HA5 Bioaccumulation and Biomagnifications
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() Spatial distribution of PCB bioaccumulation in fish from Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay.
Liebert, D.1, Richardson, K.1, Baker, J.1, 1 University of Maryland, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, Solomons, Maryland, USA
ABSTRACT- Polychlorinated biphenyls congeners (PCBs) were quantified in approximately 500 edible fish tissue samples collected from Maryland freshwater, estuarine, and coastal sites between Spring 1999 and Fall 2003. Thirty five species were collected, with striped bass, white perch, and channel catfish sampled most frequently. Approximately 70% of the samples had total PCB concentrations below the Maryland Department of the Environment's risk-based screening value of 313 ng/g wet weight. Elevated total PCB concentrations from 1000 to 3000 ng/g wet weight were found in about 2% of the samples. PCB concentrations were spatially correlated with urbanized and industrialized areas, and peak concentrations in non-migratory fish were found in the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, in the Back and Patapsco Rivers near Baltimore, MD, and in the Potomac River near Washington, D.C. Concentrations of PCBs in fish decrease with distance from these areas. PCB concentrations varied among the species sampled, with American eels having the highest levels and white suckers and redhorse suckers the lowest. Concentrations of PCB congeners in blue crab muscle tissue were quite low, and generally close to detection limits at all sites. In contrast, PCB concentrations in the corresponding blue crab hepatopancreas tissues were elevated and comparable on a lipid weight basis to those of other species collected at each site. PCB congener patterns in fish tissue vary spatially throughout the Chesapeake Bay, and may reflect local habitat use and migration patterns.
Key words: PCB, Chesapeake, bioaccumulation