Bioconcentration of persistent organic pollutants in four species of marine phytoplankton

Abstract

The uptake of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was studied in four species of marine algae. A novel experimental system to establish and maintain constant dissolved concentrations of PCBs was employed. Headspace sampling was used to verify that the freely dissolved concentrations remained constant with time. The headspace analysis also allowed sorption to dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to be quantified for all but the most lipophilic PCB congeners. Equilibration with the dissolved phase was rapid for three of the four algae species (<1 d for the majority of congeners). Organic carbon-normalized algae/water partition coefficients (KAlgW) were similar for three of the four species, but were lower by a factor of 10 to 20 for Phaeodactylum tricornutum. The KAlgW values of the first three species were similar to the octanol/water partition coefficient (Kow) for those PCB congeners for which DOC sorption could be quantified. These KAlgW values also agreed well with organic carbon-normalized bioconcentration factors for PCBs in suspended particulate matter (BCF(SPM)) sampled in Baltic Sea surface water during the summer.

Sorption of PBDE in low-density polyethylene film: Implications for bioavailability of BDE-209

“…Clearly, a calibration time of 60 d, a time duration often used in fish exposure experiments [5][6][7], can yield reasonable accuracy when C w is determined with the laboratory-calibrated C pe /C w . We previously obtained a curvilinear relationship between the logarithm of PDMS-water partition coefficient (log K f ) and log K OW for PCBs with the turning point at log K OW approximately equal to 7 to 7.5 [17,18], which is similar to the fieldobserved correlations between log-based bioconcentration factor and log K OW [19][20][21]. This curvilinearity was attributed to the difference in the Gibbs free energies for cavity formation in PDMS and octanol that can become significant for larger molecules [18].…”

Uptake of PCBs contained in marine sediments by the green macroalga Ulva rigida

“…Maroli et al, 1993;Micheli et al, 1995;Pavoni et al, 2003), as well as three reports of other persistent organic pollutants (POPs) being taken up by algae from water over time. Gerofke et al (2005) looked at the uptake of 20 PCB congeners in water by 4 species of marine phytoplankton and found that in three of them a maximum rate was reached in less than 24 h. Cruz-Uribe et al (2007) measured the uptake and metabolism of the explosive compound TNT from water in one green and two red seaweed. At a TNT concentration of 10 mg L À1 , the two red seaweeds removed approximately 80% of the TNT in the first 48 h while the green removed approximately 50%.…”

Bioaccumulation of PBDE congener 2,2′,4,4′-tetrabromodiphenyl ether by Heterosigma akashiwo in response to different nutrient concentrations

“…In general, the lipid-normalized BAF for microalgae was a linear function of Kow with a slope close to 1 when log Kow < 6. Meanwhile, the lipid-normalized BAF was less than Kow when log Kow > 6 (Stange & Swackhamer 1994, Gerofke et al 2005. If there is equilibrium between the hydrophobic organic chemicals partitioning the water and cell lipids, the linear relationship between BAF and Kow exists when log Kow is close to 7 (Swackhamer & Skoglund 1993).…”