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MERC STDN Test Plan
8
We assume that all measures for a single trial provide one estimate of treatment efficacy. Thus,
treatment efficacy for any biological parameter is estimated as changes found before and after
trial (percent reduction), and as the difference in concentration between treated water and IMO
standards. This approach controls for variation due to temporal changes in environmental
conditions.
6. Protocols for Evaluations of BalPure System Discharge Toxicity
The MERC Testing Team members at the University of Maryland Wye Research and
Education Center (WREC) will evaluate the aquatic toxicity of the ballast water discharge. The
testing is designed to meet Section 5.2 of the Procedure for Approval of Ballast Water
Management Systems That Make Use of Active Substances (G9) as resolved by the Marine
Environmental Protection Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO, 2008).
Section 5.2 states that, “The advantage of conducting toxicity testing on the ballast water
discharge is that it integrates and addresses the potential for interactions of the Active Substances
and Preparations with the possible by-products.” This section requires that, “these toxicity tests
should include chronic test methods with multiple test species (a fish, an invertebrate and a plant)
that address the sensitive life-stage. The preference is to include both a sub-lethal endpoint
(growth) and a survival endpoint.” The MERC approach to meet these IMO guidelines use test
methods and species employed by the EPA for Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) testing of
effluents. These methods are approved by the EPA (2002) and the American Society for Testing
and Materials (ASTM, 2006). Personnel at WREC are vary familiar with these test species and
methods and conducted WET testing from 1986 to 2003 for the Maryland Department of the
Environment in support of its NPDES WET bioassay-monitoring program.
Test Species:
A fish, an invertebrate and a plant (algae) will be used in all ballast discharge tests.
Because the test site in Baltimore Harbor is a mesohaline aquatic environment with salinities
ranging from 5 to 15 psu, estuarine organisms will be used in these tests. The algal species will
be
Isochrysis galbana
or
Tetraselmis suecica
depending on which species performs best in
preliminary testing. The algae will be purchased from the University of Texas Algal Culture,
University of Texas, Austin, Texas. The growth media for these species will be those given in
Appendix A3 of ASTM Designation E 1218-04 “
Standard Guide for Conducting Static Toxicity
Tests with Microalgae
” (ASTM, 2006). The culture conditions will follow those given in this
guide. The fish species used in the test will be the sheepshead minnow (
Cyprinodon variegatus
)
while the invertebrate species will be the mysid (
Americamysis bahia
; formerly
Mysidopsis
bahia
). These are estuarine test species suggested for use in EPA’s Short-term Methods for
Estimating the Chronic Toxicity of Effluents and Receiving Waters to Marine and Estuarine
Organisms (EPA, 2002). Test organisms will be purchased from Aquatic BioSystems of Fort
Collins, Colorado. This company is our regular supplier of test organisms. They provide
excellent QA/QC, including reference toxicant testing and quality control charts for all of their
test species. Upon receipt by WREC, holding of test organisms will be conducted in accordance
to guidelines outlined in the above referenced EPA manual (2002).