7821

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7821
• Author: Hamilton, S. J., et al.
• Title: Evaluation Of Toxicity To Larval Razorback Sucker Of Selenium-Laden Food Organisms From Ouray NWR On The Green River, Utah.
• USFW Year: 1996.
• USFW - Doc Type: \
• Copyright Material: NO

feeding study, all live fish were measured for total length and a pooled weight determined
(fish were too small for measurement of individual weight) in the tests with 5- and to-day
old larvae, but weighed individually in the test with 24-day old larvae.

Inorganic analyses

Water samples were collected weekly at the six sites for residue analysis of selenium
and other inorganics. Water was filtered through a 0.45 ILm polycarbonate filter and 200 ml
was preserved with 2 ml ultrapure RCI and stored frozen. Concentrations of selenium in
water samples were determined with a Perkin-Elmer model 2280 atomic absorption
spectrophotometer equipped with a model MRS-tO hydride generator. The
spectrophotometer was standardized with National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST) standard reference material 3149 (water). Samples were digested using a persulfate
digestion technique and total selenium determined by a modification of the method of Presser
and Barnes (1984). The limit of detection (LOD) ranged from 0.4 to 2.4 Jlg/L, the
procedure blanks had background equivalent concentrations less than the LOD (indicates no
contamination from reagents or sample handling), the percent relative standard deviation
(triplicate sample preparation and analysis) was 5.4% (indicates consistent sample handling
during preparation, digestion, and analysis), and recovery of selenium was within
recommended ranges in National Bureau of Standards (NBS) reference material 1643b water
(8.2-11.2 ILg/L) and NIST standard reference material 3149 (8.99-11.01ILg/L) (indicates the
digestion and analysis procedure accurately measured selenium concentrations). The digested
sample spike solutions had a mean percent recovery of 98 % (indicates the digestion
procedure did not alter the amount of spiked selenium in the sample, i.e., suggests no loss of
selenium in water samples during digestion procedure). Field spiked samples had a mean
percent recovery of 90% (indicates sample vessels and storage did not alter the amount of
selenium in the samples). Spiked samples analyzed for matrix suppression or enhancement
had mean selenium recoveries of 99% (indicates no interference from other water
components) .

A second set of 200 ml water samples was filtered and preserved with 2 ml ultrapure
HN03 and stored frozen. These samples were analyzed by inductively-coupled argon plasma
(I CAP) analysis for 32 elements at the Environmental Trace Substances Research Center,
Columbia, MO. The procedure blank had background equivalent concentrations less than the
LOD for all elements except calcium and thallium, the mean percent relative standard
deviation (duplicate sample preparation and analysis) was 1.3 %, the mean spike recovery was
97 %, and the recovery of trace elements in Environmental Resources Associates reference
water ERA9947TM was within recommended ranges. The estimated limit of detections
[mg/L; mean (standard error)] were: Ag 0.009 (0.001), Al 0.02 (0), As 0.03 (0), B 0.009
(0.001), Ba 0.0006 (0.0001), Be 0.0002 (0), Bi 0.02 (0), Ca 0.06 (0.01), Cd 0.002 (0), Co
0.004 (0), Cr 0.007 (0), Cu 0.003 (0), Fe 0.007 (0), K 0.3 (0), Li 0.001 (0), Mg 0.01 (0),
Mn 0.001 (0), Mo 0.006 (0.001), Na 0.08 (0), Ni 0.007 (0), P 0.06 (0.01), Pb 0.03 (0), Sb
0.04 (0), Se 0.03 (0), Si 0.04 (0), Sn 0.03 (0), Sr 0.0008 (0), Ti 0.0009 (0), TI 0.08 (0), V
0.002 (0), Zn 0.002 (0), and Zr 0.003 (0).

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