Bioavailability of sediment-associated PCDD/Fs and PCDEs: relative importance of contaminant and sediment characteristics and biological factors.
Factors that determine accumulation of sediment-associated polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans and polychlorinated diphenyl ethers into semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) and benthic oligochaete worms (Lumbriculus variegatus) were examined. These factors included both physical-chemical and structural characteristics of the contaminants (water solubility, lipophilicity, dipole moment, molecular size, and conformation) and sediment characteristics (organic carbon content, particle size, aromaticity, and polarity of organic carbon). The results of partial least squares regression analysis indicated that lipophilicity alone is not a sufficient predictor for contaminant bioaccumulation potential, even though it is a significant contributor. It was shown that contaminant molecular size and conformation (specifically planarity/nonplanarity) as well as sediment characteristics also have a significant role. The studied factors contributed up to 63-88% of the variation in accumulation data for SPMDs and 50-65% for oligochaetes. Comparison of (bio)accumulation factors (BAF28d for oligochaetes and AF28d for SPMDs) revealed that accumulation of contaminants in oligochaetes is largely influenced by biological factors (e.g., feeding habits), while the physical-chemical nature of the process is emphasized for SPMDs.
Lyytikäinen
Merja
M
Department of Biology, University of Joensuu, P.O. Box 111, FIN-80101 Joensuu, Finland. Merja.Lyytikainen@joensuu.fi
Hirva
Pipsa
P
Minkkinen
Pentti
P
Hämäläinen
Heikki
H
Rantalainen
Anna-Lea
AL
Mikkelson
Pirjo
P
Paasivirta
Jaakko
J
Kukkonen
Jussi V K
JV
D000818:Animals; D001572:Benzofurans / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D001682:Biological Availability; D000072338:Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry; D009835:Oligochaeta; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D012995:Solubility
D001572:Benzofurans; D000072338:Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls