Caged mussels and semipermeable membrane devices as indicators of organic contaminant uptake in dorchester and duxbury bays, Massachusetts

Abstract

Abstract-An experiment to measure organic contaminant depuration by the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) was carried out by transplanting mussels in stainless steel cages from a known contaminated site in Dorchester Bay, Massachusetts to a documented clean site in Duxbury Bay, Massachusetts approximately 30 nmi south of the original collection site. A parallel contaminant uptake experiment was performed in which mussels from Duxbury Bay were collected and deployed in similar cages in Dorchester Bay. The bivalves were collected from each transplant site at set intervals over a period of 95 days to monitor the rates and selectivity of depuration and uptake, respectively, of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), and chlorinated pesticides. In a related study, semipermeable membrane devices (SPMD: polyethylene bags) containing the lipid material triolein were deployed in Dorchester Bay and collected at the same frequency as the caged mussels to evaluate their effectiveness as models for estimating bioconcentration of target organic contaminants. At the Duxbury site, results suggest that the caged mussels depurated contaminants within 68 days to levels found in native animals at the site. At the Dorchester site, bivalves concentrated the contaminants to a level similar to the native M. edulis. PCB and DDT uptake rates were found to be similar between caged mussels and SPMDs; PAH uptake by the SPMDs was initially lower than by transplanted bivalves. PCB and PAH assemblages were noticeably different between bivalves and SPMDs deployed at the same site.

Accumulation of organochlorinated pesticides by triolein-containing semipermeable membrane device (triolein-SPMD) and rainbow trout

“…It has been successfully used for monitoring chemicals in aquatic environments [2][3][4][5][6][7][8], and in air [9,10]. Triolein-SPMD has also been used for screening and preliminary identification of emission sources in wastewater systems and groundwater [11][12][13][14], and appears to simulate the bioconcentration of dissolved chemicals by aquatic organisms [15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. The procedure for dialytic recovery of pesticides can be used separately to remove lipids and other interferences from environmental sample extracts [22,23].…”

Review of the background and application of triolein-containing semipermeable membrane devices in aquatic environmental study

“…They have been successfully used for monitoring chemicals in aquatic environments (Huckins et al, 1990aHuckins et al, 1997bPetty et al, 1995Petty et al, , 1998Ellis et al, 1995;Lebo et al, 1992Lebo et al, , 1995Bennett et al, 1996;Moring and Rose, 1997;Bergqvist et al, 1998a;Axelman et al, 1999;Zimmerman et al, 2000), and in air (Ockenden et al, 1998;Lohmann et al, 2001). Triolein-SPMDs have also been used for screening and preliminary identification of emission sources in wastewater systems and groundwater (Stuer-Lauridsen and Kjolholt, 2000;Granmo et al, 2000;Gustavson and Harkin, 2000), and appear to simulate the bioconcentration of dissolved chemicals by aquatic organisms (Huckins et al, 1996;Prest et al, 1992;Wood, 1994;Devita and Crunkilton, 1994;Herve et al, 1995;Peven et al, 1996;Hofelt and Shea, 1997). The procedure for dialytic recovery of analytes can be used separately to remove lipids and other interferences from environmental sample extracts (Huckins et al, 1990b;Meadows et al, 1993Meadows et al, , 1996Strandberg, 1998;Bergqvist et al, 1998b).…”

C‐18‐coated silica particles as a surrogate for benthic uptake of hydrophobic compounds from bedded sediment

“…To overcome these difficulties, one approach is to use surrogate organisms [4,5]. However, in large surrogates, accumulation may be limited by surface area to sediment contact and by movement of the contaminant through the sediment to the surrogate [6].…”