Relationships between MFO induction in fish exposed to pulp mill effluent and TCDD equivalent concentration
- Univ. of Waterloo, Ontario (Canada)
- Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Burlington, Ontario (Canada)
The rat hepatoma (H411E) cell culture bioassay was used to quantify MFO-inducing chemicals in the liver tissue of white sucker exposed to pulp mill effluent. Bioassay-derived TCDD toxic equivalent concentrations (TECs) were measured at ten pulp mills during one field sampling season. Sampling at ten mills revealed that fish at all but one mill site had TECs significantly higher than corresponding reference sites, including two mills that did not use chlorine bleaching. Directly measured chlorinated dioxins and furans accounted for most of the bioassay derived TECs at many, but not at all of the mills. TECs in these fish correlated significantly with hepatic EROD activity. In spring of 1993 prespawning male white sucker captured at one of the ten mill sites, Jackfish Bay, and at a reference site were caged in the effluent plume at Jackfish Bay. Fish from both sites initially had similar liver MFO activity and demonstrated a twenty-fold increase in activity upon BKME exposure within two days. Jackfish Bay males had higher bioassay-derived TECs than the reference fish for both BKME caged and caged control fish. Reference fish TECs showed a significant increase when exposed to effluent whereas Jackfish Bay TECs did not increase. Neither Jackfish Bay nor reference sucker showed increases in TECs calculated from directly measured dioxins and furans. At Jackfish Bay, bioassay derived TECs in liver decreased significantly over a four year period that encompassed the installation of secondary treatment and increased chlorine dioxide substitution. The weight of evidence in this study strongly suggests that compounds other than chlorinated dioxins and furans may be playing a significant role in the MFO induction in fish exposed to pulp mill effluent.
- OSTI ID:
- 230941
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9511137-; ISBN 1-880611-03-1; TRN: IM9623%%251
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 2. Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) world conference, Vancouver (Canada), 5-9 Nov 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of Second SETAC world congress (16. annual meeting): Abstract book. Global environmental protection: Science, politics, and common sense; PB: 378 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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