Steady-state model describing bioaccumulation of organic contaminants in benthic invertebrates
- Univ. of Windsor, Ontario (Canada). Dept. of Biological Sciences
- Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Burlington, Ontario (Canada). Ecotoxicology Division
- Simon Fraser Univ., Burnaby, British Columbia (Canada)
Although both Canada and the United States use the equilibrium partitioning (EP) method to establish sediment quality criteria guidelines, the ability of this method to accurately predict bioaccumulation has not been thoroughly tested. When predictions of the EP model were compared to PCB data, on five species of benthic invertebrates from western Lake Erie, actual concentrations exceeded predicted concentrations for congeners with log K{sub ow} > 6. A comparison of water/sediment, organism/sediment and organism/water fugacity ratios indicated that western Lake Erie is not in thermodynamic equilibrium. An alternative model to the EP model was derived which does not assume that the system is in equilibrium and provides a mechanism for biomagnification. The model accurately predicted bioaccumulation in benthic invertebrates.
- OSTI ID:
- 201226
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9511137--; ISBN 1-880611-03-1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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