Ecological Risk Assessment of the Tittabawassee River Floodplain

Client: The Dow Chemical Company

Location: Michigan

Summary: In 2003, the Michigan State University (MSU) Wildlife Toxicology Laboratory embarked on a 5-year wildlife study of the Tittabawassee River floodplain to assess the impacts of dioxin and furan exposure on the wildlife food chain and surrounding environment. Cardno ENTRIX was hired to facilitate the ecological risk assessment that was being conducted by MSU via an unrestricted grant from Dow.

A comprehensive ecological assessment of the availability and impact of dioxin and furan contamination of river sediments and floodplain soils on aquatic and terrestrial wildlife spanning 22 miles of river was conducted. The study involved an unprecedented level of environmental sampling, including American mink, great horned owls, eastern bluebirds, great blue herons, American robins, wood ducks, kingfishers, hooded mergansers, tree swallows, and house wrens. Furthermore, the assessment included multiple lines of evidence?from tissue sampling to nesting and migration success?to assess the effects and actual concentrations of dioxin and furan exposure. Over the course of the project, Cardno ENTRIX reviewed extensive quantities of data and lab results, oversaw data storage, and presented and distributed findings to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. EPA, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and The Dow Chemical Company.