TY - JOUR
T1 - Preliminary assessment of perchlorate in ecological receptors at the Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant (LHAAP), karnack, Texas
AU - Smith, Philip N.
AU - Theodorakis, Christopher W.
AU - Anderson, Todd A.
AU - Kendall, Ronald J.
N1 - Funding Information:
The views and conclusions contained herein are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies or endorsements, either expressed or implied, of the 311 HSW/AFIERA or the U.S. Government. This research was supported in part by the U.S. Department of Defense contract CU1141, through the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) under a Cooperative Agreement IERA-99-001 with the USAF, Institute for Environment, Safety, and Occupational Health, Brooks AFB, TX. Portions of this work were presented at the SETAC South Central Regional Conference, Denton, Texas, 24–26 March, 2000.
PY - 2001
Y1 - 2001
N2 - There have been increasing human health and ecological concerns about ionic perchlorate (ClO4-) since it was detected in drinking water sources in 1997. Perchlorate is known to affect thyroid function, causing subsequent hormone disruption and potential perturbations of metabolic activities. According to current estimates, perchlorate is found in the surface or groundwater of 14 states, including Texas. Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant, located in east central Texas, was a facility historically associated with perchlorate-containing propellants and rocket motors. Subsequently, perchlorate contamination in ground and surface waters at the facility has been reported. Soil, sediment, water, vegetation, and animal tissue samples were collected from several locations within the plant for a preliminary site assessment of perchlorate contamination. Perchlorate concentrations ranged from 555-5,557,000 ppb in vegetation, 811-2038 ppb in aquatic insects, below detection limits (ND) to 207 ppb in fish, ND-580 ppb in frogs, and ND-2328 ppb in mammals. Consistent with our hypothesis, aquatic organisms inhabiting perchlorate-contaminated surface water bodies contained detectable concentrations of perchlorate. Additionally, terrestrial organisms were exposed through pathways not necessarily related to contaminated surface waters. Therefore, these data demonstrate that aquatic and terrestrial species are exposed to perchlorate in the environment. To our knowledge, this represents the first incidence of perchlorate exposure among wild animals reported in the scientific literature.
AB - There have been increasing human health and ecological concerns about ionic perchlorate (ClO4-) since it was detected in drinking water sources in 1997. Perchlorate is known to affect thyroid function, causing subsequent hormone disruption and potential perturbations of metabolic activities. According to current estimates, perchlorate is found in the surface or groundwater of 14 states, including Texas. Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant, located in east central Texas, was a facility historically associated with perchlorate-containing propellants and rocket motors. Subsequently, perchlorate contamination in ground and surface waters at the facility has been reported. Soil, sediment, water, vegetation, and animal tissue samples were collected from several locations within the plant for a preliminary site assessment of perchlorate contamination. Perchlorate concentrations ranged from 555-5,557,000 ppb in vegetation, 811-2038 ppb in aquatic insects, below detection limits (ND) to 207 ppb in fish, ND-580 ppb in frogs, and ND-2328 ppb in mammals. Consistent with our hypothesis, aquatic organisms inhabiting perchlorate-contaminated surface water bodies contained detectable concentrations of perchlorate. Additionally, terrestrial organisms were exposed through pathways not necessarily related to contaminated surface waters. Therefore, these data demonstrate that aquatic and terrestrial species are exposed to perchlorate in the environment. To our knowledge, this represents the first incidence of perchlorate exposure among wild animals reported in the scientific literature.
KW - Amphibians
KW - Body burden
KW - Ecological receptor
KW - Fish
KW - Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant
KW - Mammals
KW - Perchlorate
KW - Plants
KW - Wildlife
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0034876937&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1023/A:1016715502717
DO - 10.1023/A:1016715502717
M3 - Article
C2 - 11556118
AN - SCOPUS:0034876937
SN - 0963-9292
VL - 10
SP - 305
EP - 313
JO - Ecotoxicology
JF - Ecotoxicology
IS - 5
ER -