Industrial Discharges & Potential Impact on WET Tests
What is WET? What is WET? Laboratory Test
Living Organisms– Vertebrate– Invertebrate
• Exposure to Effluent
C. dubia WET Test Set-UpC. dubia WET Test Set-Up
C. dubia WET Test Randomized BoardC. dubia WET Test Randomized Board
Counting Neonates and Counting Broods
Common Causes of WETTest Failures
Ammonia Dissolved Solids Pathogens Construction Contaminated Sampling Equipment Chlorine Nitrite?
Case 1 - Initial WET Analyses1993 — 1994
Case 1 - Initial WET Analyses1993 — 1994
- 12 Samples Tested- 8 Samples (67%) Exhibited
Lethal Effects
Testing Initiated May 1993 Between May 1993 and December
1994
Case 1 - InvestigationCase 1 - Investigation
Case 2 - TreatmentsCase 2 - TreatmentsNo Code Description1 AO Ambient pH (Control)2 Aa Ambient with aeration3 Af Ambient with filtration4 B0 pH 35 Ba pH3 with aeration6 Bf pH3 with filtration7 Bs pH3 with solid phase extraction8 C0 pH 109 Ca pH10 with aeration10 Cf pH10 with filtration11 Cs pH10 with solid phase extraction
No Code Description12 EO EDTA Control13 E1 EDTA – lowest concentration14 E2 EDTA [ 2 * E1]15 E3 EDTA [2 * E2]16 E4 EDTA [2 * E3]17 TO Sodium Thiosulfate (STS) Control18 T1 STS – lowest concentration19 T2 STS [2 * T1]20 T3 STS [2 * T2]21 T4 STS [2 * T3]
Case 2 - TreatmentsCase 2 - Treatments
Case 1 - Solid Phase ExtractionCase 1 - Solid Phase Extraction
Case 1 - Permit Diazinon No treatment possible Permit required
Public Education Program
Testing for Diazinon
Case 1Influent Diazinon Concentration
Trinity River AuthorityTen Mile Creek Regional Wastewater System
0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%
100%
1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004Year
% o
f Mea
sure
men
ts >
DL
0.00
0.10
0.20
0.30
0.40
0.50
0.60
Aver
age
Conc
entra
tion
( g/
L)
% greater than Detection Limit
- - - - - Average Concentration
Before PEP After PEP
Case 1 – WET Limit? In 2005 EPA directed TCEQ to add
WET limit to draft permit. Basis
- Not a precise correlation between Diazinon concentrations and test failures
- Sublethal failures
Single failure - permit violation.
Two failures - referral to enforcement.
No identified cause.
No identified treatment solution.
Case 1- WET Permit Limit Concerns
Case 1 – A Closer Look 1
Case 1 – A Closer Look 2
Case 1 – A Closer Look 3a
Case 1 – A Closer Look 3b
Case 1 – A Closer Look 4
Case 1 – Case Closed Treatment Plant Upgrades
New WET Test Lab
Case 2 – WET Limit Avoided3 Suspects Copper
Nickel
Zinc
Case 2 – Permit Limits
…annual average flow of effluent shall not exceed 2.0 MGD…
Total Copper Total NickelTotal Zinc
0.010 mg/L0.020 mg/L0.060 mg/L
Case 2 - Test HistoryCase 2 - Test HistoryYear Tests Results Studies2011 8 Tests 4 Failures 3 TIEs
2012 8 Tests 1 Failure Zinc Spiking Study
2013 5 Tests 0 Failures Trinary Metal Spiking Study
2014 5 Tests 0 Failures None
2015 4 Tests 0 Failures None
2016 4 Test 0 Failures None
Case 2 - The BeginningCase 2 - The Beginning
Case 2 - TreatmentsCase 2 - TreatmentsNo Code Description1 AO Ambient pH (Control)2 Aa Ambient with aeration3 Af Ambient with filtration4 B0 pH 35 Ba pH3 with aeration6 Bf pH3 with filtration7 Bs pH3 with solid phase extraction8 C0 pH 109 Ca pH10 with aeration10 Cf pH10 with filtration11 Cs pH10 with solid phase extraction
No Code Description12 EO EDTA Control13 E1 EDTA – lowest concentration14 E2 EDTA [ 2 * E1]15 E3 EDTA [2 * E2]16 E4 EDTA [2 * E3]17 TO Sodium Thiosulfate (STS) Control18 T1 STS – lowest concentration19 T2 STS [2 * T1]20 T3 STS [2 * T2]21 T4 STS [2 * T3]
Case 2 - TreatmentsCase 2 - Treatments
Lab Water Control Effluent
Case 2 – TreatmentsMarch 2011 SampleCase 2 – TreatmentsMarch 2011 Sample
Case 2 – TreatmentsMarch 2011 SampleCase 2 – TreatmentsMarch 2011 Sample
Lab Water Control Effluent
Case 2 – TreatmentsOctober 2011 SampleCase 2 – TreatmentsOctober 2011 Sample
Case 2 – TreatmentsNovember 2011 Sample
Case 2 – TreatmentsNovember 2011 Sample
Lab Water ControlEffluent
Lab Water - Nov
Lab Water - Oct
Lab Water - March
05
1015202530
Aver
age
No. N
eona
tes
Effluent spiked with zinc (ug/L)
Case 2 – Zinc SpikeCase 2 – Zinc Spike
Case 2 – Trinary Combinationsof Copper, Nickel, and Zinc
Case 2 – Trinary Combinationsof Copper, Nickel, and Zinc
Case 2 – Copper EffectCase 2 – Copper Effect
Case 2 – Nickel EffectCase 2 – Nickel Effect
Case 2 – Zinc EffectCase 2 – Zinc Effect
Case 2 – Lab ConclusionCase 2 – Lab Conclusion
Case 2 – What Are the Metal Effluent Concentrations?
Case 2 – What Are the Metal Effluent Concentrations?
TestDate
Max in Compliance Test (% Effluent)
TIE Study(% Effluent)
March 2011 53 100
October 2011 53 100November 2011 53 100
Case 2 – CopperCase 2 – Copper
Case 2 – NickelCase 2 – Nickel
Case 2 – ZincCase 2 – Zinc
Case 2 – Plant PerformanceCase 2 – Plant Performance
Case 2 – Permit AmendmentCase 2 – Permit Amendment Presented Results to TCEQ Agreed to Permit Amendment Removal of Metal Limits No WET limits because no more WET
failures
Case 3 – Disappearing ToxicityCase 3 – Disappearing Toxicity Strong lethal effects in Compliance Test Some retests retain toxicity Some retests lose some or all toxicity Ammonia concentrations high Ammonia typically stable during storage
Zeolite Removed Toxicity. Ammonia Re-addition duplicated
original results. Sea lettuce removed ammonia and
toxicity. Permit Received Ammonia Limit
Case 3 – Disappearing ToxicityCase 3 – Disappearing Toxicity
Case 4 - AlkalinityCase 4 - Alkalinity
Case 5Toxicity TaleBooks 1 - 5
Case 5 - Book 1Background Lethal failures in 1990s.
Invoked cessation of lethality in 2001 after passing 31 monthly tests.
Report of lethality test failure in November 2001, triggered EPA proposal for WET limit in permit.
Case 5 – Book1 Non-monotonic dose-response curves.
Control charts indicate organisms more sensitive than normal.
November 2001 test not terminated when controls had 3 broods.
Split samples in January 2002; one laboratory reported a pass.
Judge rules in favor of permittee.
TCEQ agrees – permit without WET limit.
EPA does not agree.
Case 5 – End of Book 1
Case 5 – Book 2Investigation of Sublethal Effects
Case 5 – Book 2Investigation of Sublethal Effects
EDTA Sodium Thiosulfate pH adjustment Filtration Aeration Solid Phase Extraction
Case 5 – Book 2Investigation of Sublethal Effects
Daphnia magna Colloidal Solids CO2 Blanket
Case 5 – Book 2 Investigation of Sublethal Effects
Source Water
Split Samples
Mock Effluent
Comparison WWTP#1 and #2
40% of Tests show sublethal effect in Mock Effluent and WWTPs.
Case 5 – Book 2The Cause Identified
Low Hardness (50 – 70 mg/L, as CaCO3)
High Alkalinity (190 – 210 mg/L, as CaCO3)
Case 5- Book 3 EPA Federalized Permit EPA issued permit with WET limit. Environmental Appeals Board EAB sent permit back to EPA to
reissue. EPA delegated permit back to State.
Case 5- Book 4 TCEQ issues permit without WET
limit.
CANCELEDCANCELED
Case 5- Book 5
Client changes Water Supply No more WET test failures
Case 6 - Toxic Golf BallsCase 6 - Toxic Golf Balls
Case X
Case Open
Nitrite
Case X
Case Open
Nitrite
Effluent - March
Lab Water Control - October
EDTA ControlSTSControl
15
Effluent - October
Lab Water Control-November
Effluent – November