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Title: MFO activity in carp (Cyprinus carpio) exposed to treated pulp and paper mill effluent in Lake Coleman, Victoria, Australia, in relation to AOX, EOX, and muscle PCDD/PCDF

Journal Article · · Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry; (United States)
; ;  [1]; ;  [2]
  1. Royal Melbourne Inst. of Tech., Victoria (Australia). Key Centre for Applied and Nutritional Toxicology
  2. Environment Protection Authority, Victoria (Australia). Marine Studies Group

European carp (Cyprinus carpio) exposed to highly treated pulp mill effluent in Lake Coleman, a shallow-water lake in southern Victoria, Australia, had significantly elevated hepatic microsomal EROD levels relative to reference fish from a nearby unexposed water body. Mean hepatic microsomal EROD activity appeared to be correlated with site adsorbable organic halogen (AOX) levels, with a simple linear regression yielding the equation Y = 0.059 X + 1.415 (r[sup 2] = 0.93, n = 5), where Y is mean EROD activity in nanomoles per minute per milligram and X is mean AOX concentration in micrograms per liter. Mean liver EROD activity was poorly related with fish muscle-tissue extractable organic halogen (EOX) and sediment EOX concentrations. Hepatic microsomal EROD activity also appeared to be correlated with the low levels of PCDD/PCDFs measured in carp muscle. Simple linear regression of mean EROD activity in carp liver with the mean fish muscle dioxin content yielded the equation Y = 6.514X + 5.754 (n = 4, r[sup 2] = 0.88), where Y is mean EROD activity in nanomoles per minute per milligram and X is mean dioxin concentration in ppt of TCDD TEs. Hepatic microsomal ECOD activity, however, was not significantly different at any exposure site from the reference sites. Overall, Lake Coleman contained between 4.5 and 9.3 times the water AOX levels, 0.8 and 13.7 times the sediment EOX levels, 1.5 and 2.2 times the carp muscle-fat EOX levels, 5.0 and 5.3 times the carp whole-muscle TCDD toxic equivalents, and 6.5 times the carp fat TCDD toxic equivalents, compared to reference samples. Within Lake Coleman, mean liver microsomal EROD activity levels were 2.3 to 6.3 times higher than the reference sites, respectively.

OSTI ID:
5429814
Journal Information:
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry; (United States), Vol. 13:1; ISSN 0730-7268
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English