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A STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF
IN-PLACE POLLUTANTS ON THE BOTTOM
WATER, SEDIMENTS. AND SEDIMENT-DWELLING
ORGANISMS OF THE ST MARY'S RIVER
AT SAULT STE MARIE
AND
1985 1987
Environment
Ontario
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A STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF
IN-PLACE POLLUTANTS ON THE BOTTOM
WATER, SEDIMENTS. AND SEDIMENT-DWELLING
ORGANISMS OF THE ST MARY'S RIVER
AT SAULT STE MARIE
1985 AND 1987
Environment
Ontario
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors gratefully acknowledge the input of W. Scheider, D. Pcrsaud, A. Hayton, G. LaHaye and
P. Kauss who reviewed the draft report, D. Pcrsaud who coordinated the study, and G. Hitchin (OMOE Water
Resources Branch) who coordinated the field work. The staffofthe MOE LaboratoryServices Branch (OMOE)
provided chemical analysis of the sediment and water samples. Barringer Magenta Ltd. provided gcochcmical
fractionation data and Enviroclean and OceanChem provided additional analysis of biota tissue levels. The
authors also wish to thank Lisa Smith and Anna Toskas who prepared the tables, and Tim Fletcher and Anna
Toskas who prepared the figures and assisted in the analysis of the data.
SUMMARY
The St Mary's River at Sault Ste Marie was surveyed in 1985 and 1987 as part of the Municipal-
Industrial Strategy for Abatement (MISA) Pilot Site program. Sediment surveys of the St Mary's River in 1985
and 1987 have identified contaminant problems along the river. Many of these can be traced to industrial
discharges, particularly on the Ontario side. The greatest single effect appears to be due to input from the
Algoma Steel mill situated at the west end of the City of Sault Stc Marie. The major findings of this study arc
summarized below.
1. Elevated sediment concentrations of iron, mangane.se, zinc, copper, lead and chromium were
noted downstream ofthe AlgomaSteel mill in both the 1985 and 1987surveys.Agradualdecline
in sediment metal concentration was observed with increasing distance downstream. However,
higher levels persisted as far downstream as Little Lake George. Sediment metal levels were
significantly correlated with sediment organic carbon.
2. Benthic invertebratepopulationswereseverelyreducedat,anddownstream of,theAlgomaSteel
mill. Some recovery was apparent further downstream. Increased sediment organic content in
the Lake George channel, and downstream, resulted in decreases in diversity and a change in
species composition to a communitydominated byoligochaetes. The densityofthe downstream
benthic communities appears to be inversely related to contaminant levels in the sediments.
3. Accumulation ofmetals by benthic invertebrates could not be directly related to bulk sediment
metal levels. Tissue levels fluctuated only slightly, despite large fluctuations in sediment levels.
Arsenic and mercury were the only metals that showed bioaccumulation in tissues to higher
levels than in sediments.
4. Geochemical distribution of most metals showed that levels increased in the more easily
extractable fractions downstream oftheAlgoma Steel mill.The largest increases were for those
metals that have historically been associated with losses from the steel mill. At upstream
locations most of the metals were in the more tightlybound fractions. The distribution pattern
suggests that metals at the downstream areas are of recent or anthropogenic origin.
5. Levels ofmetals in invertebrate tissues could not be directly related to levels in any particular
sediment fraction.
6. Organic contaminant concentrations, with the exception of PAHs, were low in sediments and
could not be related to any specific source of input. Only PCBs were present at higher levels
in benthic invertebrates than in sediment.
7. Sculpins generally accumulated low levels of all contaminants.
8. Anycontaminant effects that mayhave been due tothe East End Waste WaterTreatment Plant
on either the biota or the sediments could not be differentiated from effects due to upstream
sources. Similarly, an effect from the St Mary's Pulp and Paper mill, if present, could not be
separated from the effects of the Algoma Steel mill except in terms of increa.sed levels of
chlorophenols uptake in laboratory bioassays.
9. Sediments from the St Mary's River were not foundto be acutelytoxicto either mayfly nymphs
or fathead minnows during laboratory bioassays.
It is apparent from these findings that a number of complicating factors exi.st and that specific studies
may now be required to clarify some of the a.ssumptions derived in the course of this study. For example, one
of the major questions concerns the causes of the benthic community response downstream of the mill. While
we can discern an impact from the Algoma Steel mill, we cannot, at this point, determine the specific causative
factors. Regardless ofthis lack ofresolution, the effects on the benthic community, aswell as the levels ofspecific
contaminants in the sediments and associated biota, suggest that further source control would be warranted.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUMMARY
X
INTRODUCTION
1. 1
METHODS
2. 1
RESULTS
3. 3
3.1 Bottom Water 3
3.2 Sediments 3
3.2.1 Physical Characteristics 3
3.2.2 Metals 4
3.2.3 Gcochemical Fractionation 4
3.2.4 Organic Compounds 6
3.3 Aquatic Biota Contaminant Analysis 7
3.3.1 Benthic Invertebrates 7
3.3.2 Sculpins 10
3.4 Sediment Bioassays 11
3J Benthic Community Analysis 11
4. DISCUSSION 14
CONCLUSIONS
5. 16
RECOMMENDATIONS
6. 17
REFERENCES
7. 17
nCURES
8. Appendix 1
9. TABLES Appendix 2
1
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure ] Location ofSediment Sampling Stations, 1985
Figure 2 Location of Sampling Stations for Benthos, 1985
Figure 3 Location of Sediment Sampling Stations, 1987
Figiu-e 4 Sediment Metal and TOC Concentrations, 1987
Figure 5 Sediment Metal and TOC Concentrations, 1987
Figure 6 Geochemical Distribution ofArsenic in Sediment, 1985 and 1987
Figure 7 Geochemical Distribution of Cadmium in Sediment, 1985 and 1987
Figure 8 Geochemical Distribution of Chromium in Sediment, 1985 and 1987
Figure 9 Geochemical Distribution of Copper in Sediment, 1985 and 1987
Figure 10 Geochemical Distribution of Iron in Sediment, 1985 and 1987
Figure 1 Geochemical Distribution ofManganese in Sediment, 1985 and 1987
Figiue 12 Geochemical Distribution of Lead in Sediment, 1985 and 1987
Figure 13 Geochemical Distribution of Zinc in Sediment, 1985 and 1987
Figiu-e 14 Geochemical Distribution ofAluminum in Sediment, 1987
Figure 15 Geochemical Distribution of Nickel in Sediment, 1987
Figure 16 Relationship of Bulk Sediment Contaminants to Invertebrate Tissue
Levels
Figure 17 Distribution of PAHs in Sediments, 1987
