Name: Assessing the Impacts of Two Coal Ash- Associated Trace Metals

Year Awarded: 2022

Type Awarded: Scholarship

Details: Coal ash (CA), a waste product of coal power production, has been shown to contain several neurotoxic trace metals which are able to escape into local aquatic environments via accidental release, leaching from lined or unlined repositories, and permitted discharge. In Virginia alone there are 12 coal ash ponds and 8 coal ash landfills. Most CA repositories are located near freshwater wetlands, which often also act as recreational areas. While there is testing conducted on permitted discharge to monitor acute contamination, there is little research on contaminant body burdens in aquatic organisms as well as exposure effects on reproduction, behavior, and viability of aquatic invertebrates living near CA repositories. This study will assess the exposure effects of two CA-associated trace metals, cadmium and arsenic, on the viability, locomotor behavior, and embryonic development of the Seminole ramshorn snail (Planorbella duryi).

Status: Completed: Data collected, analyzed, and results documented in a report. Additionally, the results of the study were presented at the CPRC SETAC (https://cprcsetac.wildapricot.org/) 2023 Spring Meeting, as a 15-minute platform presentation. Results were provided to the EPA Adverse Outcomes Pathway Database (https://www.epa.gov/healthresearch/adverse-outcome-pathway-database-aop-db)