Invest igat iozs of Certain Pesticide-Wi l d l i f e

Rela tFonshi2s i n t h e Ckoccolccco Creek h h ; t a g e

- A Contract Setveen the

Monsaiito ChemS.ca1 Company and

Miss i s s ipp i S t a t e Unive.rsi.ty -

(Segtenber 1, 1966 through August 31, 1967')

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DSW 162431

I

I

I

., . . . . . .-.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAL2

S'Mk?Y OF LUVEST.';CATiOPr% AND RESULTS - - - - - - - -

coriEs ICNS

1

1

1 2 4 6 9

LO 12 12 13

-

13

15

16

DSW 162432

., . . . . . -*

IYITEIODL'CTI ON

Cocpan;. x i n v e s t i g a t ? c e r t a i n phys ica l , cnexica l , and b i o l o g l c e l

:rsper;les c f t k Ckoccolccco Creek Drainage ir. Alabama.

~=,;j.z::ve cf t h e s t u d y vas t o a s s e s s the a c t u a l srld p o t . ~ r . t ~ e i ~mpar: nu:

I!?? Ar.n:stm Mcnsanto p l a n t , which produces organophosphat? z:.:,ect:c $:.. ,

;p3rA :he ecclcgy and welfkr-e cf t h e s q u a t i c l i f e jnhabi t l r ,g The s+,rean,

sy ; te .a . A spec?i ;2 gca l was t c eXamke e v i d e x e and fnfcrrna:,~? r e l a t e J

t3 :hi? f i s h k i l i t h a t occurred i n Choccolocco Creek i n Mar-h 195

p e ?r:ne

S p e z i f j r aim3 ar.6 propcsed procedures were o u t l i n e d ?r! 7 5 5 ;.*?parel - -

agreecent and i n gene ra l , t hese were fo l loxsd .

f:nd;r.gs scggestefi a d d i t i o n a l avenues of i n v e s t i g a t i c g o r r e su l t ed ir. a -

alrer:a:ive approach 01- change ir. emphasif.

In scrne C B S F S ?r?l:n:j.ar-[

SIR474.4R'i 0' INVESTIGATIONS AND FXSLTS

Chcccoloczo Creek: T h i s s t ream has its o r i g i n s i 3 rC?t'ff, - predminan.tl-; from f c r e s t e d a r e s , and i n grcund waters reack l cg t h e

surface 8 s springs and s e e p s , Consequently, Choccolocco "reek :a c c l d

thr3ughc~t. t he year and r e l a t i v e l y f r e e o f f i n e sediments and su;pe?ded

matter . A f a i r l y s teep p a 4 i e n t and swift flow over a precGrninant1-j

rocky bottom r ezx l t s in the stream beirg; well ae ra t ed . Tke dowcstrerrri

segaent o f the stream tends to become more sluggish, and i.s cha rac t e r i zed

b:; mcre suspecded sedm,er.ts, e mud bottom, and slightly less favorable

DSW 162433

!

Sewags Treamen t Planr , and suspended sedimetlts frcm agr;: c ~ ? ? u r a l i;-,j..

A Cavcrable d i 1 u t i . m f a c m r appears t o minimize t h e e f f e c t ; cf t ; r e j e

r , ---r,:ial --e. SCUXCPS cf poliufiorz. -

: ' i a t e r co lo r is good ic a l l ar'ess exceptiyg Cclavster

Creek.

eypearancc t o C o k h a t e r Creek and f avc r s t he g r o v t h of excess2ve EITIC';?TF.

3: a slime x?xgus (perha2s Fuserim s c . ) .

?:?e e f f l u e n t of the Gypsum P l a n t f r e q c c t l y inparts a ~llkg

BelGw the ~ o u t h of Scow Creek: Choccolocco Creek and e s p e c i a l l y I t s

~ . i cie;3sit;s h6vp a distinctivs odor ;raceable t o Scow ? reek . Oce of us

:lains 'io de tez t the o d c r o f TCE a t Jacksor! Skoa l s , ?resuxakl;f fron t h e

.kzy Ordinagce Depot.

T a b l e 1 is a s ' m a r y of t e m p e r s t u e , pH, and dissolved cxyge7 dhta

23llecied at s e v e r a l sampling s t a t i o n s betweeti January a?.d August 1967

~;'-hcugh these aata i n c l u d e some ex t r ene vaLces, e s p e c f a l i y frcrr t h e

r::nsar,to and Ar.niston waste t rea tment p l a n t s m d Snow Creek, the water

i - a l i t y o f Choccoloccc Creek i s w e l l within t h e l imizs ccnsidered s a f e

ar.i beneficial f o r a q u a t i c life.

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DSW 162434

Ckocc3locc3 Creek, HWY +23L aridgo, 1 11.1 I. 1 2 . 2

7.G (7.2-7.7) k 7 . 6 (4.5-10) L 7 . 3 (k.2-9.7) 3 Choccolocco Cresk, b 1k.L (3-23) Wood Bri&ge 2 . Of mouth cf Colchate? Creek

1 8.0

Konsanto Waste 4 26-75 (17-34) 3 6.9 (6.2-7.6) Ir lr.6 ( 2 . 5 - 6 . 5 ) --e

Snow Creek, front - b 28.25 (22-3L) . 3 6 . 0 (0.7-i1.2) h 2 .0 (0.0-e.0) -- - Treatsent Plant - d i t c h

Anniston Sevage 5 20.6 (l7-28:) !I 7.1 (6.2-7.3) 5 2.4 (0.3-L.8) --- .- Treatacnt P lan t

i -

DSW 162435

.- I - -

s h w n i n T a b l e 3 .

Coqou nd

TCZ

TCE

Par a t h i o n

Pa ra th ion

M . Parathion

Species - Btu egi 1 Is

Greer, sunfish

~ B l u e g i l l s

Mo s q u i to f i s h

B lueg i 1 Is

Mcs qu itof i s h M. 3sr a t h i dn*

rn? Blcegills

36 hr TL, m

- - -

* * de recent1.y drscovered t h a t a b o t t l e l a b e l l e d "Metiiyl Parackion"

& - " . - - -a l ly coctained pa ra th ion when analyzed on t h e gas chromatograph

C . a sample wgs s e c t to us i n response 'to a reques t f o r a sample of

.' -r-at t h e bluegills and mosqui tof i sh were a c t u a l l y t e s t e d OL! parathior , ,

=eL.*.Yl parathion by American Cyanamid Co. I have reason t o scsgec t

'-ch U Y explain t h e d i screpancy betweer. our da ta and p u b l i s h e d

:;Xicity data,

..'- :

DSW 762436

., ... . _ _

T a b l e 3. STATE CF~~MICU; m w r o x

Mississippi Stafe U n i v e r s i t y

5

DSW 162437

, . . ... ... .. . _ _

PLrther i n v e s t l g a t i o n s shcwed unfavorable pii ( a n , H p 4 ; s rd F . ~ T c ~ ~ T - { +

:: be t h e l ezha l a g c c s . 30th phosphoric: a c i d and hydroChlGric a c - d

:::!led f i s t a t a FH 3 ; f i s h su rv ived 60 hoilrs i n bo7h acids at pH 4. A - ~

......-.. .--..<.. t i a t i o c o f 1 ppn! Hg?12 Cause& symptcms i n bluegills ir. 2 hers ar.d

. . . : . : : : .~tes and k i l l e d t h e e n t i r e s m p l e i n 6 hours .

3 .:icr, bezweerl parathion asld rrercury were negative.

T e s t s T o r synergl.s,tic -

Whcn bluegills wsre caged f o r 48 hours i n var ious p l aces i n Snow

.':.e.::< ar.d Ckxco locco Creek , t h e l e t h a l e f fec ts of Snow Creek were fcund

-.- r.xtol:d downstrean o z l y e few hundred y a r d s .

-~ --

3 lxeg i . l l s were caged i n Choccolocco Cre;k f o r as l c n g as 3 rncntha

. . . K.:::;.-Q, these caged fish were forzed. t3 exis- under crcvded cor.di t l o n s

:. .za:l-selectpd hablrats, t h e i r s x r v i v a l i n large numbers far weeks cr

: '.:x shcwed t h a t Chcccolocco Creek downst reas from Snow Creek was n o t

' .%:?. a t l e a s t fo r the pe-riod of t h e e -qer iments .

Zesidue A3hlyses: A t o t a l of 59 u a t e r , fish and-mud s m p l e s from _ - -

-3::CIs s i t e s was analyzed x i t h gas chromatography between September . . -v- and Augpst 1s7 (Table 4 ) . I d e n t i f i c a t i o n s were confi.rme3. i n many

the samples by th in - l ayer chromatography.

DSW 162438

Y

Mofisacito ;as t e T rea tnec t Plant

Sncu Creek

Choccolocso Creek - Xiway 8ri dg;e

-

Chocc3;loccc Creek - Hixsy #93 Bridge

Jacksor. Shoals

Water

11

8

4

5

1

4

1 -

3

3 --

2

1

1

M.1 d

0

-

3

0

0

0

0

3

Cv

1

0

0

0

DDT, 3DE, DDD and occas iona l ly o t h e r ch lor inaced hydrocsrSon

l n a e c t i c i d e s Mere found in t h e 10.w parts per b i l l i o n range ir: n e a r l y

every water sample from Ckocc3locco Crtek (both upstream and dcwcstream

from A n n i s t o n ) , t h e A m i ston Sewage Tresmen t P l a n t , and from Logan-

Martin Reservoi r .

Fpb) i n scme wster samples.

a water sample f o r t h e Anniston Sewage Treatment Plant scd 1.5 pgS

p a r a t h i o n was t h e maximum found in a Choccolocco Creek sample.

_-

Para th ion occur red i n t r a c e quantities (less t h a n 1

A maximum o f 3 ~ p b para th io? . was found i n

DSW 162439

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I . . . .. . . - . .

Thes? i n t s r f e r i n g c c q o c n d s f r u s t r a t e d . a t t e n g t s t o clean-up sacples ap.d

sits2 w0l;l.J. have xasksi p e s t i c i d e s i ~ i t e r e r e t e n % i o n t i n e s w e r e sim:,ar.

Tab?,? 5 i l l J s t r a t e s th? problem.

. .

Table 5.

ma2or pesks on chromatograms for ssmples of SCOW Creek u a t e r , a bLipgi11

caged in Chcczolocco Creek a t t h e tlood Sr idge ( u p s z r e m fror?. t h e mol:*-h ~r

Ccldwar,er Creek)

A conparison of r e t e c t i o n t i n e s ( i n minutes ar.3 secocds; fo r - ~ -

- an& f o r several p e s t i c i d e s t anda rds .

Szow Cree): (Front D i t z h ) Csged Bluegill Fes t i c i de S tazds r 3s

1. 3-:3G (3lutiori A ) * 2 . ? : 5 5 3. 4:25 4. j:bj 5 . 6 ; z 5- 7;25 7 . 7 :50 3. 9:25 9 . 11:lO

13. 14:oo 11. 16:5G 12. 19:40 13. 21.:25 14. ?

1. 2 . 3. 4. 5. 6. 7 .

9 . a .

- 10. 22:55 -_. 33-15 = DDT

* E l u t i o n A c o n t a i n s most ch lo r ina t ed hydrocarbons; parazh? on snd rnetb;;;

parathion generally appear i n 3 l u t i o n 3.

DSW 162440

r, 1

Reversed pectoral fins: In t h e i r paper "The tox ic i t ,y of orga3I.c

th,z:phorus and c h l c r i n e t e d hydrocarbon i n s e c t i c i d e s t o f i s k " (1900.

=3iogi:al Pro'Dio,as i n Wafer P o l l u t i o n , 2nd Sminar ) Xenderson,

~ : : ; < ? r j ~ g , end T a r z r e l l s t e t e d t h a t t h e p e c t o r a l and a e l v i c f i3s zf f i s h

a::e,:r;e:! 57 o r g a n i c pnosshorus compounds assumed aR extreme fo_r,.ard

,:irlsz and t h a t t h i s was a c h a r a c t e r i s t i c response.

::::-re;se? f i s h i n t he 14616 fish kill i n ChoccoloccD Creek conta1.n

Deszr lp t ior -s of

:..,>i:rcus refzrsnces to reversed p e c m r s l fim, loss of e q u i l i b r i w . , a3.i - a

j t e t a n i c s t a t e .

J i s h have been t e s r e d on more than 25 i n s e c t i c i d e s a t MTssI;si;pl

S:a;i- Jfliversiky and a g r e a t e r tecdency f o r reversed p e c t o r a l s ir!

l i . rsphates has n c t b e e s nc t ed .

I:. l a rge n?unSers o f dying f i s h a t t h e 3 n e k a ar idge i n March I%?, a t a

When r eve r sed pec to ra l s Yere Gbser'Jcd -

. . - * when the MonsanTo KiraE p l s n t W B S Rot opera t ing , a s e r i e s of -.

-+-xperizents were conducted t o tes t ; t h e s p e c i f i c i t y o f t h e reversed

;..-?33rai f ir . response. F i s h were exposed t o d i f f e r e n t concen t r a t iocs

_ . -. ' a l a rge r,umker o f commercial i n s e c t i c i d e s , domestic themlcs ls , an3 .- - -

: . . . : i :~l . .. . . stimuli. Some a g x t s prcducing reversed p e c t o r a l s were:

:xaphone, ED?, para th ion , mala th ion , high and Low sudsing d e t e r g e c t s ,

:.:-Sthold Siescfi, hand- soap , m o n l e , " S e n i - s o l " , s a l t , tckacco ex t r ac t s . ,

-::::et gasoline, ace tone , "fB-40", e t h a n c l , high temperature shock, h i g h

3 r . i IOU temperatares, and e l e c t r i c a l shock.

+3-:1 ibrhm an3 t .etanus preceded dea th .

. : .$ -xed pel-Jic f ics.

Fi::sayto i n t h e forms of photographs.

I n most ca ses , l o s s o f

None of t he compounds cai;sed

- ... Doclimentary evidence o f these f e s t s was provided

DSW 162441

d

Acetvl Cko l ines t e r s se I n h i b i t i o n : A g r e a t deal o f tire has been

i e * d D t , e d 50 var icus ex?eriner. ts c0ncerni.r.g poss ib l e c h o l i c e s t e r a s s

bakib i t iEg effPc;s of ChCCCOlOCCO 12Xek .daters. ,Wrthernore, have

r 2 ? ~ m i r . ~ d EI r x r k e r of p r a c t i c e s empioyed i n cho i ines t e ra se de io rn ina t i zns

LC ascer ta in :heir validity and effects upon r e s u l t s obtai.r,ed.

A c e t y l cho l lnes t z ra se l e v e l s have beer. detern ined for

~ x x x e d t o ?ara th ion a23 rnethyl parathior . for s h o r t t e r n s ;

CS::?~ i n Choccalocco Creek upstreem and dowastr?m, I'rcm Anr.ls;or.;

2 ) health!:, nati ' le S h e g i l l s se ined fron Choccolocco C r e e k above and

\;c.!sw Ar.nls';on; ar.d

:Y Choccolcc=o Creek & i r i n g ',he fish kill of March 1967.

I XO;:!~ r.2 e v i t i n c e sGqgesting- chronic cho l ines t e ra se i .r , 'ni j i . t ion i.rr

a ) b l u e g i 11s

5 ) b l u e g i l l s

d ) s i c k , nati.\% b l u e g i l l s c o l l e c t e d near t h e mouth

9 - e s e d a t a

-

Choccsiocco Creek f i s h e s .

Szne specific f iccl ings der ived f,mn t h e cho l ines t e ra se i nves;igaf:ocs -.

a r e es fol1,ws:

1.

2 .

3.

4.

Bl-Pgi l ls cage& it-. Choccoloccc Creek a t t h e Eiway #93 a r idge

sh3vPd no s i g n i f i c a n t - i n h i b i t i o n s f t e r one month.

Ma: I-JP b l u e g i l l s f rom Jackson Shoals a c t u a l l y had h igher

AChE 1evpI.s thar. OLZ c o n t r o l b l u e g i l l s .

A l a rge serLes o f t e s t s has revealed t h a t f r eez ing whole f i s h

r e s u l t s in a reduc t ion of measured cho l ines t e ra se a c t i v i t y .

( ~ s b l e 6 ) .

A similar bui; l e s s d r a s t i c reduct ion of measured ACPS

a c t i v i t y occurs when fish b r a i n s a r e frozen ir. b u f f e r so lu ' i i cn ,

9s recommended by Weiss (Table 6 ) .

DSW 162442

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i

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f

t t ii ., . . ____._. _. . ....... -. . ' - .

. . . . . I ... .. -.. . , .

li

j. The e f f e c t s of freezicg did not increase wher. f i s h were kept

f r o z e n for 2 nont'ns. ( T a b l e 6 ) .

7 . Free2ir.g d i ss eczed Srsir.s ind iv i3ua l ly wra?ped i n a l iuninw,

fail dozs riot cause a reduction ir . rneasl?red s p e c j f i c a r t i : r i t t

as does f r e e z i n g whole fish o r b ra ins ir, buf fe r s c l u z i o n

- 6 . i s not a c h o l i n e s t e r a s e ich ib izor .

9. F i s h a r e a b l e t o si irvive and recover from ACkE ian:bi : ix i.1

exc3s.s of th? 40-7@ s a i d t o be u s u a l l y l e t h a l . - -

Tab le 6. S p e c i f i c a c t i v i t i e s far 8-10 b l u e g i l l s ( 2 bra ins / sanple ; a f t e r

v e r i o G s t r e s t x e x t s . A - F i e l d c o l l e c t e d ; E - Whole fish f roze?

a t belclh' -60 C for 56 h r ; C - Brs ins f r o z e n st belov -60 C in 2

al b u f f e r ; D - Whole fisk frozer. 2 months st below -60 C; i? -

%ai% frozen i.? b u f f e r fo r 2 no?.ths a t belov -60 C.

SDec i f i c A c t I v 1 . t ~

__

__

Group: A B c D E 1 3.02 1.21 2 . 0 6 0.98 1 -7e

2

3

3.19 1.37 1.73 1 lh 1.96*

2.74 1.37 2.14 1.32 1.81 ~- c

4 2.64 1.20 1.44 1..05 1.8y

a_-- 1.14 -- 2 . 6

Mean 2.90 1.27 1.84 1.12 1.90

- - - - ---- ---- 5

* Based on 1 b r a i n ; a l l o t h e r s r e p r e s e n t two b r a i n s .

DSW 162443

. . ... . . . _ _

Faunal Survey: Many hour s of s?inlr.g s n d observaz loc have shovr: that

Choccclxco Creek i s w e l l popula ted g i t t e great vari9'sy of f ~ s h e s .

f i s h i n g Fressure cn the s t r e w . , e s p e c i a l l y from Jacsscr . Shoals downstrek?

t c Logan-MarzLn Sese rvo i r , a c t e s t s to t h i s fact . 1% i s a "law of K : ~ ~ - J P ' '

t h a t flsheAmen do not fish where they 2c cot nake ca t ches . We hsve

yae

checked c r e e l s ar.d observed some n i c e c s t ches of b l u e g i l l s , c r apo ie , and

o t h e r Species , Leopsrd frcgs a r e ' r e r y &bundark a1or.g Choccalozco Creek

and ve have observed scme t u r t l i s ,

A pre l imica ry survey of i w e r t e b r a t e l i f e i n Choccolocco Creek

- suggests t h a 3 t h e s t ream i s qu i t e product ive in terms o f p l a n ! < t o e neusttcn.

s q i a t i c i n s e c t s , c r u t a c e s r - s , a n n e l i k , f r e s h v s t e r clams, a n 5 s c a i l s A

downstream s i t e yleldec! a3out 5 t i n e s - as mar?y s n a i l s a s d i d - a si:? ups1rea.r.

frcn: Ar.nistm, p r e s m a b l y a. r e f l e c t i o n of tk? a d d i t i o n a l f e r t i l i t y der ;iled

frcm t h e Anriiston Sewage Treatment Plant ace possibly t h e rn inera ls fo r

s h e l l formation der ived from the Gypsum P l a n t e f f l u e c t .

I t seems h i g h l y s i g 3 i f i c a 2 t t h s t backs-dimmers, a t y p e of insect,

-- _-

i n k a b i t t h e f i n a l s e z t l l n g za7.k a t t h e A m i s t o n Sewagi T r e q t n m t P l sn t

(which r ece iyes e f f l u e n t from t h e Konsanto T r i s t n e n t F ~ ~ C L l i t y j - - - -

Fish Kills: There is a dis turb icg aoount of low-level mc.r+.ali ty

among Ckoccolocco C r e e k f i s h e s and a fs-4 dead ind iv idua l s can be Toound

most anytime, e s p e c i a l l y from Jackson Shoals dawnstream.

h d i c a t i o n t h a t some s u b l e t h a l f s c t o r may b F 6 r e s e r . t is t h e appa ren t ly

high inc idence of d i seased f i s h .

Shoals t h a t had l a r g e pa t ches of fungus on them.

A f u r t h e r -

S e v e r a l f i s h were observed near Jacksor.

DSW 162444

I

I

13

A major f i s h k i l l started s e v e r a l days p r i a r t o March 23 i n choccolocca

below Jsckson Shoals azd i n Logan-Martin Reservoi r , including a r e s s

,,Fstres~ from t h e nouth of Choccclocco C r e e k .

.zp Harck 2 5 , vast n.moeIs cf f i s h w e r e dying and wind-rows of then x e r e

Waen t h e area iras vis i r ,ed

l;ashzd us along t h e shores. Most of t h e dead fish were shad, u h i c h is

probabl? tine most abundant f i s h iq t h e a rea , b u t g r e a t niurbers of car? ,

b:;:egil?s, chscce l c a t f i s h , b h c k bul lheads , sauger , c r app ie , goldfish,

r:d-eared s-ififish, g r e ? n sunfish, carp suckers, large-mcutned bass , and

other spec ies ( e s p e c i a l l y minnows) were observed.

3

These f i s h had normal

cholinesterase a c t i v i t i e s snd t h e Monsanto - Niran ~ p l a c t - had nc t ope ra t ed

s i n c e aboLt March 5 . The nmi92r of fish observed dying, those r e c z n t l y

k i l l e d , 3 r d she l a r g e m m b e r t h a t had been dead fo r s e v e r a l day; xould

;?ave exceded t'ne 56,200 c o i n t e d i n t h e 1966 k i l l . - -

W e estimated t h a t a

75- f t segmer-t c f beach conta ined 1,000 dead f i s h .

Miscellanesus :

The p r o j e c t pe r sonne l have conducted Littrature searches ar.d prcvi.3rd

cer:aj.fi inforna'icn ret-cested b y Monsanto.

effl .Jent has beer, d i l u t e d i n Choccolocco Creek, t h e restilti cg

w a t e r qcal i ty parameters , a t l e a s t those normalljr measured, are

well 1dithi.n acceptable l i m i t s and t h e stream i s abundantly

- --

populated wi<h organisms of a g r e a t v a r i e t y .

DSW I62445

I

t.0 prove .

Sboccolocco Creek fish populat ions a r e subjec t t c c c n t i w e d lou-

l e v e l m o r t a l i t y and per iodic massive d i e -o f f s .

r q o r t s of fisn k i l l s i n D r j Cretk; Coldwaszr Creek is hi.ghly

?oll::ted.

1:s effluer. ts as 9 F r o t e c t i o n aga ins t f r i ture RCC~JSBT:CCS.

3ecome9da:ions 1 ~

An attenpt t o i n v e s t i g a t e a f i s h k i l l a f t e r i t has happened i s

f u t i l e , however some p e r t i n e n t informatio2 has emerged from t h e

4.

There a r e -_

Monss.?to needs t o mor.ltor ti;? biologjcai e f f e c t s o f

( S e 5 - -

5 .

-- studies . -

R . The number and v a r i e t y of f i s h i n Choccolocco Creek a t

t h e p r e s e n t t ime suggests t h a t t h e 19% kill had no i

i adverse l o n g - t i n e e f f e c t s .

14

2 . Although same pesticide residues occur i n Choccolccco Creek, t h e

concentrat ions do no% appear s u f f i c i e c t t3 be biol3g:cally

s l g n i f i c s c t .

ckromatogrsphy, t h e decisicr. a c t to purchase a phcspkat? d5tec:or

for ::?is p r o j e c t , xay hsve been a bad one.

Snow Creek i s a p o t e n t i a l source 3f f i t u r e Legal 2robiems.

I:n view o f our prcblems ir. ~:cccssing sarilples f o r

7 . The - ~ ~ ~ _ _ ~ ~~

;$ream does not suppor t l i f e and ccnta ins many r.a:erisls t h a t

elcumulate ir. w a t e r , fish, a r d muds do-4r.strek-m. Althougk t h e r e

is no evidenc? that these m a t e r i a l s a i e harxf'Jl ta fish, t h e i r

presence c o n s t i t u t e s damaging evidence of pol lu t ion . The argaeq ' ,

t h a t t hese cDmpounds impart undesirable palatabillty q u a l i t i e s to-

C~occo locco Creek fish would be very conyrincing and probably easy

f

c - ~ -

c

i

I I

DSW 162446 I

1 i

I . . .. . . . -. - .

I

‘5

5 . Reversed pectoral f i n s

phcs>i-.a’;e poisoning.

re not p e c i f i c symptom or’

c . Massive f i s h k i l l ; OCC’X i n ChoccoLocco Creek afid t h e

Mart in-Logsc Reservoir when t h e Mcnsanto P lan t i s no t

i n 0perat i .cn.

d . Fr2ezir1g sauq le s o f whole f i s h serves t o reduce measured

AC;G levels a s expressed i n s p e c i f i c a c t i v i t y of bralr.

cissxes. The enzyne is n o t a f f e c t e d d i r e c t l y . Alchocg?

we do not k30-d tne scu rce of t h e discrepancy, we sus?cc t P

t h a t t k e e f f e c t may be due to a combinatiori of f ac t c r s

such a s a l 2 e r e d weight r e l a t i o n s h i p s , q u a l i t a t i v e -

d i f f e r e n c e s i n b r a i n s t h a t a r e removed f r e s h o r f rozen ,

o r p c s s i b l y &Je TO t h e i n t r s d u c t i o n of scme a n t i -

c h o l i n e s t e r i t i c ma%er ia l .

e. There i s a cons ide rab le body o f eviclence d i spu t ing t:?e

g e n e r a l i z a t i c n t h a t a k 0 - 7 6 AChE i l l h i b i t i o n i s g e n e r a l l y --

l e t h a l . ’

1.

2, Clean-up Snow Creek.

3.

Do not r e l e a s e u n t r e a t e d w a s t e i n t h e fUture!

I n the event o f a f u t u r e f i s h k i l l , c o l l e c t sarnples of f i s h and water

and immediately c a l l i n a c-cal i f ied c o n s u l t a n t .

A qualified biologist should i n s p e c t Choccolocco Creek p e r i o d i c a l l y ,

perhaps every o t h e r month, t o document t he s t a t u s quo i n t h e event

of another f i s n k i l l .

-

4. I f

DSW 162447

,

j . ~ s n s a 7 . b should monitor Cho~coLocco Creek, p r e f e r a b l y near t h e

~ f u a y #21 Bridge.

tolerar,ces and .4Ch5 characteristics should be estab1;ahed jr. a

conveniently loca ted poxi .

p c p u l a t i c n skcr;ld be caged i n t h e C r e e k and checked d a i l y .

f i s h shoul3 be replaced weekly. Any narked die-Dff shculd ce

a x i l y z e d for i n s e c t i c i d e r s i d u e s and the b r a i n s cf survi.vsrs

chezked f o r c h o l i n e s t e r s s e l e v e l .

be excected a r d igr?ored.

A popu la t ion o f mosquitofish of kcsun pars:hia.:

SaiFLes of 10-20 f i s h from y h l s

T ~ E

Some i n d i v i d u a l deaths cou ld

The fo l lowing a r e some criticisms o f t h e evidecce ?resected Sp t h e -

..

:tat? i n i t s case agains t t h e Ponsacto Ccm?any:

1. C o n v o l fish u s e l i n t h e AChE t e s t s were collected s; from a

d i f f e r e n t locaTior! than w e r e t h e m o r i b u d f i s h ,

d i f f e r e n t popu1ar;icn o f f i s h ,

{ j v e . y swif t , c l e s r , cold watcr, h igher D. 0.

impounded, muddy, Warmer wa te r , lower- D. O., muddy tot ton!

6 ) a t a d i f f e r e n t t ime.

b) from a -

c ) from a d i f f e r e c t eivlronrnect

rocky bottom 3

ACn2 l e v e l s may d i f f e r fn t h e same species of f i s h from one pond to

s:.ather. h r t h e r m o r e , it is conceivable t h a t t h e c o n t r o l f i s h were

-:k-:bi:ed a t t h e time of t h e f i s h k i l l . For example, ~8 and C 9 (Table 4,

5::theast Water Laboratory Repor t ) are abcut the same size but C9 ha8 25%

:ess ac5ivity.

':e ' m y significant.

-:-$ Point is t h a t these d a t a do not c o n s t i t u t e a v a l i d comparison i n terms

zf 8 "SCi e n t i f i c a l l y controlled" experiment.

If cg were c c l l e c t e d A p r i l 6 and C8 OR Apr i l 25, i t would

Were c o l l e c t i o n dates and specimens kept s e p a r a t e ?

DSW 162448 L .

2 . Table 4 of t h e S o u t h e a s t Water Laboratory Report contains Some

obvious e r r o r s and d i sc repanc ie s .

s n a l l t o form ar. adequate b a s i s for sweepicg conckJSlons )

e s p e c i a l l y i n e s u i t i n v o l v i n g $225,030.C3.

I t e m :

The number of samples is t G Q

- C o n t r o l and rnoribwd b l u e g i l l s were rur. 3r. d i f f e r e n t days

T h e s i g n i f i c a n c e of t h i s becomes apparent wher, t h e data f o r

c o n t r o l long e a r s a r e c x q a r e d .

had a mean o f 1.54, bu t those tested OP. A?ril 29 had a nean

of 1.27 (an sverage of 1% l e s s ) .

A p r i l 28 averaged .55 bu t those done oc A p r i l 29 averaged

on ly .27 , which i s over 50% l e s s ,

same sample, :he - v a r i a t i o n suggests-b%d technique a s doas _ the

f a c t t h a t t h e d i f f e r e n c e i n s p e c i f i c s c t i v l t y I s abouz ,ZT ii

both cases . Such data a r e c e r t a i c l y szspect 3s t o re l ia3l l ; :y

There a r e some s e r i c u s discrepaRci2s i n t h e weights given i?--

Tabie 4 of the r e p o r t .

C 5 and C6 ( co r - t ro l b l u e g i l l s j .

Tnose t e s t e d on A p r i l 283

3

Moribund long ears run on

I f the f i s h were from t h e

-

For example, compere the welgnts of

t

i

T o t a l Wt. (g) Ler.gvh , , B r a i n 'dt. im;:

6.8 108.1 c5 152.1

5 . 5 213.0 c6 83.5

_- C 5 weighed almost twice as much, ye t had a b r a i n weight almost

5C$ sma l l e r .

i n an order ly , p r e d i c t a b l e manner.

This could not be! ?ish and f i s h brair.s graw 2

$ I

- 3 i

b. .4

b$

A l s o , if one p l o t s t o t a l f i s h weight aga ins t b r d a weight , i t . . is obvious t h a t s e v e r a l of t h e b r a i n weights are comparatively

'r

DSW 162449 *

I

, . . . , ... .. . .. -- .

too smal l a n d i n e r r o r . Compare Cj and C4 with C j and ~ 6 ,

Total Wt. (d Srain W t . . (.ngi c3 27.2 110.5

C!, 32.4 107.6

C8 114.6 128 " 7

c5 152.1 108.1

3-

The b r a i n we igh t s are about the same but C3 a-.d CL we:@.

only 114 o r 1/5 as much. These d a t a a r e erroneouz. - - One

wonders eboc t t h e entire Table when these o t v i s u j error:

.- - appes r . - -

c ) Welss (1959. Response of fish t o sub-lethal e x p c s u r s o f

o rganic phosphorus i n s e c t i c i d e s . Wastes, F. 583 - Fig. 1) shows a ~ d i rec t __ correlaticn netween

b r a i n weight. and s p e c i f i c a c t i v i t y i n four spec ie s of f i s h :

i nc lud ing bluegills.

weight o r f i s h s i z e , the higher t h e specific a c t i . v I t y .

This relsticnship has been confirmed i n other stl;d:cs,

Sewage and in dust^*

II? genersl, t he smaller t h e brhlr.

inc1udir.g o u r own.

The brsin weignts and s p e c i f i c a c t i v i t i e s for c o n t r o l

bluegills i n Table k o f the SWL r e p o r t fall t o show any

o r d e r l y relationship.

-

For example compare t h e fol lowing:

DSW 162450 I I., , . .

. I --

,

I

Sanp le Brain W t . (mp;) Spec i f i c A c t i v i t y

c 1 65.2 1 . 7 3

c2 , 72.7 1.78

c3 110.5 1.74

c5 108.1 1.83

C8 lC8.7 1.&5

A l s o , note t h a % C7 end C6 a r e both 6 inches I n Length, yet

t hey represen3 t h e upper and lower extremes i n spcc;f ic

a c t i v i t y f o r t h e e n t i r e sample, d e s p i t e t h e f a c t t h a t f i s h

t e s t e d ranged from 2 .8- to 678 inches i n l ength .

The apparent ly random na tu re of these f ind ings azd t h e

absellce o f besjc r e l aZ ionsh ips makes them unaccepsable e s

sc i e r . t i f i c ev idence .

j .

-

d ) The r epor t mentions t h a t hO-7@1 i n h i b i t i o n is l e t h a l . The

long ea r # I9 was-c i ive ( b u t s i c k ) when co l l ec t ed y e t showed

98% i n h i b i t i o n . Xe i s s (1961) r e p o r t s an i n i t i a l i nh lb r t io r .

o f 8 6 i n fish t h a t surv ived .

e x h i b i t 6@ i n h i b i t i o n e f t c r 33 days.

B case where h e o b t a k e d 95% i n h i S i t i o n and scbsequent

recovery of the f i s h .

The SWL r e p o r t s t r e s s e s t h e absence of over lap between d a t a

f o r moribund end co f i t ro l f i s h .

data f o r f i s h f r o z e n whole snd those f r o m t h e same sample

run f r e s h . A s t a t emen t from Parkcr coccerning co l l ec t io r?

of f i s h could be very i n s t r u c t i v e .

These f i s h ccr.tir.ued t o

Weiss a l s o repor5s

e ) - _-

We f i n d no over lap between

DSW 162451 ! *

%

20 I - _

t

3 .

~ ..

4.

5 .

~ 6. --

7.

e.

f) Were any c o n t r o l f i s h captured with e l e c t r i c shockers?

If so, how does this method a f f e c t AChE l e v e l s ?

I n Table 1 (SWL Repor t ) , samples 6 and 5a were reported as

"negative" and 16 ppb, r e s p e c t i v e l y , y e t they a r e from t h e

same h c a l i t y . Samples .1 and 1' i lere c o l l e c t e d only 13 f e e t

apar t , bu t d i f f e r e d by 23'gpb.

c o l l e c t e d wi th in a 3-mile segment of imyounded water end

contained 0, 51, 15 and 50 ppb, r e s p e c t i v e l y . How could

anyone base a $225,000 judgement on such v a r i a b l e and f l m y

Samples 6, 3, 1' ar.d 5 were

datal

would flunk t he course .

If - a graduate-s tudent were t o t u r n i n such d a t a , he -

It should be noted t h a t on ly a s i n g l e sample was taker. a t -

the upstream s i t e s .

but so was sample 6.

have-been taken a t the sites wnere samples 4 and 10 w e r e

c o l l e c t e d . Based on t h e v a r i a t i o n mentioned above, a d d i t i o n a l

s a q l e s might have conta ined 50 ppb!

Reversed p e c t o r a l firis are not a spec i f ic spptom o f phosphate

poison1r.g.

Massive f i s h ki l l s occur when t h e Niran p l a n t i s down. A l l

spec ie s a r e a f f e c t e d .

Fish k i l l s are r e p o r t e d i n Dry Creek.

There a r e mmy c h o l i n e s t e r a s e inhibitcrs.

The SWL repor t ed no o t h e r i n s e c t i c i d e s i n t h e water samples,

bu t r epor t ed pa ra th ion I n t h e 2 ppb range. Our analyses and

those of t h e Southern Testing and Research Lab. show other

Thus, samples 4 acd 10 were "negative",

The po in t is t h a t 2 o r 3 samples should

- L

DSW 162452

-

DSW 162453

po in t is t h a t t h e SWL may not have really looked f o r o t h e r

possible causes for t h e f i s h kill.

No pa ra th ion was r e p o r t e d i n f i s h samples by SWi.

the v a r i a t i o n and d iscrepacc ies i n t h e i r water analyses and

AChE data, on ly t h e reco;ery of Parathion from dead f i s h could

c o n s t i t u t e p o s i t i v ? prcof of para th ion poisoning.

10. A f e w go ld f i sh were included among t h e 56,200 fish coucted i n

t h e 1966 kill. Goldfish have a 24-96 h r of 2.7 parathJGn.

9. I n view of

j .

- - - This concen t r a t ion would have killed all game f i s h and exceeds

t h e 2.0 ppm r e p c r t by the Anniston Sewage Treatment P'larit f o r

e f f l u e n t r ece ived from Monsanto. The Anniston Sewage Plant - -

c l a h s the concent ra t ion t o have been 0.79 ppm (by t h e Averill-

Norris Method, which probably over e s t ima tes ) when they re leased

f

convinced that many of the dead f i sh in the 1967 kill would

have been included among those Counted in 1966.

Several other questions were ra ised in my Communication of 11.

22

March 28, .1967.

'I

i'

!

c

DSW 162454

I . . . . ., . . . . . - - . , . . . I