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Introduction For our fresh and estuarine waters, toxic chemical pollution is a significant “stressor” (pressure on the environment caused by environmental stress). The primary types of pollutants addressed in this fact sheet are: (1) organic chemicals like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), pesticides, and dioxins and furans – bonded forms of carbon, hydrogen and other atoms that break down slowly into their component parts, which can also be toxic to living things; (2) heavy metals, and (3) a new class of chemicals referred to as “emerging contaminants” that have not traditionally been monitored or regulated. Those include persistent organic chemicals like polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and perflourinated chemicals (PFCs) as well as pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs). Such contaminants are being found worldwide in aquatic environments, including the rivers and estuarine waters of the Ashley/Cooper River Basin. Major pathways by which toxic chemicals enter our watershed are illustrated in the diagram below.

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(CBEP 2010)

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Sources of Toxic Chemicals

Organic Chemicals: PCBs are potent carcinogens formerly used in electric transformers and other industrial applications. While they were banned in the 1970s, they are still found in old landfills and dumps. Planar PCBs, the most toxic form of PCBs, are found in commercial PCB mixtures. PAHs come primarily from combustion of fossil fuels and wood, but oil, fuel spills and asphalt are also sources. Pesticides are largely carried from lawns and fields to water bodies through stormwater runoff. Although banned since 1972, the pesticide DDT and its toxic breakdown products still persist in the environment. Dioxins and furans are formed when organic material is burned in the presence of chlorine. Incineration, pulp paper manufacturing, coal-fired utilities, diesel vehicles and metal smelting are all sources of dioxin in the environment.

Heavy Metals: Heavy metals are dense metallic elements such as lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, silver, nickel, selenium, chromium, zinc and copper. Because they do not break down over time, metals delivered from point sources, stormwater runoff, or atmospheric

deposition can accumulate in the environment. Mercury can bind with organic chemicals forming methyl mercury, which can be highly toxic. Sources of heavy metals include vehicle emissions, industrial processes, coal combustion, weathering of metal pipes, and incineration. Butyltins are toxic organometallic compounds, molecules in which metal is bonded to a carbon atom in an organic molecule. Butyltins enter sediments primarily from marine anti-fouling paints.

Emerging Contaminants: PBDEs are organic contaminants used as flame retardants in a variety of consumer products. They enter the environment through runoff, municipal waste incineration and sewage outflows, as well as by leaching from consumer products, sewage

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sludge applied to land as bio-solids, and industrial discharges. PFCs are heat-resistant, slippery industrial chemicals that are used, for example, as water, stain and grease repellants (e.g., Teflon). They are released into the environment through manufacturing processes, as well as through industrial and consumer use and disposal. PPCPs include over-the-counter and prescription drugs, as well as personal hygiene and beauty products like soaps, hairspray and sunscreen. When consumers wash off, excrete, or discard such products down drains, they can pass through septic systems and wastewater treatment plants into the environment.

Biomagnifcation

Pollutants introduced to the water column via runoff, point sources or atmospheric deposition may become absorbed onto particles or bound to organic materials. They may sink into bottom sediments where they exist in a complex equilibrium with the water. They may be transformed into more toxic forms, such as the methylation of mercury by bacteria in the aquatic environment. Bound pollutants may be released into the water when organic materials degrade. Some riverine pollutants may be released from particles when they enter the saline waters of estuaries. Bottom-dwelling (benthic) organisms are highly exposed to sediment contamination. For example, when small invertebrates feed on sediment particles, contaminants may be released into solution in their acidic digestive tracts and become part of body tissues. Persistent organic pollutants (PCBs and pesticides that degrade slowly and may have been introduced in the past) as well as emerging organic contaminants (like PBDEs and PFCs) and heavy metals can accumulate in the bodies of resident marine organisms. When prey organisms are consumed, pollutants can accumulate in the predator, increasing in concentration with each step up the food chain through a process called biomagnification. Top level consumers include not only aquatic fish and mammals but humans as well. For example, PFCs and PBDEs are found globally in wildlife and human populations.

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Sentinel Species

It is important to monitor the levels of organic pollutants, heavy metals and other toxic contaminants in the water and sediments of our watershed. Our understanding of the levels of these pollutants is discussed in our Fact Sheet: Estuarine Habitat and Human Development. It is also vitally important to measure the spatial and temporal impacts of pollutants on the organisms that inhabit our ecosystem. Key local organisms can help us to understand what potential health and environmental risks toxic pollutants pose and whether the risks are increasing or decreasing over time. These organisms are called sentinel species. Sampling tissues from resident organisms (such as dolphins, sea turtles, oysters, eagles and terrapins) and measuring the loading of pollutants in their bodies and related health impacts is called biomonitoring.

Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin

A close connection exists between marine ecosystem health and human health. In coastal regions with high levels of human activity (e.g., agriculture, municipal waste and industrial pollutant discharges and urban stormwater run-off) there may be adverse impacts to resident populations of marine mammals as well as to human health. As long-lived predators at the top of the food chain, resident marine mammals such as dolphins and seals experience biomagnification of contaminants. These mammals act as ideal sentinels, reflecting spatial and temporal trends in the health of the marine ecosystems and potentially providing early warnings of current or impending negative exposures and risks to human health. They can help us to focus remediation and reduction efforts.

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Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), the most common member of the Delphinidae family in the southeast U.S., are year-round residents of Charleston’s coastal waters. Their behavior, physiology and life histories contribute to the concentration of organic pollutants in their bodies and make them an ideal sentinel species. For example, they are long-lived (70 years), late maturing consumers of fish (which are a higher source of organic contaminants than meat or dairy). Their blubber accumulates and stores many types of organic pollutants. In addition, their bodies have a lower capacity to detoxify and eliminate many persistent organic pollutants, increasing the potential for health effects to become apparent.

While the specific health impacts on marine mammals remain uncertain, studies of other animals link PCBs with endocrine (hormonal), neurological, reproductive, developmental, immune system and cellular health effects. PAHs have been linked, for example, to cancer and changes in the immune system. Studies of the toxicity of PBDEs and PFCs in lab animals also show negative health effects including immune system and endocrine (hormone) system toxicity.

Organic Pollutants in Charleston’s Dolphins

During the summers of 2003–2013, Dr. Patricia Fair (a federal scientist based at the Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research in Charleston) and a team of colleagues studied organic contaminants in the blubber and blood of dolphins from sites in Charleston and the Indian River Lagoon in Florida. The animals were captured, released and tagged to identify individuals. Both sites are under environmental stress, with the Florida site under pressure from extensive residential development and agriculture. The Charleston ecosystem has more effective tidal exchange than the shallow Florida lagoon site but is under considerable pressure from a growing population, an active seaport, and a legacy of industrial pollutants (see our Fact Sheets on Estuarine Habitat and Human Development and History and Economics of Our Watershed). High concentrations of heavy metals, PCBs and pesticides have been detected in the sediments of Charleston Harbor and the Ashley and Cooper Rivers. The Charleston dolphin sampling locations included Charleston Harbor, the main channels and creeks of the Ashley, Cooper and Wando Rivers and the Stono River Estuary.

PCBs, DDTs, PBDEs, PFCs in Blubber

During 2003-2005, Dr. Fair’s research team assessed blubber concentrations of PCBs, PAHs, pesticides, PBDEs and PFCs in 67 dolphins collected in the Charleston area and 72 dolphins from Indian River Lagoon. Total PCBs were the dominant persistent organic contaminants found, followed by total DDT. Mean total PCBs in adult male dolphins exceeded the established toxicity threshold (17 mg/kg) by about 5-fold. The blubber of some individual

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animals had 15 times the toxicity threshold. Persistent organic pollutants are generally at lower concentrations in the blubber of female dolphins of reproductive age than males or juveniles because the females can transfer some of the contaminants to their babies during gestation and through their milk.

While 88% of the dolphins from both Charleston and the Florida site exceeded the toxicity threshold for PCBs, the Charleston male dolphins had consistently higher levels of total PCBs (and DDTs as well). PBDEs and PFCs were also significantly higher in the Charleston animals. In fact, total PCB, DDT and PBDE blubber concentrations in the Charleston dolphins are among the highest reported values that have been measured in marine mammals! Charleston’s dolphins are carrying a body burden of organic contaminants that exceeds the levels at which adverse health effects have been seen in wildlife, humans and lab animals.

While production of PCBs has been banned in the USA since 1979 and they have a half-life of 20 – 40 years, they still persist in the environment due to inadequate disposal and storage and ongoing use in materials and products. Scientists predict that globally the levels of PCBs in marine animals may not decline for another 40 years. As contaminants that can suppress the immune system, PCBs may have contributed to the death of large numbers of dolphins along the Atlantic coast in 1987/88. DDTs, banned in the USA since 1972, are slowly declining in marine ecosystems.

PFCs in Blood

Dr. Fair’s team also sampled the blood plasma of dolphins from Charleston Harbor (76 dolphins) and Indian River Lagoon (81 dolphins). Levels of PFCs were significantly higher in the Charleston dolphins. Charleston dolphins have been shown to have among the highest levels of PFCs seen in marine mammals, at the same level of magnitude as humans who are occupationally exposed to PFCs. The highest levels of total PFCs were seen in juveniles (2340 ng/g wet weight). This is likely due to the maternal transfer of PFCs during nursing as well as accumulation from prey consumed, suggesting that young dolphins are at risk of serious health effects. Detailed analysis of the blood taken from the Charleston dolphins during this study has shown that their chronic exposure to elevated levels of PFCs appears to be producing changes in their immune system function, in their blood cell production system, and in liver and kidney function.

PAHs in Blubber

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PAHs were detected at low levels in the blubber of 12 of 17 Charleston area dolphins sampled from the 2003 and 2005 sampling periods. Since dolphins have the ability to detoxify and eliminate petroleum hydrocarbons like PAHs, their presence in the blubber of sampled animals suggests that more PAHs are present in the local environment than the animals can handle. Further study will be necessary to determine if PAHs are toxic to these animals when their body’s ability to detoxify them is overloaded or with mixtures of chemicals.

Triclosan Study

In addition to the emerging contaminants PBDEs and PFCS discussed above, another class of emerging contaminants is Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs). These pollutants enter our waters largely through wastewater treatment plants, where the processes that treat wastes are not designed or equipped to remove the complex cocktail of potentially harmful chemicals in drugs and personal hygiene and beauty products that enter the waste stream.

One personal care product pollutant that has been detected in humans, animals and in Charleston dolphins is triclosan, a widely-used antibacterial chemical that can potentially interfere with hormone metabolism. Triclosan is found, for example, in toothpaste, soap, mouthwash and infused in kitchen products like trash bags. It is also used as a pesticide in products like mattresses and flooring materials. Triclosan was found at a concentration of 190 ng/L in effluent from two Charleston area wastewater treatment plants. During the 2005 sampling season of the dolphin study discussed above, scientists assessed blood plasma concentrations of triclosan in the local resident dolphin population. It was detected in 4 of 13 sampled Charleston dolphins, at concentrations similar to those seen in the blood of sampled humans. This was the first study to report the accumulation of triclosan in a marine mammal. While it is not known at what concentrations chronic exposure to triclosan becomes a health hazard, this study confirmed the value of dolphins as a sentinel species to assess PPCPs in the environment.

Health Assessment of Charleston’s Dolphins

As part of the 2003-2005 dolphin sampling study described above, a total of 82 dolphins from the estuarine waters near Charleston were net captured and evaluated for health status. Each animal was given a physical examination, and then released. The exam included: an ultrasound, teeth, blood and serum analysis, skin and blubber biopsy, gastric fluid assessment and microscopic study of blowhole cells. A panel of 5 marine mammal veterinarians evaluated the health of each dolphin and assigned them to one of three categories: normal, possibly diseased or definitely diseased.

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Sixteen of the Charleston dolphins were categorized as definitely diseased (19.5% of the total) and 25 were categorized as possibly diseased (30.5% of the total). Pathological findings included gastric or blowhole inflammation, blood cell and chemistry anomalies and the presence of oral and genital tumors (papillomas) associated with viral infection. Only 50% of the dolphins evaluated were considered normal. In the 6 to 10 year age category, 63.6% of the dolphins were in the definitely diseased category. Overall, the prevalence of disease was similar in dolphins collected from the Indian River Lagoon site in Florida. It is noteworthy, however, that there was a three-fold increase in the observed percentage of Charleston dolphins considered definitely diseased across all age categories between 2003 and 2005. Dolphin health assessments were also conducted during 2013 in 19 dolphins in Charleston and only 4 dolphins (21%) were considered healthy.

Land Use and PFCs in Dolphins

Jeffrey Adams (previously based at the Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research in Charleston) and colleagues used blood samples collected during the 2003-2005 dolphin study in Charleston to compare the concentration of PFCs in blood to land uses at the various Charleston sampling sites. Each site was assigned to one of three subareas based on habitat and degree of urban/industrial development: Ashley-Cooper Wando (high degree of industrial and urban land use), Charleston Harbor (high degree of industrial and urban land use) and the Stono River Estuary (residential, lower degree of developed land use).

Dolphins from the Ashley Cooper Wando and Charleston Harbor subareas had significantly higher concentrations of three types of PFC compounds in their blood than those collected in the Stono River Estuary subarea. Overall, the distribution of PFCs showed that the higher concentrations in dolphin blood were correlated with developed land uses and the lower concentrations with more wetland, marsh types of land use. The study suggests that the impacts of urbanization in our watershed and the resulting increases in PFCs entering the environment are clearly observable and can be detected in sentinel dolphins at a much finer spatial scale than has previously been observed.

Implications for Humans

The high levels of organic contaminants detected in our local sentinel dolphins have already raised concerns about the African-American Gullah people of the Sea Islands whose diet includes local fish. An ongoing study led by Dr. Diane Kamen at the Medical University of South Carolina has focused on Gullah people with close relatives who have the autoimmune

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disease lupus. These people are at higher risk of developing lupus than the general population. The study looks at dietary consumption of fish, blood levels of PBDEs and PFCs, and the presence of lupus “markers” (antibodies that indicate autoimmune activity in the body). Surveys indicate that 40% of the respondents from this at-risk population consume fish known to have high levels of PBDEs and PFCs. Preliminary results suggest that blood serum levels of the PFOS and PFOA (PFCs) are higher in the study subjects who have lupus markers, suggesting that these organic contaminants may play a pathogenic role in triggering autoimmune disease.

Next Steps

As a follow up to the 2003-2005 dolphin studies, Dr. Fair and colleagues plan to identify sources of PFCs in our watershed. In November 2013, they collected sediments at 42 randomly selected sites including riverine sites at the Upper Cooper River and estuarine sites at the Lower Cooper River, the Lower Ashley River and Charleston Harbor. Sampling sites were also selected at Shipyard Creek and the Koppers Superfund site. Samples will be assessed for PFCs, PCBs, PAHs, pesticides, PBDEs, and a suite of metals. The study is planned as part of a comprehensive “mud to mammals” assessment of the sources, fate and effects of organic contaminants on dolphins as environmental sentinels. Charleston Waterkeeper is working cooperatively with Dr. Fair to identify potential sources of contaminants in the sampling areas, including industrial discharges, landfills, and wastewater treatment plants.

It is sobering to learn that our local dolphins have among the highest levels of some organic pollutants seen globally in marine mammals and that half of the Charleston dolphins sampled are suffering from environmentally-related symptoms and diseases – These facts serve as an important reminder that the waterways we all share is fragile and vitally in need of our stewardship.

Loggerhead Sea Turtles

Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) are widely distributed carnivores, eating primarily invertebrates. The juveniles spend their summers over a period of 11+ years, the length of this life stage, in a preferred home range. During the summer, they accumulate organic contaminants that reflect the local pollutants, making them a useful sentinel species. A study conducted by Dr. Steven G. O’Connell of Hollings Marine Lab in Charleston and co-researchers examined 163 blood plasma or serum samples from captured and released turtles collected over nine years (2000-2008) during multiple long-term field studies. They assessed the spatial and temporal trends of 13 types of PFCs in these reptiles.

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Spatial Patterns

The study looked at juvenile loggerheads captured between spring and early fall from sites in Chesapeake Bay, Core Sound (North Carolina), Charleston, Cape Canaveral and Florida Bay. Turtles from Chesapeake Bay and Florida Bay had the highest plasma PFC concentrations seen. PFOS (perfluooctane sulfonate) was the most common PFC found in turtles at all sites, with a range of .31 ng/g to 39 ng/g (note that this is considerably lower than the 2340 ng/g wet weight PFC level seen in juvenile dolphins in the 2003-2005 study). This study looked at the relationship between human population density of near coastal areas and the concentration of PFCs in the environment. Population density accounted for 75% of the variance in blood levels of PFOS and 81% of the variance in levels of perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnA, a breakdown product). For example, Charleston has a lower population density than either the Chesapeake Bay or the Florida Bay sites and had a lower concentration of these PFCs in locally collected loggerhead blood samples. PFOS enter the environment largely through consumer use and disposal of carpets treated with stain repellents and waterproofed clothing. This suggests that humans living close to the coast likely contribute more PFOS and PFUnA to the environment through nonpoint sources than do either point sources or atmospheric transport from distant sources.

Temporal Trend in PFOS in Charleston’s Turtles

PFOS were generally found in increasing concentrations in the environment from the 1970s to the early 2000s. In 2002, after widespread detection of PFOS in wildlife and humans, the major global manufacturer of PFOS chemicals (3M), agreed to phase out production of PFOS-related products. As part of the loggerhead study, researchers undertook a temporal trend analysis of loggerheads captured near Charleston (between 32.20 degrees N to 32.95 degrees N latitude). For the nine-year period studied (2000 to 2008), there was a significant trend of decreasing concentration (20% annually) of PFOS in the blood of loggerheads. Other studies have also showed a decrease in levels of PFOS in wildlife and humans since the 3M product phase-out. It is encouraging that even a highly stable and widespread contaminant will decline over time when humans take action to stop polluting the environment.

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Mercury Sentinels and Human Health Issues

Mercury is a poisonous neurotoxin that enters the atmosphere primarily via coal-fired power plants. It can be carried great distances until it is deposited by wind and rain on land and water where it can enter the food chain. Transformed into highly toxic methylmercury by bacteria, it can biomagnify in the tissues of predatory animals, including the salt and freshwater fish eaten by humans. In South Carolina, most rivers and lakes have mercury-contaminated fish. Though there are no “mercury hot spots” (areas where the levels of mercury in fish are unusually high) in

our watershed, nearby in the Black and Edisto Rivers and Four Holes Swamp, for example, are some of the worst mercury hot spots in the United States. The Charleston Post and Courier, as part of a series called “The Mercury Connection” (2007-2012) sampled the blood of 41 local people to assess the levels of mercury. Of those tested, 17 people who regularly eat freshwater fish had blood mercury levels above the level considered safe by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

In addition to issuing general consumption advisories, the state has issued guidelines regarding consumption of freshwater and certain salt water fish for high risk groups, including women of child-bearing age and children under 14, groups which represent 43% of the South Carolina’s population. DHEC recommends that individuals in these groups:

• Eat only 1 meal of freshwater fish per week from any water body without an advisory. • Do not eat any fish from water bodies with an advisory • Do not eat any (saltwater) king mackerel, shark, swordfish, tilefish or cobia

For a complete list of up-to-date fish consumption advisories and information for individuals in at risk groups, see: https://www.scdhec.gov/environment/water/fish/.

Diamondback Terrapins

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Diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) are studied as a proposed mercury sentinel in our watershed. These small turtles are found along the Atlantic coast from Cape Cod south to Florida in estuarine and brackish marshes, rivers and mangrove swamps. The sulfate-reducing bacteria that convert mercury to highly toxic methylmercury are common in t h e s e a q u a t i c e n v i r o n m e n t s . Methylmercury concentrates in the tissues of snails and other turtle prey organisms.

A study conducted in 2004 by a team of local scientists led by Gaelle Blanvillain from the College of Charleston, and a team of research sc ien t i s t s no ted tha t l eve ls o f methylmercury were 173.5 times higher in diamondback terrapins than in the large saltmarsh periwinkles (Littoraria irrorata) that they consume, evidence of biomagnification. As part of this study, turtles were captured, sampled and released at four South Carolina sites, including Charleston Harbor and one site near Brunswick, Georgia, to assess their usefulness as sentinels for mercury in the estuarine environment.

Scrapings from the shell plates (scutes) of the turtle proved to be good predictors of levels of mercury pollution exposure. Female turtles sampled had higher levels of mercury in their scutes, likely due to the larger head size of females, which allows them to eat larger snails with higher body concentrations of mercury. The scutes of turtles from the Georgia site, a known hot spot for mercury pollution (750-12,660 ng/g sediment) had high concentrations of mercury, reflecting their high exposure. By contract, the turtles from South Carolina sites, including Charleston Harbor (the Ashley River estuary), had lower levels of mercury in their scutes, reflecting the lower levels of mercury in the local sediments (1.9 – 470 ng/g). Since 90% of the mercury stored in scutes proved to be in the form of organic methylmercury, this study suggests that the diamond back terrapin can serve as an effective sentinel species for levels of mercury and highly toxic methylmercury pollution in the estuarine areas they inhabit.

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Bald Eagles B a l d e a g l e s ( H a l i a e e t u s leucocephalus) like dolphins, are top level fish predators and susceptible to contaminants that biomagnify, increasing in concentration with each step up the food chain. Since the 1972 ban on use of DDT in pesticides, bald eagles have made a dramatic recovery nationally. For example, numbers in South Carolina have risen from 13 breeding pairs in the 1960s to the current 300 breeding pairs. The high and pervasive levels of mercury in North America are posing a threat to the continued recovery of eagles and other fish-eating birds. While local eagles have less mercury in their bodies than eagles from many parts of the United States, a 1998-1999 study of blood and feather samples from South Carolina bald eagles conducted by Dr. Charles Jagoe from the University of Georgia found that nestling birds are accumulating mercury in their tissues and that concentrations in older birds may put them at risk for health impacts.

Toxic Sentinels: Bivalves

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration (NOAA) has monitored bivalves (mussels or oysters) annually at 300 sites in the nation’s coastal waters since 1986. Mussels and oysters are considered excellent sentinel organisms because they filter particles, including contaminants, out of the water as they feed, ingesting them and assimilating them into their tissues. Since they are located low in the food chain, the presence of contaminants in these bivalves means higher level consumers may be at risk. The NST program is designed to assess national status and trends in concentrations of chemical pollutants. A twenty-year summary released in 2008 compared data from the sampling sites on a national and regional basis as well as analyzing trends over time. Two sites in Charleston Harbor are part of the program (Fort Johnson and Shutes Folly Island). Results for pollutants in oysters from local sites were as follows (as compared to regional and/or national sites):

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As expected, pesticides that are now banned in the United States are declining in the tissues of sentinel bivalves. DDTs were banned in the United States in 1972. The pesticide dieldrin has been banned in the United States since 1987 and chlordane since 1988. The decline in butyltins reflects the national restrictions in the use of organotins in anti-fouling paints since 1988.

What We Have Learned

The results of these sentinel studies (Dolphins, Loggerhead Sea Turtles, Bivalves, Bald Eagles, Diamondback Terrapins) indicate that the toxic chemicals that enter the Ashley/Cooper River Basin and move downstream to Charleston Harbor are finding their way into both wildlife and humans, some at concentrations that are health-threatening. The dolphins, turtles and eagles

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that share our watershed are under stress from toxic pollutants. Using these animals as environmental sentinels through biomonitoring programs is a useful way to learn of current or impending negative exposures and risks to ecosystem and human health. It is also possible to use sentinel monitoring to observe spatial trends in concentrations of toxic pollutants in sentinel organisms, even at a local scale, and link them to land use and developmental pressures.

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Sources

Adams, Jeffrey, Magali Houde, Derek Muir, Todd Speakman, Gregory Bossart, and Patricia Fair. 2008. “Land use and spatial distribution of perfluoroalkyl compounds as measured in the plasma of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).” Marine Environmental Research. (66) 430-437.

Blanvillain, Gaelle, Jeffrey A. Schwenter, Rusty D. Day, David Point, Steven J. Christopher, William A. Roumillat, and David W. Owens. 2007. “Diamondback terrapins, Malaclemys terrapin, as a sentinel species for mercury pollution of estuarine systems in South Carolina and Georgia, USA.” Environmental Technology and Chemistry. 26(7) 1441-1450.

Casco Bay Estuary Partnership. 2010. State of the Bay. http://www.cascobay.usm.maine.edu/toxicsreport07.html (January 24, 2013)

Fair, Patricia A., Gregory Mitchim, Thomas C. Hulsey, Jeff Adams, Eric Zohlman, Wayne McFee, Ed Wirth, and Gregory D. Bossart. 2007. “Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in blubber of free-ranging bottle-nose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from two southeast Atlantic estuarine areas.” Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. (53) 483-494.

Fair, Patricia, Hing-Bu Lee, Jeff Adams, Colin Darling, Grazina Pacepavicius, Mehran Alaee, Gregory D. Bossart, Natasha, and Derek Muir. 2009. “Occurrence of triclosan in plasma of wild Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and their environment.” Environmental Pollution. (157) 2248-2254.

Fair, Patricia A., Jeff Adams, Gregory Mitchum, Thomas C, Hulsey, John S. Reif, Magali Houde, Derek Muir, Ed Wirth, Dana Wetzel, Eric Zohlman, Wayne McFee, and Gregory D. Bossart. 2010. “Contaminant blubber burdens in Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncates) from two southeastern US estuarine areas: Concentrations and patterns of PCBs, pesticides, PBDEs, PFCs, and PAHs”. Science of the Total environment. (408) 1577-1597.

Fair, Patricia A., Magali Houde, Thomas C. Hulsey, Gregory Bossart, Jeff Adams, Len Bathis, and Derek C.G. Muir. 2012. “Assessment of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in plasma of bottlenose dolphins from two southeast US estuarine areas: Relationship with age, sex and geographic location.” Marine Pollution Bulletin. (64) 66-74.

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Fair, P.A., Romano, T.A., Reif, J.S., Schaefer, A.M., Hulsey, T.C., Bossart, G.B., Adams, J., Houde, M., Muir, D.C., Rice, C., Peden-Adams, M. Association between plasma concentrations of perfluorochemicals (PFCs) and immune and clinical chemistry parameters in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (in press).

Jagoe, C.H., A. L. Bryan, H.A. Brant, Thomas A. Murphy, I.L. Brisban, Jr. 2002. “Mercury in bald eagle nestlings from South Carolina, USA. Journal of Wildlife Diseases. 38(4) 706-712.

Kamen, Diane. 2012. Environmental Determinants of Autoimmunity: Lessons from the Sea Island Gullah Community. Symposium abstract from International Society for Environmental Epidemiology Conference, August 26-30, Columbia, SC.

Kimbrough, K.L., W.E. Johnson, G.G. Lauenstein, J.D. Christensen, and D.A. Apeti. 2008. An Assessment of Two Decades of Contaminant Monitoring in the nation’s Coastal Zone. Silver Spring, MD. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 74. 105pp. http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/publications/MWTwoDecades.pdf (January 26, 2013)

Laska, D., Speakman, T., Fair, P.A. Community overlap of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) found in coastal waters near Charleston, South Carolina. 2012. Journal of Marine Animals and their Ecology, 4(2):10-18.

O’Connell, Steven J., Michael Arendt, Al Segars, Tricia Kimmel, Joanne Brauin-MacNeill, Larisa Avens, Barbara Schroeder, Lily Ngai, John Kucklick, and Jennifer M. Keller. 2010. “Temporal and spatial trends of perfluorinated compounds in juvenile loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) along the east coast of the United States.” Environmental Science and Technology. (44) 5202-5209.

Post and Courier. “The Mercury Connection.” October 28, 2007. Updated March 22, 2010.

Post and Courier. “Adaptable bald eagles see numbers rise.” January 6, 2010.

Reif, John S., Patricia A. Fair, Jeffrey Adams, Brian Joseph, David S. Kilpatrick, Roberto Sanchez, Juli D. Goldstein, Forrest I. Townsend, Jr., Stephen D. McCulloch, Marilyn, Mazzoil, Eric S. Zolman, Larry J. Hansen, and Gregory D. Bossart. 2008. “Evaluation and comparison of the health status of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins from the Indian River Lagoon, Florida and

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Charleston, South Carolina.” Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 233(2) 299-307.

Speakman, T. Lane, S.M, Schwacke, L.H., Fair, P.A., Zolman, E.S. 2010. Mark-recapture estimates of seasonal abundance and survivorship for bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) near Charleston, South Carolina. Journal of Cetacean Research & Management 11(2):53-162.

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