ScholarWorks at University of Montana

Metal and Arsenic Bioavailability in Small Mammals Inhabiting Smelter-associated Tailings and Aerial Deposition Areas Following Different Remediation Treatments

Risk-based decision making associated with chemically contaminated waste sites generally emphasizes the reduction or elimination of actual or potential toxic exposures to receptor populations of concern. Wildlife inhabiting contaminated sites can be front line indicators of chemical exposure and effects due to their intimate association with site-related contaminated media. This association provides a sensitive means of detecting exposure and effects-associated adverse responses. Measures of exposure and adverse responses in wildlife can provide a means for testing predictive models of exposure and effects and determining the effectiveness of proposed remedial actions. In this preliminary study, we examined small mammals inhabiting test remediation plots on the Anaconda Smelter Hill and the Anaconda Tailings Pond.