United States Department of Agriculture - Forest Service	Southern Research Station 200 W.T. Weaver Boulevard Asheville, NC 28804
	Date:   August 16, 2002 Science Contact: A Dennis Lemly  540-231-6663 dlemly@fs.fed.us News Release Contact: Zoë Hoyle 828-257-4388 zhoyle@fs.fed.us

Seven Steps to Protect Wildlife from Selenium Toxicity

Asheville,NC -- To improve water quality at the watershed level, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed an approach that sets a limit on the total maximum daily load (TMDL) of each contaminant entering an aquatic system. Although selenium is known to affect reproduction in fish and aquatic birds, the EPA has not yet developed technical guidance or procedures specifically for this element. In a recent issue of Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, SRS researcher Dennis Lemly (Blacksburg, VA unit) provides a step-by-step procedure for developing TMDLs for selenium.

Intended for field biologists, environmental contaminant specialists, and natural resource managers, Lemly's procedure is designed to keep selenium concentrations below the levels that threaten the reproductive health of fish and aquatic birds. Using biological criteria, Lemly structures the method to address two basic issues-whether selenium is impairing the water body under study, and if so, how much must the amount of selenium entering the system be reduced to correct the problem. The seven steps can be read in detail in the article, available in full text at
/pubs/viewpub.jsp?index=4479.

For more on Lemly's research on selenium toxicity see previous SRS news releases.
August 13, 2002:
/about/newsrelease/nr_2002-08-13-lemly.htm 
April 23, 2002:
/about/newsrelease/nr_2002-04-23-selenium.htm

For more information: Dennis Lemly at (540-231-6663) or dlemly@vt.edu 

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