Coal Combustion Residuals in Receiving Lake Ecosystems: Trophic Transfer, Toxicity, and Tracers
type: CreativeWork
description: Modern ecotoxicology draws considerable criticism for its lack of ecological relevance despite its history of interdisciplinary research overlap with the fields of conservation biology and ecology. The overarching aim of this dissertation was to unite the goals of these fields in the context of freshwater pollution by coal-fired power plant (CFPP) effluents, which contribute to the largest point source of environmental pollution in the United States and comprise a substantial threat to receiving ecosystems. CFPPs discharge the by-products of coal combustion, collectively referred to as coal combustion residuals (CCRs), into freshwater rivers and lakes through permitted discharges overseen by the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. CCRs are characterized by high concentrations of numerous inorganic elements, many of which are toxic to aquatic organisms. For decades, research on this waste stream has focused on selenium (Se) as an especially toxic trace element for oviparous vertebrates, historically causing severe deformities and species extirpations from which affected ecosystems took decades to recover. The majority of work described here began with a 2015 field survey of three CFPP-associated lakes in North Carolina from which surface waters, sediments, sediment pore waters, biofilm, zooplankton, and resident fish species were collected and analyzed for their trace element profiles by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Initial analyses focusing on Se alone revealed significantly higher tissue liver, muscle, and gonad tissue concentrations in fish from lakes receiving CCR inputs than those from reference systems. At two sites, Mayo Lake and Sutton Lake, water samples and fish tissue concentrations additionally exceeded the US Environmental Protection Agency’s recently revised aquatic life criteria. These analyses were subsequently expanded to consider a more comprehensive suite of ten CCR-associated elements. The results of paired u…
abstract: Modern ecotoxicology draws considerable criticism for its lack of ecological relevance despite its history of interdisciplinary research overlap with the fields of conservation biology and ecology. The overarching aim of this dissertation was to unite the goals of these fields in the context of freshwater pollution by coal-fired power plant (CFPP) effluents, which contribute to the largest point source of environmental pollution in the United States and comprise a substantial threat to receiving ecosystems. CFPPs discharge the by-products of coal combustion, collectively referred to as coal combustion residuals (CCRs), into freshwater rivers and lakes through permitted discharges overseen by the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. CCRs are characterized by high concentrations of numerous inorganic elements, many of which are toxic to aquatic organisms. For decades, research on this waste stream has focused on selenium (Se) as an especially toxic trace element for oviparous vertebrates, historically causing severe deformities and species extirpations from which affected ecosystems took decades to recover. The majority of work described here began with a 2015 field survey of three CFPP-associated lakes in North Carolina from which surface waters, sediments, sediment pore waters, biofilm, zooplankton, and resident fish species were collected and analyzed for their trace element profiles by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Initial analyses focusing on Se alone revealed significantly higher tissue liver, muscle, and gonad tissue concentrations in fish from lakes receiving CCR inputs than those from reference systems. At two sites, Mayo Lake and Sutton Lake, water samples and fish tissue concentrations additionally exceeded the US Environmental Protection Agency’s recently revised aquatic life criteria. These analyses were subsequently expanded to consider a more comprehensive suite of ten CCR-associated elements. The results of paired u…
author: Brandt, Jessica
keywords: Environmental science
date published: 2018
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:07:08Z
provider: Duke University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Duke University

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/10161/16822