Rogers Quarry Special Studies Report 2024

Abstract

Rogers Quarry (RQ) has a history of elevated selenium (Se) concentrations in water and fish caused by inputs from the Y-12 National Security Complex Filled Coal Ash Pond (FCAP). Selenium is acutely toxic at high concentrations, and chronic toxicity occurs at low aqueous concentrations because Se bioaccumulates in fish tissues. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently developed water quality criteria for Se that include fish tissue as well as aqueous Se concentrations. The water column concentration criterion is 1.5 µg L -1 for lentic ecosystems and 3.1 µg L -1 for lotic ecosystems. The fish tissue criteria include both an egg/ovary concentration (15.1 µg/g dry weight) and a concentration for whole-body (8.5 µg/g dry weight) or fish muscle (11.3 µg/g dry weight). The egg/ovary criterion supersedes the fillet and aqueous concentrations if measured because Se toxicity manifests via reproductive effects in birds and fish. It is maternally transferred through eggs, leading to teratogenicity (i.e., deformities, developmental effects) in young fish. Historical bioaccumulation data suggest that Se is likely the primary contaminant of concern in RQ, but more recent sampling shows that aqueous As concentrations have been elevated in upper McCoy Branch (MB) leading to RQ. More recently, Se concentrations in fish collected from upper MB were found to be above the tissue criterion for Se for whole-body fish. In FY 2019, actions were taken to deepen the constructed wetland just downstream of the FCAP to increase its ability to remove coal ash particulates from the water column before water enters MB. Sampling was conducted throughout MB in FY 2020-2024 to evaluate the effectiveness of the actions taken in the FCAP wetland and to measure Se concentrations in biota throughout the watershed. The methods and results from a water and fish field collection campaign in April 2024 are presented in this report.