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DIETARY ACCUMULATION OF PCBS FROM A CONTAMINATED SEDIMENT SOURCE BY A DEMERSAL FISH ('LEIOSTOMUS XANTHURUS')
Citation:
Rubinstein, N., W. Gilliam, AND N. Gregory. DIETARY ACCUMULATION OF PCBS FROM A CONTAMINATED SEDIMENT SOURCE BY A DEMERSAL FISH ('LEIOSTOMUS XANTHURUS'). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-84/267.
Description:
Accumulation and dietary transfer of PCBs from contaminated harbor sediments were studied in a laboratory food chain. Results demonstrate that contaminated sediments serve as a source of PCBs for uptake and trophic transfer in marine systems. Fish exposed to PCB-contaminated sediments and fed a daily diet of polychaetes from contaminated sediment accumulated more than twice the PCB whole-body residues than fish exposed to the same sediment but fed uncontaminated polychaetes. Following 20 days of feeding, the dietary contribution of PCBs accounted for 53% of the total body burden measured in fish, and this percentage appeared to be increasing.