Recent Scientific Developments in Natural Resource Injury Assessment and Quantification

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1 Recent Scientific Developments in Natural Resource Injury Assessment and Quantification Connie Travers, MS Prepared for: Conference of Western Attorneys General San Francisco, CA July 31, 2017 Abt Associates 1881 Ninth St. Suite 201 Boulder, CO

2 Role of Science in NRDA Who is responsible for the release? (liability) What was released (e.g., hazardous substances, oil)? Where did the contamination go? (pathway) When did the release(s) occur? (timing) What was exposed? (confirmation of exposure) What injuries occurred? What natural resource services were lost and what is the value of those losses? (injury and damage assessment) How can the injuries and service losses be restored? (restoration planning) Abt Associates pg 2

3 Role of Science in NRDA Recent Scientific Developments in Natural Resource Injury Assessment and Quantification Emerging Contaminants Emerging Effects Evolving Methods Abt Associates pg 3

4 Emerging Contaminants Abt Associates pg 4

5 Example: Perfluorochemicals (PFCs) (aka PFASs) Human-made persistent organic compounds Used to make products that resist heat, stains, oil, and water (i.e., non-stick, stain-resistant and waterproof ) Used in textiles and leather products, metal plating, the photographic industry, semi-conductors, paper and packaging, coating additives, cleaning products, and pesticides (U.S. EPA 2014) Fire-fighting foam (for petroleum-based fuels) used at oil refineries, airfields Abt Associates pg 5

6 PFCs PFCs present in blood of people and animals world-wide. Increasing awareness of PFC persistence and mobility Increasing data from toxicity studies, particularly for widely-produced PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFOS (Perfluorooctyl sulfonate) Less known about toxicity of other PFCs. Abt Associates pg 6

7 PFCs Lack of scientific agreement on health effects. Information from studies of laboratory animals and epidemiological studies of humans exposed. Studies finding potential links to bladder and kidney cancer, immunotoxicity in children, risks to developing fetuses and infants Manufacturers (e.g., 3M) argue PFCs have never been proven to cause harm to humans at environmental concentrations. Some researchers concerned by risks to sensitive populations at very low concentrations (parts per trillion levels, less than a drop of food dye in a 1000 Olympic size swimming pools) Increasing litigation over human health effects and natural resource damages from PFC releases Abt Associates pg 7

8 PFCs PFC water contamination sites and public water supplies with PFC detections. Source: Northeastern University Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute data, map by EWG Abt Associates pg 8

9 PFCs Drinking water advisories/health risk limits EPA 2009 MN 2009/2011 EPA 2016 MN 2017 PFOA [ng/l] PFOS [ng/l] Proposed MCL NJ= 14 ng/l for PFOA; DW advisories VT = 20 ng/l for PFOA and PFOS Abt Associates pg 9

10 PFCs Potential effect of criteria on extent of injured groundwater and affected wells PFOA > 400 ng/l PFOA > 35 ng/l Abt Associates pg 10

11 PFCs Fish Consumption Advisories for PFOS Accumulates in fish Biological resource injury definition [43 CFR 11.62(f)(1)(ii) and (iii)] Meal advice categories based on levels of PFOS in fish Level of PFOS in fish [ng/g, or parts per billion (ppb)] Meal frequency 40 Unrestricted > 40 to meal/week > 200 to meal/month > 800 Do not eat Source: Minnesota Department of Health, Abt Associates pg 11

12 PFCs NRDA issues Baseline (i.e., absent the release ) issues: Background concentration in environment (water, biota)? Multiple sources? PFCs not on CERCLA Hazardous Substances List (state law may allow definition as hazardous substance/waste) EPA has not set enforceable drinking water MCLs under SDWA Scientific research ongoing to understand effects on human health and environment. Abt Associates pg 12

13 PFCs Potential injury assessment consequences of states/feds lowering guidelines for PFOA and PFOS New or additional concerns about specific drinking water sources Increased spatial/temporal extent of exposed/injured resources Increased concerns about pathways to other resources Impact on FCAs Abt Associates pg 13

14 PFCs The future for injury assessment for PFC contamination? Minnesota s NRDA litigation against 3M at Cottage Grove for injuries to groundwater, surface water, sediment and aquatic life. Identification of new locations with PFC concentrations creating public, state, and federal concerns Increasing class action and NRDA litigation Abt Associates pg 14

15 Emerging Effects Abt Associates pg 15

16 Deepwater Horizon NRDA Toxicity Testing Abt Associates pg 16

17 Photo-Induced Toxicity of Oil to Aquatic Organisms Photo-Induced Toxicity of Oil to Aquatic Organisms Abt Associates University of North Texas CSIRO (Australia) Abt Associates pg 17

18 Photo-Active PAHs in Oil Unweathered Louisiana Sweet Crude 18 Photo-Active PAH 16 N0 N1 N2 N3 N4 B DF AY AE F0 F1 F2 F3 A0 P0 PA1 PA2 PA3 PA4 DBT0 DBT1 DBT2 DBT3 DBT4 BF FL0 PY0 FP1 FP2 FP3 FP4 NBT0 NBT1 NBT2 NBT3 NBT4 BA0 C0 BC1 BC2 BC3 BC4 BBF BJKF BAF BEP BAP IND DA GHI % composition of total PAHs PAH Analytes Abt Associates pg 18

19 Photo-Induced Toxicity Photo-Sensitization Photo-Modification PAHs in Oil PAHs in Oil Abt Associates pg 19

20 Photo-Sensitization Toxicity increases with average daily UV exposure > 100-fold increase in toxicity at average daily UV in field Abt Associates pg 20

21 Phenanthrene OH-Phenanthrene Phen/OH-Phen Phenanthrene OH-Phenanthrene Phen/OH-Phen Phenanthrene OH-Phenanthrene Phen/OH-Phen Concentration (ng/l) Photo-Modification: Chemistry Measured production of oxy-phenanthrene Apparent increase in anthraquinones Irradiated WAF Non-Irradiated WAF 0.1% 1% 10% Abt Associates pg 21

22 Photo-Modification: Black Bream Concentrated WAF exposed to UV for 4 hours (no organisms) Bream embryos exposed to diluted, irradiated WAF for 24 hours (no UV) LC50 Values Non-irradiated WAF = Irradiated WAF = 72 µg/l TPAH50 (nominal) 11 µg/l TPAH50 (nominal) Toxicity of the exposure solution increases by ~6.5 fold after only 4 hours of UV exposure Abt Associates pg 22

23 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Surface oiling ~100,000 km 2 Potential influence of UV enhanced toxicity on organisms near surface and in shallow water. Abt Associates pg 23

24 Modeling Toxicity Find LCx at environmental UV using slope of line Adjust equation of dose-response curve using adjusted LC50 Abt Associates pg 24

25 Estimating Injuries Deepwater Horizon - UV models generated for several species Daily Integrated UV-A (380 nm, mw-s/cm 2 ) -2 Table LC50 values for fish and invertebrates showing adjustment for phototoxicity. Toxicity increased -4(i.e., 0lower LC50s) with exposure to UV (Lay et al. 2015b). Duration LC50 µg/l TPAH Species Oil (hours) No UV UV-Adjusted -4-8 Ichthyoplankton Oil concentrations that cause Bay anchovy -6 B 48 greater than 20% 1.4mortality 0.1 Speckled -10 sea trout -8 B Red drum-12 A Bay anchovy A Speckled sea trout A Red drum -14 B Mahi-mahi -16 A 96 Water 8.8samples Zooplankton LC20-18 Copepod A Blue crab B Depth (m) 0 Depth (m) TPAH50 g/l Abt Associates pg 25

26 Photo-induced Toxicity Conclusions We observed direct photo-sensitization of oil in all invertebrate and vertebrate species tested We observed increased oil toxicity in UV-irradiated oil-water mixtures suggesting photo-modification UV-enhanced oil toxicity has important implications when evaluating environmental exposures and quantifying injuries to PAHs Abt Associates pg 26

27 Evolving Methods Abt Associates pg 27

28 NRDA ephemeral data collection Ephemeral data time-sensitive data collected to study the environmental impacts of a spill/release Abt Associates pg 28

29 NRDA ephemeral data collection considerations Data collection opportunities and needed evidence may be lost if response slow or unprepared Response teams don t have same goals as teams collecting NRDA data Yellowstone River Oil Spill; Source: NY Times, 7/2/2011 Abt Associates pg 29

30 NRDA ephemeral data collection- State Needs Collect high-priority litigation-quality data to assess exposure, quantify injury for state resources. Don t rely entirely on federal agencies Previously-prepared guidance documents and SOPs for collection of litigation-quality ephemeral data in state-relevant habitats and natural resources Methods to allow field staff to target exposed areas Sufficient trained staff (state and/or contractor) who can respond quickly and competently Abt Associates pg 30

31 NRDA ephemeral data collection Remote Sensing Tools Satellite images, aerial overflights, drones Better target sampling of areas exposed to oil/contaminant releases Collect images/data that can be used to qualitatively or quantitatively support injury assessment Abt Associates pg 31

32 NRDA ephemeral data collection NRDA Lessons Learned/Post-Audit Evaluate data quality and use to improve collection in future spills/releases Improve training and guidance documents Abt Associates pg 32

33 Summary Future NRDA injury assessments may want to consider emerging contaminants, include new information on toxic effects, and work to improve ephemeral data collection methods Questions? Abt Associates pg 33

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35 DWH NRDA The findings and conclusions in this presentation are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the view of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) or any other natural resource Trustee for the BP/Deepwater Horizon (DWH) Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA). Some of the information being presented was used in the development of the DWH Oil Spill Draft Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan/Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement. More information on the DWH NRDA, including data, results, and lists of our collaborators, can be found at: All toxicity testing data now available online: Abt Associates pg 35