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Evaluating PCB Bioavailability Using Passive Samplers and Mussles at a Contaminated Sediment Site
Citation:
BURGESS, R. M., Y. Zhang, M. P. McKee, R. Lohmann, P. J. Luey, C. L. Friedman, J. P. SCHUBAUER-BERIGAN, AND L. Lefkovitz. Evaluating PCB Bioavailability Using Passive Samplers and Mussles at a Contaminated Sediment Site. Presented at 5th International Conference on Remediation of Contaminated Sediments, Jacksonville, FL, February 02 - 05, 2009.
Impact/Purpose:
The purpose of this research is to compare the uptake of PCBs by passive sampling devices to bioaccumulation by marine mussels. The goal of this work is to determine if the samplers provide complementary information that could be used in biomonitoring programs.
Description:
Passive samplers, including semi-permeable membrane devices (SPMDs), solid phase microextraction (SPME) and polyethylene devices (PEDs), provide innovative tools for measuring hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) originating from contaminated waters and sediments. Because these samplers accumulate only contaminants in the dissolved or bioavailable phase, the samplers can, in principle, mimic the bioaccumulation of HOCs by some organisms. In this evaluation, we compared the accumulation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) by water column deployed SPMDs, SPME and PEDs to PCB bioaccumulation by blue mussels (Mytilus edulis). Eighteen PCB congeners were analyzed in passive samplers and mussels deployed at the U.S. EPA Superfund site in New Bedford Harbor (MA, USA). Water column PCBs at this site are suspected of originating from the contaminated sediments. Passive samplers were deployed at two stations for 7, 14, 21 and 29 days and mussels were exposed for 30 days at the same stations. Mussels were exposed about one month before passive sampler deployments with a two day overlap in exposures. Comparisons between the passive samplers and mussels were conducted based on the amount of PCB accumulated by sampler media (e.g., triolien, polydimethylsiloxane, polyethylene) and mussel lipid. Further, these concentrations were used, along with partitioning coefficients, to calculate dissolved phase concentrations in the water column. In general, mussels accumulated about an order of magnitude more PCB in their lipids than any of the passive samplers. Calculations of dissolved phase concentrations necessary to result in measured concentrations were two to five times greater for the mussels than the samplers. These data show the mussel’s active uptake of PCBs results in substantially higher concentrations in their tissues than levels accumulated passively by the samplers at the same stations. Further analysis assesses the effects of changing temperature and salinity over the deployment periods on sampler equilibrium concentrations and the role of mussel depuration on lipid concentrations. This research will continue investigating the stability of the relationship between passive sampler uptake and mussel bioaccumulation.