United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Environmental
Research Laboratory
Athens GA 30613-7799
Research and Development
EPA/600/S9-88/023 June 1989
&EPA Project Summary
Protection of River Basins,
Lakes and Estuaries, Fifteen
Years of Cooperation Toward
Solving Environmental
Problems in the USSR and USA
Robert C. Ryans, editor
In 1987, the United States of
America (USA) and the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
completed 15 years of cooperation in
the field of environmental protection.
In recognition of this anniversary in
the on-going program, participants In
three projects of the agreement
contributed papers to a commemora-
tive document describing recent
activities and providing an historical
perspective on joint research In the
area of water pollution prevention.
Overviews are provided of joint
activities in water planning and
management, in protection and
management of water quality in lakes
and estuaries, and in effects of
pollutants on aquatic organisms and
ecosystems. Among the papers are
discussions of water quality manage-
ment strategies and modeling tech-
niques for water protection (USSR)
and of mass balance approaches and
nonpoint agricultural measures in
water quality management (USA).
Other contributions address predic-
tive models of water body conditions
and problems in investigating
petroleum pollution (USSR) and
describe mesocosms for evaluating
ecosystem health and water quality
research in the Great Lakes (USA).
Finally, papers are presented regard-
ing ion exchange in fish and biotest-
ing of aquatic environments (USSR)
and describing aquatic toxicity test
methodologies and ammonia toxicity
and metabolism in fish (USA).
This Project Summary was devel-
oped by EPA's Environmental
Research Laboratory. Athens, GA, to
announce key findings of the research
project that Is fully documented In a
separate report of the same title (see
Project Report ordering information at
back).
Introduction
In 1972, the United States of America
and the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics launched a joint program of
cooperation and exchange of scientific
information on problems of environmental
pollution. Since then, the USA-USSR
Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of
Environmental Protection has helped both
countries in their pollution control efforts.
Among several activities addressing
different environmental media under the
Agreement is the Working Group on
Cooperation in the Area of Water
Protection. Included in the interests of
this Working Group are three projects—
Project 02.02-11 "River Basin Water
Quality Management," Project 02.02-12
"Protection and Management of Water
Quality in Lakes and Estuaries," and
Project 02.02-13 "Effect of Pollutants on
Aquatic Organisms and Ecosystems:
Development of Water Quality Criteria."
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In recognition of the 15th anniversary in
the on-going program, participants in
these three projects contributed papers
to a commemorative document describ-
ing recent activities and providing an
historical perspective on joint research.
Introducing this collection of papers is an
overview provided by the Co-chairmen of
the USA-USSR Agreement on Coopera-
tion in the Field of Environmental
Protection, Mr. L.A. Thomas, Admin-
istrator of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, and Mr. Y.A. Izrael,
Chairman of the USSR State Committee
for Hydrometeorology.
Contributing their views of the 15 years
of progress are the Co-chairmen of the
USA-USSR Working Group on Coopera-
tion in the Area A of Water Pollution
Prevention, Mr. V. V. Adamkus, Regional
Administrator, Region V, USEPA, and Mr.
A. K. Kuzin, Director, All-Union Research
Institute for Water Protection. Intro-
ductions to the collected papers are
provided by Project Co-leaders: Mr. V. J.
Saulys, Chief, Remedial Program Staff,
Great Lakes National Program Office,
Region V, USEPA, and Mr. Kuzin (02.02-
11); Dr. R. C. Russo, Director, Environ-
mental Research Laboratory, USEPA,
Athens, GA, Dr. W. R. Swain, Professor,
University of Amsterdam, The Nether-
lands, and Dr. A. M. Nikanorov, Director,
Hydrochemical Institute, USSR State
Committee for Hydrometeorology and
Control of the Natural Environment
(02.02-12); and Dr. R. A. Schoettger,
Director, National Fisheries Contaminant
Research Center, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Columbia MO, Dr. Russo, and
Dr. N. Butorin, Director, Institute of Inland
Waters, USSR Academy of Sciences
(02.02-13).
Titles, Authors and Abstracts of
the 12 Papers
"Strategy of Water Planning and
Evaluation," by A. V. L'vov and A. K.
Kuzin, All-Union Scientific Research
Institute of Water Protection, USSR
Ministry of Reclamation and Water
Management, Kharkov—The importance
of water protection in national economies
requires the selection of optimal
strategies for water quality planning and
management. Water quality management
is a continuing process of idea formation,
of planning and achieving corresponding
water protection measures, of evaluating
results, and of establishing new goals.
Comprehensive water protection pro-
grams must be based on an ecosystem
approach, the determination of pollution
sources must be based on the mass
balance approach, and the determination
of protection efficiency must be based on
a combination of technological and basin
approaches. Management priority must
be that of resource-saving technology,
which is nature protective and
economical at the same time.
"A Mass Balance Approach to Water
Quality Management in the Great Lakes,"
L. E. Fink, Great Lakes National Program
Office, USEPA, Region V, Chicago, IL,
and P. L. Wise, Science Applications
International Corporation, McLean, VA—
The mass balance, or total load
management, approach seeks to control
the total rate of entry of toxic pollutants
from any source or location. Basic to the
approach are wasteload allocation
models that must be tested and verified
through comparison with actual monitor-
ing results after all significant sources are
identified and quantified and after source
controls are implemented. The mass
balance approach is a working con-
ceptual framework in which to implement
total load management of toxic
substances so that the interim water
quality goals can be achieved in a
systematic and focused fashion, without
abandoning the long-term goal of zero
discharge of toxicants into the Great
Lakes ecosystem.
"Water Quality Modeling and Develop-
ment of Water Protection Programs," Y.
V. Yermenko and G. A. Sukhorukov, All-
Union Scientific Research Institute of
Water Protection, USSR Ministry of
Reclamation and Water Management,
Kharkov—The most important direction of
improvement of a management system
for water protection and rational use of
water resources is the use of program-
objective methods of control and
planning. These methods are based on
the extensive use of mathematical
modeling and optimization of water
protection measures. Realization of
simulation requirements applicable to
water basins is attained by joining the
models of large scale discharge influence
and other factors affecting water quality
and the models of local discharge
influence. It is mainly in the large scale
discharge models that the circulation
influence of water masses is considered
as well as the full transformation of
substances under the influence of
biochemical factors. The local discharge
models are relatively simple and extend
to areas from the site of pollutant
discharge to the control point.
"Identification of Pollutants Subject to
Nonpoint Agricultural Measures in the
Maumee River Basin," J. B. Morrison,
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN-
Management of nonpoint pollutio
sources requires the same kind of carefi
identification of impaired uses, importar
pollutants and appropriate centre
strategies that is necessary for poin
sources. In the Maumee River Basin, thi
impaired use of a resource (Lake Erie
has been identified (eutrophicatioi
resulting from nutrient imbalances). Thi
pollutant responsible for the impaired usi
(phosphorus) has been identified am
programs for its control (reduced so
erosion resulting from less intensivi
tillage and other soil conservatio
measures) have been developed. Poten
tial consequences of this effort (increase*
nitrate concentrations , increased use c
chemicals for weed control) have bee
identified. If care and judgment ar
employed, pollution management wi
result in restoration of the resourc
without the creation of new and une>
pected consequences.
"Present State of Model Bank fc
Predictive Water Body Conditions," A. fv
Nickanorov, A. B. Gortsko, A. fi
Matveyev, and M. G. Yereshukovj
Hydrochemical Institute, USSR Stat
Committee for Hydrometeorology an
Control of the Natural Environmen
Rostov-on-Don—Mathematical model
provide quantitative evaluations of wate
basin and channel conditions and predic
the response of water ecosystems unde
the action of given factors. Simulatio
techniques for intrabasin processes ar
classified as descriptive models, predic
live models, or optimization models. Th
more complex the system to b
simulated is, and the more this system i
influenced by external factors, the mor
complex does the process of building
model for predictive purposes beconru
Problems encountered in developm
predictive models can be overcome mor
easily and quickly with the use of expe
systems. Expert systems applied t
intrabasin process models satisfy th
modern requirements of science an
increase the efficiency of theoretic)
investigations in hydrochemistry an
hydrobiology.
"Historical Synopsis of Great Lake
Water Quality Research and Managf
ment and Future Directions," W. I
Richardson, Large Lakes Researc
Station, USEPA, Grosse lie, Ml, and J. I
Paul, Environmental Research Labon
tory, USEPA, Narragansett, Rl-ln 197
the U.S. Environmental Protectic
Agency was just becoming involved wi
major pollution control efforts on tr
North American Great Lakes. Sevei
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water quality issues were related, most
notably, to eutrophication and the
Resultant impacts on drinking water,
fisheries, and recreation. Through the use
of monitoring studies and mathematical
modeling, much has been accomplished
in understanding cause-effect relation-
ships and in managing water quality.
Most notable was the establishment of
target loadings for phosphorus. With
eutrophication declining, effects of toxic
substances became the major environ-
mental issue for the Great Lakes in the
1980s. Initial monitoring and research into
cause-effect relationships has indicated
that rational management of toxics is and
will continue to be a difficult problem.
"Procedural-Methodological Problems
in Investigating Petroleum Products in
Continental Surface Waters," A. G.
Stradomskaya, Hydrochemical Institute,
USSR State Committee for Hydro-
meteorology and Control of the Natural
Environment, Rostov-on-Don — Surface
waters have an extremely complex,
diverse and dynamic chemical compo-
sition, determined by a great variety of
formation and transformation factors.
Investigating petroleum product contami-
nation of surface water is made much
more difficult by the wide range of
organic substances that are introduced
^through production process effluent and
'household waste. To obtain correct
information on the total amount of
petroleum products, the analyst must
consider the volatile and nonvolatile
hydrocarbons, the tars, and the asphalts.
Variants of gas and liquid chroma-
tography-mass spectrometry and highly
efficient liquid chromatography have
been used successfully in identifying
petroleum products.
"Use of Mesocosms in Evaluating the
Health of Aquatic Ecosystems," S. J.
Lozano, University of Wisconsin-Superior,
Superior, Wl —Methods for assessing
pollutant effects on aquatic systems are
numerous, including single-species
bioassays and experiments in micro-
cosms, in natural water bodies, and in
enclosures within a lake or stream. With
the use of whole systems and mesocosm
techniques and proper experimental
design and analysis, it is possible to
quantify the effect, persistence, and
movement of pesticides and other toxi-
cants. Mesocosms are ideal for measur-
ing primary and secondary effects. The
results from these mesocosm experi-
ments are of vital interest to the
experimental ecologist and resource
manager. When the symptoms of
ecosystem distress can be related to
specific effects of different classes of
chemicals, environmental managers will
be better able to regulate levels of toxic
substances in aquatic systems.
"Ion Exchange in Fish under Extreme
Effects of a Varied Nature," G. A.
Vinogradov, V. T. Komov, and V. B.
Tagunov, Institute of the Biology of Inland
Waters, USSR Academy of Sciences,
Borok—A study of ion exchange in fish
establishes that the catching and
laboratory handling of fish are the same
type of stress factor, inducing disturb-
ances of the ion balance between the
organism and medium through intensi-
fication of sodium and potassium
diffusion into the external medium. Ion
exchange characteristics become normal
in the restorative period. Sodium losses
drop repeatedly and sodium absorption
from the water increases as a result of
the fish's acclimation to the salt shortage
in the water. Polychlorpinene increases
sodium loss from the organism. Other
pesticides in different concentrations do
not have such an effect.
"Aquatic Toxicity Test Methodologies:
An Update for the 1980s," M. G. Henry,
National Fisheries Center-Great Lakes,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ann Arbor,
Ml, and R. A. Schoettger, National
Fisheries Contaminant Research Center-
Columbia, USFWS, Columbia, MO —
Hazard assessment methodology is con-
stantly being refined in the face of
escalating industrial, domestic, and
agricultural point and nonpoint input of
contaminants to water supplies. Integral
to hazard assessment is the determin-
ation of the biological effects of single
compounds and mixtures on environ-
mental populations. Since the first
technical exchange between the USA and
USSR, a collaborative program of toxicity
testing and application has been carried
out by American and Soviet researchers.
These tests include microbial, biochem-
ical, physiological, and behavioral assays
using a number of organisms. Future
research will incorporate issues such as
resistance, reversibility of effects, and
continued development of test
approaches that use fish and inverte-
brates of common indigenous distribution
in the two countries.
"Biotesting of Aquatic Environments
Based on the Behavioral Reactions of
Aquatic Animals," V. A. Nepomniashchikh
and B. A. Flerov, Institute of the Biology
of Inland Waters, USSR Academy of
Sciences, Borok—Numerous methods
are available currently for testing the
effect of water quality on the behavior of
aquatic animals. The primary focus is on
establishing behavioral indicators of
contamination and on forecasting the
ecological effect of changes in these
indicators caused by poisoning. In nature,
the animal's behavior is composed, not of
individual reactions, but of integrated
complexes of various forms of behavior
that are united by a common goal--for
example, feeding or reproduction. From
the ecological standpoint, it is important
to study the effect of water quality on the
attainment of these goals and not on the
individual behavioral characteristics. To
this end, research had involved the
examination of behavioral complexes
associated with medicinal leeches and
caddisworms exposed to toxicants.
Results indicate the animals' behavior to
be a sensitive indicator of water quality.
"Ammonia Toxicity and Metabolism in
Fishes," R. C. Russo, Environmental
Research Laboratory, USEPA, Athens,
GA, D. J. Randall, Department of
Zoology, University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC, and R. V. Thurston,
Fisheries Bioassay Laboratory, Montana
State University, Bozeman, MT—To
understand the toxicity of ammonia to
fish, it is important to understand its
chemical equilibrium in water In aqueous
solutions, ammonia assumes both ionized
and unionized chemical forms. The
relative concentrations are principally a
function of the pH, temperature, and ionic
strength of a given ammonia solution.
Ammonia is an end product of protein
metabolism, and because it is toxic, it
must be excreted or converted to less
toxic compounds such as urea or
glutamine. Short-term exposure of fish to
high concentrations of ammonia causes
an increase in gill ventilation, hyper-
excitability, convulsions, and then death.
These symptoms are most likely the
result of a direct effect of ammonia on
the central nervous system. Effects of
chronic exposure to lower concentrations
include tissue damage and decreased
reproduction.
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The EPA editor, Robert C. Ryans, is with the Environmental Research Laboratory,
Athens, GA 30613.
Rosemarie C. Russo is the EPA Project Officer (see below).
The complete report, entitled "Protection of River Basins, Lakes and Estuaries,
Fifteen Years of Cooperation Toward Solving Environmental Problems in the
USSR and USA," (Order No. PB 89-129 688/AS; Cost: $36.95, subject to
change) will be available only from:
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA22161
Telephone: 703-487-4650
The EPA Project Officer can be contacted at:
Environmental Research Laboratory
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Athens, GA 30613-7799
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Center for Environmental Research
Information
Cincinnati OH 45268
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