Fish bioaccumulation and biomarkers in environmental risk assessment: a review

Chemical-activated luciferase gene expression (CALUX): a novel in vitro bioassay for Ah receptor active compounds in sediments and pore water.

Concentrations of lipophilic contaminants in biota are frequently corrected for variation in tissue lipid content. Usually, this correction is accomplished by dividing tissue contaminant concentration by lipid concentration to form lipid-normalized data. This ratio-based approach is satisfactory when contaminant concentration varies in direct proportion to lipid content. However, when such a relationship does not exist, erroneous conclusions may be reached. Recent research has emphasized the potential shortcomings of the use of ratio variables. We demonstrate the importance of considering these shortcomings when lipid-normalizing data. Three examples are presented, and an alternative approach based upon the use of analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) is suggested.

To normalize or not to normalize? Fat is the question

This work examines the effects of adding coke or activated carbon on the bioavailability of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in contaminated sedimentfrom South Basin at Hunters Point, San Francisco Bay. We show with 28-day sediment exposure tests that PCB bioaccumulation in a polychaete (Neanthes arenaceodentata) is reduced by 82% following 1-month contact of sediment with activated carbon and by 87% following 6-months contact of sediment with activated carbon. PCB bioaccumulation in an amphipod (Leptocheirus plumulosus) is reduced by 70% following 1-month contact of sediment with activated carbon and by 75% after 6-months contact of sediment with activated carbon. Adding coke had a negligible effect on reducing PCB bioaccumulation, probably because of the low specific surface area and the slow kinetics of PCB diffusion intothe solid coke particles. Reductions in congener bioaccumulation with activated carbon were inversely related to congener Kow, suggesting that the efficacy of activated carbon is controlled by the mass-transfer rate of PCBs from sediment and into activated carbon. We find that reductions in aqueous PCB concentrations in equilibrium with the sediment were similar to reductions in PCB bioaccumulation. While no lethality was observed following activated carbon addition, growth rates were reduced by activated carbon for the polychaete, but not for the amphipod, suggesting the need for further study of the potential impacts of activated carbon on exposed communities. The study suggests that treatment of the biologically active layer of contaminated sediments with activated carbon may be a promising in-situ technique for reducing the bioavailability of sediment-associated PCBs and other hydrophobic organic compounds.

Addition of Activated Carbon to Sediments to Reduce PCB Bioaccumulation by a Polychaete (Neanthes arenaceodentata) and an Amphipod (Leptocheirus plumulosus)

A novel nonequilibrium, steady-state model is presented to predict the bioaccumulation of organic chemicals by filter feeding and detritivorous benthic invertebrates. This model accounts for chemical disequilibria between overlying water, diet and sediment, biomagnification, and benthic invertebrate feeding preferences and strategies. The results of a field study of PCB congener bioaccumulation in various benthic invertebrate species in western Lake Erie are reported to verify the model. A comparison of model-predicted and field data demonstrate that the predictability of this model is better than that of the widely used equilibrium partitioning model for as sessing bioaccumulation in benthic organisms and for developing sediment quality criteria.

Development and verification of a bioaccumulation model for organic contaminants in benthic invertebrates

Fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) and oligochaetes (Lumbriculus variegatus) were exposed in the laboratory to sediment samples from the lower Fox River/Green Bay, and their bioaccumulation of P...

Julie A. Swenson

Papers

Bioaccumulation of PCBs from Sediments by Oligochaetes and Fishes: Comparison of Laboratory and Field Studies