What are the human and aquatic health concerns for pesticides, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), synthetic organic compounds (SOCs) and metals in sediment, fish tissue, and/or water?
Contaminants in sediment are not a direct issue for human health, but they can be an indirect problem if local fish are accumulating these chemicals via contact with the sediments or feeding on sediment-dwelling organisms or other fish that have become contaminated. In places where contamination of fish is a concern, fish-consumption advisories usually are put into effect. Besides building up in the bodies of aquatic organisms, these chemicals can directly affect the health of the organisms. The Canadian sediment guidelines quoted in the summary report were developed in response to concerns about aquatic-organism health. Contaminated water raises similar concerns as contaminated sediment with regard to aquatic organisms, and aquatic-health-related criteria for water quality have been developed for some these chemicals (but not all of them). Contaminated water raises additional concern for human health if the water is used as a drinking-water supply. Federal and state drinking-water sta
