Assessing the ecological risk of metals in sediments

The following series of 15 papers in this issue of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry describe critical research supporting the concept of an equilibrium partitioning-based approach to predicting metal bioavailability and toxicity in sediments. The research described in these papers represents the collective efforts of more than 30 scientists over the course of the last 5 to 6 years. Researchers were from a number of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) laboratories (Duluth, Narragansett, Newport, Athens) and collaborators associated with academic institutions (Manhattan College, University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin-Superior) and private organizations (National Research Council, Battelle, Hydroqual, Science Applications). These papers build upon previously published studies and associated recommendations utilizing interstitial water chemistry and/or metal-AVS relationships for predicting metal bioavailability and toxicity in aquatic sediments. Several of the papers in this series formed the foundation of a recent briefing to the Science Advisory Board (SAB) of the EPA concerning the technical basis for predicting metal bioavailability in sediments, and the associated derivation of metal SQC. Additional manuscripts in the group represent research conducted in response to certain comments made by the SAB in conjunction with that briefing.