On September 18, 2017 from 1:00-2:00pm EST, EPA will host a second webinar to review and clarify its recently published draft aluminum aquatic life water quality criteria document (Docket ID: EPA-HQ-OW-2017-0260).
EPA first released freshwater criteria for aluminum in 1988 to protect aquatic life from harmful effects of aluminum toxicity, which can inhibit an aquatic organism’s ability to regulate salt concentrations and clog fish gills, potentially resulting in death or affecting growth and reproduction. EPA is updating the aluminum criteria to better reflect the latest science and, in response to a consent decree for Oregon, propose aluminum standards. Studies have shown that three water chemistry parameters — pH, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and hardness — can affect the toxicity of aluminum by impacting aquatic species’ overall exposure to aluminum.
Unlike the fixed values recommended by EPA in the 1988 document, this draft document provides users the flexibility to develop site-specific criteria based on a site’s water chemistry.
Register for the webinar here and/or go here to comment on the draft document (comments close on September 26, 2017).