AbstractField studies, laboratory experiments and theoretical calculations were used to estimate the ecological risk caused by the release of toxic organic compounds from the Baird and McGuire Superfund hazardous waste site to the Cochato River, a small river in eastern Massachusetts. The results from the field studies, which included (a) direct measurements of chemical concentrations in sediments and fish tissues; (b) direct measurements of chemical concentrations in dialysis bags filled with hexane and placed in the river; and (c) taxonomic surveys at stations upstream of, adjacent to and downstream of the site, were compared to the results from laboratory tests and computer models, which included (d) toxicity bioassays, (e) toxicity quotients based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's interim sediment quality criteria, and (f) estimates of bioaccumulation using equilibrium and fugacity models. The resulting patchwork of confirmatory and contradictory findings highlights the limitations of available theoretical and laboratory methods and cautions against reliance on any single method of quantifying stress to aquatic ecosystems.
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