Evaluation of PCB and hexachlorobenzene biota-sediment accumulation factors based on ingested sediment in a deposit-feeding clam

Journal Article · Sun Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1996 · Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.5620150923· OSTI ID:377808

Boese, B L; Lee, H II; Specht, D T; Randall, R ^[1]; Pelletier, J ^[2]

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1. National Health and Environmental Effects Research Lab., Newport, OR (United States)
2. Dyncorp, Newport, OR (United States)

Contaminated sediment exposure experiments were conducted using a marine deposit-feeding clam (Macoma nasuta) to determine biota-sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs) based on ingested sediment and fecal organic carbon. Internal, or gut, BSAFs were determined for hexachlorobenzene and 13 polychlorinated biphenyl congeners and were compared to those found with the standard method of calculating BSAFs, which uses the organic carbon and contaminant concentration of the whole or external sediment. The results of these experiments indicated that gut BSAFs were consistently smaller and less variable across sediment types than the corresponding standard BSAFs. Although these results indicate that using ingested sediment concentrations and fecal total organic carbon to calculate gut BSAFs might improve the predictive ability of the standard BSAF model, the benefit is small when compared to the difficulty in measuring the contaminant concentration on ingested sediment and the organic carbon content of feces.

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• OSTI ID: 377808
• Journal Information: Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Journal Name: Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Journal Issue: 9 Vol. 15; ISSN 0730-7268; ISSN ETOCDK
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
56 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
APPLIED STUDIES
BENTHOS
BIOLOGICAL ACCUMULATION
BIOLOGICAL INDICATORS
BIOLOGICAL STRESS
CHLORINATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
CLAMS
POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS
SEDIMENTS
WATER POLLUTION