Example 7: Selecting Human and Ecological Receptors

g. Are relatively sensitive to the contaminants of concern.

h. Represent various mobility and local feeding ranges.

i. Bioaccumulate contaminants of concern.

j. Are economically important or have Federal/state endangerment status.

k. Exhibit any observed visible evidence of stress.

Much of this information will already be available from the site selection process.

The risk assessment will use the biological and ecological characteristics of the

selected species in the later tasks of estimating exposure and risk to the ecosystem.

The product of this step is a list of human and ecological receptor species

aggregated by functional group. This will be used to develop an estimate of

exposure to COCs, estimate bioaccumulation, and characterize risk. The species

chosen should represent the ecological community and its sensitivity to the

contaminants of concern.

Example 7: Selecting Human and Ecological Receptors

Ecological receptors

The potential receptors in the management site include the invertebrate community that lives on or in the

sediments (the benthos), fish species that inhabit the bay for part of their life cycle or as a foraging area,

and the plankton community of invertebrates, fish larvae, and algae that are suspended in the water

column and carried with the tidal currents into and out of the bay.

Based on the data available for the site, it is clear that the focus of the analysis should be on animals that

have direct contact with the sediments. These animal communities (both invertebrate and fish) tend to

reside longer in particular areas than do plankton (carried with the currents) or fish that inhabit the water

column (e.g., blue fish). Specifically, the environmental receptors which are emphasized in this analysis

are the benthic invertebrate community and the demersal (bottom) fish community.

Within the demersal fish community, this risk assessment uses the winter flounder, (Pseudopleuronectes

americanus) as the representative species because it is the most commonly occurring species in the area,

supports a major commercial fishery in the bay, and is a major predator on bottom dwelling organisms.

Human receptors

The likely human receptors include consumers of winter flounder from the commercial and recreational

fishery.

Chapter 2 Problem Formulation