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<br />Leaching of Retorted Oil Shale: Assessing the Toxicity
<br />to Colorado Squawfish, Fathead Minnows,
<br />and Two Food-Chain Organisms
<br />
<br />D. F. WOODWARD,1 R. G. RILEy,2 M. G. HENRY,
<br />J. S. MEYER,3 AND T. R. GARLAND2
<br />
<br />Columbia National Fisheries Research Laboratory
<br />u.s. Fish and Wildlife Service
<br />Route 1, Columbia, Missouri 65201
<br />
<br />Abstract
<br />
<br />Development of a large shale-oil industry in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming would result in
<br />disposal of large volumes of retorted shale. Water percolating through these wastes could leach
<br />toxicants into surface waters of the upper Colorado River system. Leachate from field Iysimeters
<br />containing shale that had gone through the Paraho retorting process 6 years before had high
<br />concentrations of K, Li, Mg, Mo, Na, S04, and N03. Total concentrations of organics in leachate
<br />were low; nitrogen-containing aromatic hydrocarbons approximated background concentrations.
<br />In 96-h exposures, undiluted leachate was not toxic to fathead minnows Pimephales promelas or
<br />Colorado squawfish Ptychocheilus lucius, and was only slightly toxic to the mayfly Hexagenia
<br />bilineata and to Daphnia magna. In 30-d exposures to different concentrations of the leachate, a
<br />concentration of 6:94 (percent leachate:percent dilution water) caused reduced growth of fathead
<br />minnows and reduced survival of mayflies. The highest test concentration not causing toxic effects
<br />was 3:97. This dilution represented conductivity of 1,080 ItS/cm and total dissolved solids of750
<br />mglL-values that are 1.2 to 2.0 times higher than in the Colorado and White rivers at the Colorado-
<br />Utah border. The elements Li and Sr appeared to be selectively accumulated by the two fish species.
<br />Deleterious effects of leachates from retorted oil shale appear to be unlikely in major rivers with
<br />large dilution factors, Feeder streams and backwater areas with less flushing may require protection,
<br />
<br />Received November 26, 1984 Accepted May 13, 1985
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<br />t Since 1974, the high price and uncertain sup-
<br />..' ply of foreign crude oil have stimulated interest
<br />.", in developing the vast oil shale reserves of the
<br />I United States. The Green River Formation, un-
<br />.. derlying 90,000 km of Colorado, Utah, and Wy-
<br />t oming, has an oil reserve of2.86 x 1012 m3 (Fox
<br />t 1980)-more than twice the total worldwide oil
<br />reserves estimated in 1975 (USBM 1975). The
<br />, ' environmental effects of extensive oil shale de-
<br />t ve!opment need to be anticipated, About 1,130
<br />kg of processed (spent) shale will be discarded
<br />for every cubic meter of shale oil produced. The
<br />potential mobilization of salts, trace metals, and
<br />organic compounds from disposal sites is great
<br />
<br />I Columbia National Fisheries Research Labora-
<br />, tory, Field Research Laboratory-Jackson, Post Office
<br />; Box 1089, Jackson, Wyoming 83001.
<br />t 2 Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Post Office
<br />f Box 999, Richland, Washington 99352.
<br />t 3 Fish Physiology and Toxicology Laboratory, De-
<br />, partment of Zoology and Physiology, University of
<br />l Wyoming, Laramie 82071.
<br />
<br />(Franswayand Wagenet 1981; Pereira et al. 1981;
<br />Stollenwerk and Runnells 1981). Leachates en-
<br />tering ground and surface waters could harm
<br />water quality and freshwater organisms.
<br />The Green River Formation underlies part of
<br />the upper Colorado River watershed, including
<br />the Green, White, and Yampa rivers, This sys-
<br />tem contains several native fishes that are en-
<br />dangered or threatened with extinction (Behnke
<br />and Benson 1980). One of these, the Colorado
<br />squawfish Ptychocheilus lucius, is the largest cyp-
<br />rinid in North America. Although it once inhab-
<br />ited most of the larger rivers of the basin, it is
<br />now limited to the lower Green, White, and
<br />Yampa rivers and the upper Colorado River.
<br />Young-of-the-year Colorado squawfish prefer
<br />backwater habitats (Holden 1977; Tyus et al.
<br />1982), from which incoming leachate may be
<br />flushed slowly, These backwater nursery areas
<br />provide a food source of crustaceans, aquatic in-
<br />sects, and fish.
<br />Several studies addressed the water quality of
<br />leachates from spent shale, both in laboratory
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