An Assessment of the Bioaccumulation of PCBs and Chloridane Near the U.S. Department of Energy's Kansas City Plant

Abstract

Studies conducted by the Missouri Department of Conservation in the late 1980s found high levels of PCBs and chlordane in fish from the Blue River near the Kansas City Plant (KCP). Follow-on biomonitoring studies by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) staff from 1991-1993 (Southworth et al. 1992, Ashwood et al. 1993, Ashwood and Peterson 1994), and again on a more limited basis in 1998 (Ashwood 1998), were conducted for the KCP. The studies in the early 1990s characterized concentrations of PCBs and chlordane in fish from Indian Creek, Boone Creek, and the Blue River. These studies concluded that the KCP appears to be one of multiple sources of PCBs to both Indian Creek and the Blue River. There continues to be interest in the potential role of KCP discharges on PCB concentrations in local fish. Elevated PCB concentrations in Indian Creek fish have consistently been found at the location downstream of the NPDES-permitted 002 discharge, which drains a section of the KCP complex. A risk evaluation conducted during 2001 found that some local fish exceeded risk-based guidelines for PCBs. It has been nearly a decade since intensive sampling of fish was conducted within all waters near the KCP (the 1998more » study included Indian Creek only); therefore, an update study was warranted. The purpose of the present study is to provide PCB and chlordane concentrations in fish useful in determining the potential human health risks associated with fish in waters near the KCP, to evaluate the relative significance of KCP discharges relative to other inputs on fish levels, and to determine if levels have changed in the years since fish were last analyzed. Fish were collected near the KCP for PCB and chlordane analyses in October and November of 2002. Although chlordane does not appear to be associated with the KCP (it was most commonly used to treat household termite infestations until 1988), it is of interest from an overall risk standpoint. Because monitoring change over time is an important component of this effort, the fish sampling locations and species collected were essentially the same as in previous studies. In general, locations were chosen upstream and downstream of major KCP outfalls to help evaluate the importance of those outfalls as sources of PCBs. Green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) and channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) were again the primary species collected.« less