Humic acid effects on uptake of hexachlorobenzene and hexachlorobiphenyl by sheepshead minnows in static sediment/water systems

Technical Report · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1993

OSTI ID:6436636

Lores, E M; Patrick, J M; Summers, J K

The effect of humic acid on accumulation of hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and hexachlorobiphenyl (HCBP) by sheepshead minnows (Cyprinodon variegatus) from two separate experiments is presented. In the first experiment, static sediment/water exposure chambers were used to determine the effect of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), in the form of terrestrial humic acid (HA), on partitioning of HCB among sediment, water, and sheepshead minnows. Sediments from three geographically different locations were used to test the effect of added HA (0, 3, and 30 mg/L) on accumulation in fish of sediment-bound HCB. Total organic carbon levels in sediment and water and residues of HCB ((14)C-labeled and unlabeled) in sediment, water, and whole-body tissue were measured. Fish/sediment ratios or accumulation relative to sediment (ARS) indicated that addition of HA did not reduce accumulation of sediment-bound toxicants. ARS ranged from 7.5 + or - 4 without added HA to 9.3 + or - 4 with 30 mg/L added HA, but were not statistically different. In a second experiment using HCBP with 0 and 30 mg/L HA and sediment from one location, HCBP concentration in water averaged 0.29 micrograms/L in non-HA tanks and 0.91 micrograms/L in the HA tanks, but both ARS ratios averaged 5.4. In conclusion, the authors believe that these tests indicate that HA does not significantly alter bioavailability of toxicants that are in equilibrium with sediment and water.

• Research Organization: Environmental Protection Agency, Gulf Breeze, FL (United States). Environmental Research Lab.
• OSTI ID: 6436636
• Report Number(s): PB-93-204980/XAB; EPA--600/J-93/215
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

550200 -- Biochemistry
560300* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
AROMATICS
BENZENE
BIOCHEMISTRY
BIOLOGICAL ACCUMULATION
BIPHENYL
CARBON
CHEMISTRY
CONTAINERS
DATA
ECOSYSTEMS
ELEMENTS
EQUILIBRIUM
EXPOSURE CHAMBERS
FISHES
FUNCTIONS
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
HUMIC ACIDS
HYDROCARBONS
HYDROSTATICS
INFORMATION
MATERIALS
NONMETALS
NUMERICAL DATA
ORGANIC ACIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PARTITION FUNCTIONS
POLLUTION
RESIDUES
SEDIMENTS
STATISTICAL DATA
TANKS
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
TOXIC MATERIALS
TOXICITY
UPTAKE
VERTEBRATES
WATER POLLUTION