Indicator Matrix for Contaminants
Drafted matrix for determining priority indicators.
| Category | Indicator | Scientifically Valid |
Responsive to Change |
Cause and Effect Link |
Accurate Data Available |
Relevant to Users |
Comparable Regionally |
Useful at Different Scales |
Comparable to Targets, Thresholds, or Standards |
Indicates a Condition (i.e. Not just a measurement) |
| Sediment Concentrations | Area of sediments that have contaminants above guidelines (including PAH, PCB, chlorinated pesticides, and metals) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sediment quality measured by triad approach | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Sediment toxicity (ex:Amphipods, Microtox solid phase assay, elutriate testing) | Yes | |||||||||
| Water Concentrations | Annual chemical load to water bodies | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Volume of water with contaminants above guidelines (including PAHs, PCBs, chlorinated pesticides, and metals) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Source Investigations and Eliminations | Inventory of point sources – Being covered by coastal development group | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Inventory of contaminant problems | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Number of bacterial source investigations and source eliminations | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Human Health |
Incidences of disease caused by consumption of fish | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Incidences of disease caused by consumption of shellfish | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Incidence of disease from recreational contact | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Affected by many other sources |
Tissue body burden in high-risk humans | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Habitat |
Annual number of beach closures | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Annual number of shellfish bed closures | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Questionable indicator |
Quality of habitats affected | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Marine Organism Disease and Interference |
Marine organism disease incidence | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Reproductive success | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Contaminant Levels in Organisms | Concentrations in sentinel organisms – possibly defined as contaminant-specific marine organism disease | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| National Shellfish Sanitation Program Data | ||||||||||
| Concentrations in shellfish and finfish | Yes | Yes | Yes/Perhaps No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Tissue body burden in seafood | Yes | Yes | Yes/Perhaps No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Time-average water concentrations related to body burdens of filter feeders |