recommends that field-truthing efforts proceed when modeled hazard quotients (HQs) suggest that toxicological effects are occurring to site receptors. To date, no field methods have been proposed by the regulatory community that can lead to definitive determinations of acceptable or unacceptable risk for birds and mammals, the two terrestrial classes of receptors that are commonly assessed using the HQ method. This paper describes rodent sperm analysis (RSA) as a viable method to be applied in the field at sites with historical contamination. RSA is capable of detecting biological differences that bear on reproduction, a highly regarded toxicological endpoint of concern in USEPA Superfund-type ERAs. The results of RSA’s first application at a study site are reported and discussed. The paper also provides the rationale for RSA’s efficacy in the context of Superfund and other environmental cleanup programs, where limited time and money are available to determine and evaluate the field condition.