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PHOTOTOXICITY OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS IN COASTAL GREAT LAKES WATERS
Citation:
Simcik, M. F., A. D. Adams, R. A. Lehr, D. L. Swackhamer, S A. Diamond, AND D R. Mount. PHOTOTOXICITY OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS IN COASTAL GREAT LAKES WATERS. Presented at American Society of Limnology and Oceanography 2003 Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT, February 8-14, 2003.
Description:
Photoinduced toxicity is the exacerbated toxicity of environmental contaminants by UV radiation. Photoinduced toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has been well established in the laboratory for numerous aquatic species including larval fish. The contaminants sub-program of the Great Lakes Environmental Indicators (GLEI) project is establishing the potential for photoinduced toxicity in the field, specifically in the coastal waters of the Laurentian Great Lakes. Larval fish and sediment have been collected from 20 sites spanning all five lakes and analyzed for PAHs. Water from each site was filtered and a UV transmission spectrum measured in the laboratory. The combination of UV transmission, UV absorption spectra of individual PAHs, PAH concentrations, and relative phototoxicity of PAHs are combined to give a phototoxic potential for each site. Preliminary results on phototoxic potential at various sites around the Great Lakes will be presented