Area A and the rest were from Racine Island. The
(1994) Water, sediment, macroinvertebrate, and
midge larva Chironomus riparius was the most sen-
fish sampling, Eagle River Flats, Fort Richardson,
sitive species to WP in our sediment toxicity stud-
Alaska: 1223 July 1993. U.S. Army Environmental
Hygiene Agency, Final Report Receiving Water Bi-
ies. The lowest LC50 and the lowest NOEL were
256 and 26 g/kg WP, respectively. There are con-
ological Study No. 3224-H1ZV93.
The purpose of conducting this study was to
centrations above these levels in ERF, but our sam-
assist Fort Richardson and CRREL by determining:
pling of the benthic macroinvertebrates found no
1) the concentration of possible contaminants in
adverse effects on the community structure.
the water and sediments of the Eagle River Flats
In recommendation, the data collected in this
(ERF); 2) the concentration of possible contami-
study should be used to help complete the ecolog-
nants migrating into the Eagle River from ERF; 3)
ical and human health risk assessments.
the concentration of white phosphorus (WP) bio-
accumulating in fish; 4) if WP or other contami-
United States Environmental Protection Agency
nants were affecting the benthic macroinverte-
(1995) Method 7580: White phosphorus (P4) by
brates in ERF.
solvent extraction and gas chromatography. In
In conclusion, of all chemicals analyzed, WP
Test methods for evaluating solid waste, physical/
was the only one that could be attributed to the
chemical methods (SW846), Update III. Washing-
army's activities at ERF. There was only weak evi-
ton D.C.: U.S. EPA, Office of Solid Waste, p. 7580-1
dence of WP affecting the number of macroinver-
to 7580-20.
tebrates per unit area, and no evidence that it
Method 7580 may be used to determine the con-
affected the species present or species diversity.
centration of white phosphorus (P4) (CAS Registry
No WP was detected in the stickleback fish living
No. 772314-0) in soil, sediment, and water sam-
in the ponded areas of ERF.
ples. This method includes two different extrac-
In recommendation, the data collected in this
tion procedures for water samples. The first proce-
dure provides sensitivity on the order of 0.01 g/L,
study should be used to help complete the ecolog-
ical and human health risk assessments.
and may be used to assess compliance with Federal
water quality criteria. The second procedure pro-
vides sensitivity on the order of 0.1 g/L. The
U.S. Army Environmental Hygiene Agency
(1995) Evaluation of white phosphorus effects on
method includes one procedure for the extraction of
the aquatic ecosystem, Eagle River Flats, Fort
soil/sediment samples which provides sensitivity
on the order of 1 g/kg. This method has been
Richardson, Alaska: 817 May, 22 August9 Sep-
written as a stand-alone procedure, describing
tember 1994. U.S. Army Environmental Hygiene
both the extraction and analytical techniques.
Agency, Final Report Receiving Water Biological
Study No. 3224-H37Y94.
White phosphorus is solvent extracted and ana-
The purpose for conducting these studies was
lyzed in a gas chromatograph (GC) equipped with
two-fold: 1) to determine if white phosphorus
a nitrogen-phosphorus detector (NPD). (This ab-
(WP) concentrations at Eagle River Flats (ERF) are
stract is a truncated version of the scope and appli-
cation section of method 7580.)
having an adverse impact on the aquatic biota or
bioaccumulating in the aquatic food chain when
Walsh, M.E. (1996) Method for producing perfor-
the ducks and tidal movement have disturbed the
mance evaluation soil/sediment samples for
sediments; 2) to determine a laboratory-derived
no observable effect level (NOEL) concentration
white phosphorus analysis. USA Cold Regions
for WP in sediment.
Research and Engineering Laboratory, Special
In conclusion, the data from these studies indi-
Report 9618.
cate that a WP cleanup level would not be driven
The analysis of performance evaluation sam-
by effects on benthic macroinvertebrates or bio-
ples is a routine part of most quality assurance
accumulation in fish tissue. The benthic macro-
programs. However, performance evaluation
invertebrate data indicate that WP is not affecting
samples are not commercially available for many
the diversity, number of species, or number of or-
contaminants. This report describes the develop-
ganisms per unit area in ERF. Out of 86 fish and
ment of performance evaluation samples for white
invertebrate samples analyzed for WP from three
phosphorus (P4) analysis. To represent the wide
studies, there were low levels detected in only
range of concentrations that have been measured
three fish samples and one invertebrate sample in
in field-contaminated sediment and soil samples,
the fall 1994 study. One fish sample came from
two types of performance evaluation samples
86
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