PARENT SESSION
PS8 - Bioaccumulation in Terrestrial Systems
Sunday, 17 November 2002
8:00 AM to 6:30 PM
Exhibit Hall

(P104) Metal and Arsenic Bioavailability and Bioaccumulation In Small Mammals Inhabiting The Anaconda Smelter Site .

Reynolds, Kevin^*,1, Schwarz, Matt², McFarland, Craig¹, Adair, Blakely³, Hooper, Mike¹, Cobb, George¹, McMurry, Scott¹, ¹ The Institute of Environmental and Human Health, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA² United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Grand Island, NE, USA³ United States Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA

ABSTRACT- Deer mice, meadow voles and pocket gophers inhabiting remediated and naturally vegetated areas contaminated with a gradient of heavy metals and arsenic were studied on the Anaconda Smelter Superfund Site, Anaconda, MT. As, Cd, Pb, Cu, and Zn were determined in blood, kidney, liver, mammary tissue, fetuses, carcass, and stomach contents. Stomach content residues indicated small mammals inhabiting the Smelter Site were exposed to all five contaminants of concern. All contaminants, with the exception of arsenic and cadmium, were detectable in each matrix. A simultaneous mark-recapture study allowed development of a robust relationship between deer mice and the contaminated soil with which each individual was associated throughout its life. In general, levels of metals in tissues varied directly with soil metal levels in mice captured on naturally vegetated sites contaminated with aerial emissions only. This relationship between soil and tissue was not as strong, however, with mice collected on tailings and metal processing (industrial) sites. Differences were observed between the relative accumulation of Cd and Pb in tissues of mice collected from naturally vegetated and industrial sites. Deer mice collected from industrial sites tended to have greater burdens of Cd and Pb in their kidney, liver and carcass samples than mice collected on naturally vegetated plots with similar soil burdens. The findings suggest the nature of soil metals on the smelter's industrial sites leads to greater bioavailability than metals on the aerial deposition sites due to differences in metal geochemistry, particle size or other chemical/physical variables. These differences should be incorporated into decision-making for site remediation and restoration methodologies. Funded by NIH ES04696, USEPA and USFWS.

Key words: Small Mammals, Heavy Metals, Smelter Site, Bioavailability