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THE AMERICAN OYSTER ('CRASSOSTREA VIRGINICA') AS AN INDICATOR OF CARCINOGENS IN THE AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT
Citation:
Couch, J., L. Courtney, J. Winstead, AND S. Foss. THE AMERICAN OYSTER ('CRASSOSTREA VIRGINICA') AS AN INDICATOR OF CARCINOGENS IN THE AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-79/080 (NTIS PB80185242), 1979.
Description:
The American oyster (C. virginica) was used as the experimental animal for chronic exposure to 3-methylcholanthrene (3-MC) and benzo(a)pyrene (BP) in an exposure system in which the carcinogens can be continuously injected into free flowing water at fixed rates ranging from 1 to 5 micrograms/l. Experiments designed to determine uptake and distribution of 14C-MC and 14C-BP showed that these are concentrated in oyster tissues in direct proportion to the dosage of carcinogen injected into the system. Residual concentrations as high as 84.4 micrograms/kg of BP were present in oysters as long as 6 months following exposure. Autoradiography showed intense localization of 14C-BP in distal portions of the tubules of the digestive gland and to a lesser extent in the gonadal tissues.