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Highlight 8-48 : Samples and Criteria for Level I and Level II Concentrations in the Human Chain Threat
| Sample Type | Usefulness for Human Food Chain Threat |
|---|---|
| Level I | |
| Surface Water/Sediment | Cannot be used to establish Level I concentrations. |
| Tissue From Essentially Sessile Benthic Human Food Chain Organisms (e.g., clams) | Hazardous substance concentrations must equal or exceed lowest human food chain benchmark concentration (or indices I or J must equal or exceed 1); must also meet criteria for an observed release. |
| Tissue From Non-Sessile or Non-Benthic Human Food Chain Organisms (e.g., finfish, crabs)a | Hazardous substance concentrations must equal or exceed lowest human food chain benchmark concentrations (or indices for I or J must equal or exceed 1). |
| Level II | |
| Surface Water/Sediment | A hazardous substance with a BPFV of 500 or greater must meet criteria for an observed release. |
| Tissue From Essentially Sessile Benthic Human Food Chain Organisms (e.g., clams) | Hazardous substance concentrations less than lowest HFC benchmark concentrations (or indices for I and J are less than 1); must also meet criteria for an observed release |
| Tissue From Non-Sessile or Non-Benthic Human Food Chain Organisms (e.g., finfish, crabs) | Cannot be used to establish actual contamination and therefore cannot be used to establish Level II (i.e., Level II must already be established). |
a Concentrations of hazardous substances must be measured in a tissue sample from a non-sessile or non-benthic human food chain organism taken from within the boundary of actual food chain contamination and from a species that spends extended periods of time within this boundary. The specific hazardous substance which is compared to its benchmark must also be present in an aqueous, sediment or benthic sample that establishes actual food chain contamination for the fishery.
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