Development of Development of Chemistry IndicatorsChemistry Indicators

Steven BaySouthern California Coastal Water Research Project

(SCCWRP)

steveb@sccwrp.org

Presentation OverviewPresentation Overview

Workplan update and response to comments

Project status

Preliminary results

– Data screening

– Normalization

– SQG comparison

Chemistry IndicatorsChemistry Indicators

A methodology for interpreting sediment chemistry data relative to impacts on benthic organisms (e.g., an SQG approach with numeric values)

Link to pollutants of concern Familiar approach Many available data Several challenges to effective use

– Bioavailability

– Unmeasured chemicals

– Mixtures

ObjectivesObjectives

Identify important geographic, geochemical, or other factors that affect relationship between chemistry and effects

Develop indicator(s) that reflect contaminant exposure

Develop indicator(s) that are protective and predictive of impacts

Develop thresholds for use in MLOE framework

ApproachApproach Develop a database of CA sediment quality

information for use in developing and validating indicators

– Address concerns and uncertainty regarding influence of regional factors

– Document performance of recommended indicators

Develop both empirical and mechanistic indicators, if possible

– Both types have desirable attributes for SQO use

– Investigate existing and new approaches

– Emphasis is on priority chemicals identified as likely causes of impairment

ApproachApproach Evaluate SQG performance

– Use CA data

– Use quantitative and consistent approach

– Select methods with best performance for expected applications

Describe response levels (thresholds)

– Consistent with needs of MLOE framework

– Based on observed relationships with biological effects

SSC CommentsSSC Comments More detail needed regarding data screening,

matching, establishment of validation dataset

Lack of clarity regarding the respective roles of empirical and mechanistic guidelines

– Approaches not interchangeable

– How will mechanistic guidelines be developed/validated?

– Should use all available approaches, but how?

An evolving and thorough process, an overview is included in this presentation

A conceptual plan is included in this presentation, your input is welcome

SSC CommentsSSC Comments Clarify how metals normalization results will be

used

Provide greater independence of chemistry line of evidence

More detail needed regarding calibration of guidelines and comparison of performance (within CA and nationally)

Will explore utility in improving guideline performance and establishing background concentrations

Agree this is an important goal, part of motivation for using mechanistic guidelines and metal normalization

A revised comparison approach is proposed that is more consistent with MLOE framework

TasksTasks

1. Prepare development and validation datasets

2. Develop and refine SQGs

3. Evaluate SQGs

4. Describe response levels

Task 1: Prepare DatasetsTask 1: Prepare Datasets

Create high quality standardized datasets for development and validation activities

Evaluate data quality and completeness– matched chemistry and biology

– Appropriate habitat

– Data quality, nondetects Calculate derived values

– e.g., sums, means, quotients Normalize data

– e.g., metals, TOC Stratify and subset data

– Independent validation data– Address geographic or mixture patterns

Substantial progress made

Bay/Estuary Samples inBay/Estuary Samples inDatabaseDatabase

Regional

BoardChem Tox Benthos

Chem

+

Tox

Chem

+

Benthos

Tox

+

Benthos

Chem

Tox

Benthos

North Coast 6 11 0 22 0 0 34

Central Coast 3 0 0 58 3 0 8

SF Bay 552 19 0 680 37 0 230

Los Angeles 827 11 0 294 15 0 187

Santa Ana 156 8 0 104 0 0 137

San Diego 216 2 0 271 3 0 285

Data ScreeningData Screening Appropriate habitat and geographic range

– Subtidal, embayment, surface sediment samples

Chemistry data screening

– Valid data (from qualifier information)

– Estimated nondetect values

– Completeness (metals and PAHs)

Toxicity data screening

– Target test method selection

– Valid data (control performance)

– Lack of ammonia interference

Selection of matched data

– Same station, same sampling event

Bay/Estuary Samples inBay/Estuary Samples inDatabase After ScreeningDatabase After Screening

Regional

BoardChem Tox Benthos

Chem

+

Tox

Chem

+

Benthos

Tox

+

Benthos

Chem

Tox

Benthos

North Coast 0 0 0 13 0 0 34

Central Coast 0 0 0 45 0 0 8

SF Bay 0 0 0 351 0 0 184

Los Angeles 0 0 0 89 0 0 130

Santa Ana 0 0 0 101 0 0 122

San Diego 0 0 0 267 0 0 203

Validation DatasetValidation Dataset

Used to confirm performance of recommended SQGs

Independent subset of SQO database

Approximately 30% of data, selected randomly to represent contamination gradient

Includes acute and chronic toxicity tests

Metal NormalizationMetal Normalization Metals occur naturally in the environment

– Silts and clays have higher metal content– Source of uncertainty in identifying anthropogenic

impact– Background varies due to sediment type and regional

differences in geology

Need to differentiate between natural background levels and anthropogenic input– Investigate utility for empirical guideline development– Potential use for establishing regional background

levels

Reference Element NormalizationReference Element Normalization

Established methodology applied by geologists and environmental scientists

Reference element covaries with natural sediment metals and is insensitive to anthropogenic inputs

Use of iron as reference element validated for southern California

– 1994 and 1998 Bight regional surveys

Reference Element NormalizationReference Element NormalizationC

hro

miu

m (

mg

/kg

)

Iron (%)

Reference Element NormalizationReference Element NormalizationC

hro

miu

m (

mg

/kg

)

Iron (%)

Reference Element NormalizationReference Element NormalizationNickel Copper

Use iron:metal relationships to:

Estimate amount of anthropogenic metal for use in SQG development

Identify background metal concentrations

Task 2: Develop/Refine SQGsTask 2: Develop/Refine SQGs

Investigate a variety of approaches or refinements and pursue those with the best potential for success.

Focus on mixture models, empirical and mechanistic

Apply existing approaches (off the shelf)

Refine existing approaches

Calibrate existing approaches

Develop new approaches

Work in progress

SQG ApproachesSQG ApproachesSQG Metric Source

ERM Mean Quotient Long et al. &

CA-specific

Consensus MEC Mean Quotient MacDonald et al, Swartz, SCCWRP

SQGQ-1 Mean Quotient Fairey et al.

Logistic Regression

Pmax Field et al. &

CA-specific

AET Exceedance CA-specific

EqP Organics Sum TU EPA + CA Toxics Rule

EqP Metals Potential for Tox. EPA

Mechanistic vs. Empirical SQGsMechanistic vs. Empirical SQGs Differences in utility for predicting impacts and

determining causation Both types of information needed for

interpretation of chemistry data

– Mechanistic SQG results will be useful for subsequent applications needing to identify cause of impairment

Anticipate chemistry LOE score will be based on combination of SQGs

– Complementary, not interchangeable

– Several strategies possible, looking for input on recommended approach

Proposed Scoring For Proposed Scoring For Multiple SQGsMultiple SQGs

HighHigh probability of effect for empirical or EqP organics SQGs

ModerateSubstantial probability of effect for empirical or EqP organics SQGs or concordance among SQGs

MarginalIncreased probability of effect in at least one SQG

ReferenceConcordance among all SQGs of low probability of effect (background condition)

Guideline CalibrationGuideline Calibration

Use of CA chemistry/effects data to adjust empirical guideline models or thresholds

– LRM: model and thresholds

– Effects range: CA-specific values and thresholds

– AET: CA-specific values

– Consensus & SQGQ-1: thresholds

Comparisons between existing and calibrated SQG results used to guide recommendations

– Only use calibrated values if improved performance can be demonstrated

Task 3: Evaluate ApproachesTask 3: Evaluate Approaches

Document and compare performance of candidate SQGs approaches in a manner relevant to desired applications

Compare overall discriminatory ability Identify applications

Quantify performance– Validation dataset– Standardized measures

Compare performance and identify the most suitable approaches

Work in progress

Performance ComparisonPerformance Comparison

Approach

– Focus on empirical guidelines

– Compare among candidates to select a short list

– Compare to existing approaches to evaluate need for new/calibrated approaches

Previous strategy for comparison

– Current work plan: Binary evaluation (effect/no effect)

– Calculate several measures of performance

Performance MeasuresPerformance Measures

Guideline Value

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Freq

uenc

y

True Positive(Hit/Toxic)

Toxic Sample Distribution

A

BFalse Negative(No Hit/Toxic)

AB

Threshold

Nontoxic Sample Distribution

True Negative(No Hit/Nontoxic)

DC

False Positive(Hit/Nontoxic)

CD

Negative Predictive Value =C/(C+A) x 100(percent of no hits that are nontoxic)

Specificity=C/(C+D) x 100(percent of all nontoxic samples that are classified as a no hit)

Positive Predictive Value =B/(B+D) x 100(percent of hits that are toxic)

Sensitivity=B/(B+A) x 100(percent of all toxic samples that are classified as a hit)

Performance ComparisonPerformance Comparison

Proposed revised strategy

Evaluate ability to classify stations into multiple categories

– More consistent with MLOE approach

– Less reliance on a single threshold

– Magnitude of error affects score

Utilize both toxicity and benthic impact data

 Observed Toxicity

 Predicted Effect From SQG

High Moderate Marginal Reference

High 60 30 20 1

Moderate 33 50 25 0

Marginal 10 14 65 6

Reference 3 7 20 25 

  

SQG 1 SQG 1

Kappa StatisticKappa Statistic

Developed in 1960-70’s

Used in medicine, epidemiology, & psychology

to evaluate observer agreement/reliability

– Similar problem to SQG assessment

– Can incorporate a penalty for extreme disagreement

Sediment quality assessment is a new application

 Observed Toxicity

Kappa = 0.48 Predicted Effect From SQG

High Moderate Marginal Reference

High 60 30 20 1

Moderate 33 50 25 0

Marginal 10 14 65 6

Reference 3 7 20 25 

  

SQG 1SQG 1(good association between adjacent categories) (good association between adjacent categories)

SQG 2 SQG 2 (Poor association between adjacent categories)(Poor association between adjacent categories)

 Observed Toxicity

Kappa = 0.27 Predicted Effect From SQG

High Moderate Marginal Reference

High 60 1 20 30

Moderate 33 50 0 25

Marginal 14 10 65 6

Reference 20 7 3 25 

Task 4: Describe Response LevelsTask 4: Describe Response Levels

Determine levels of response for the recommended SQG approaches

Relate SQGs to biological effect indicator responses (benthos & toxicity)

– May use statistical methods to optimize thresholds

Select response levels that correspond to objectives for performance and beneficial use protection

Methodology under development

SummarySummary Work on many key elements underway

– Priority is to build upon existing approaches

– Many of the technical obstacles have been dealt with

Overall approach is consistent with SSC recommendations

– Include empirical and mechanistic approaches

Expect to succeed in selecting recommended SQGs for use in MLOE framework

Much work remains, especially for development of thresholds