Bioavailability and biotransformation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the benthos of coastal Massachusetts
- State Univ. of New York, Stony Brook, NY (United States)
- Weston Inc., Lionville, PA (United States)
- Univ. of Massachusetts, Boston, MA (United States)
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, MA (United States)
To better understand the environmental factors controlling PAH fate in coastal sediments and to obtain more realistic estimates of biodegradation rates and removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from coastal systems, the authors examined the effect of sediment organic matter concentration and previous contaminant loadings on bioavailability, biotransformation, and biodegradation of two model PAHs: phenanthrene (PHN) and benzanthracene (BA) in benthic microcosms. These processes were assessed in the presence and absence of two representative infaunal organisms, the deposit feeding polychaete Scolecolepides viridis and the suspension feeding bivalve Mya arenaria. Organic carbon content of the sediment does not appear to be the primary controlling factor for PAH accumulation or metabolism by macrofauna or metabolism and degradation by microbes. Susceptibility of an individual PAH to prokaryotic degradation differs from its susceptibility to metabolism by eukaryotes. S. viridis, accumulated more PHN and Ba than M.arenaria. In addition, worms rapidly metabolized PAH, with polar metabolites accounting for more than 50% of the total body burdens of PAH measured. Most, and in some cases almost all, material removed from the sediment reservoir had been transformed into polar metabolites or completely mineralized to CO{sub 2}. Efforts should be made to include metabolism in fate and transport models of PAH in nearshore benthic environments.
- OSTI ID:
- 85940
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9410273-; TRN: IM9534%%11
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 15. annual meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), Denver, CO (United States), 30 Oct - 3 Nov 1994; Other Information: PBD: 1994; Related Information: Is Part Of Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 15th annual meeting: Abstract book. Ecological risk: Science, policy, law, and perception; PB: 286 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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