PM06 Emerging Pollutants
Exhibit Hall
8:00 AM - Monday
(PM064) Dynamics and patterns of hydroxylated PCBs in remote Lake Opeongo.
Campbell, Linda1, Ueno, Daisuke2, Darling, Colin2, Whittle, Michael3, Arts, Michael2, Teixeira, Camilla2, Pacepavicius, Grazina 2, Alaee, Mehran2, Muir, Derek2, 1 School of Environmental Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada2 National Water Research Institute, Environment Canada, Burlington, Ontario, Canada3 Great Lakes Laboratory for Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, DFO, Burlington, Ontario, Canada
ABSTRACT- Hydroxylated PCBs (OH-PCBs) are an emerging class of contaminants in the Great Lakes region, and OH-PCBs are known to be thryoidogenic and may be contributing to thyroid microfollicular hyperplasia in Great Lakes salmonids. OH-PCBs also may affect human and mammalian biochemical processes dependent on thyroid hormones. Sources of OH-PCBs to lakes are still unknown, and it has been argued that a combination of internal metabolic processes, previously-metabolized sources (i.e., sewage) and abiotic transformations may contribute to OH-PCB burdens in fish from the Laurentian Great Lakes. Lake Opeongo, a large lake in Algonquin Provincial Park, is an important canoeing and fishing destination. The major source of contaminants to this lake is primarily atmospheric, and sewage and other important previously-metabolized sources of contaminants are not prevalent in this lake, unlike for Lake Ontario. In order to determine the importance of atmospheric sources, food chain biomagnification and internal metabolic processes to OH-PCB burdens in fish, water, snow, sediment, as well as the pelagic food chain, zooplankton, cisco (Coregonus artedii), lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) and burbot (Lota lota), were sampled in the fall of 2003. Stable isotopes and fatty acids were measured to determine food web linkages and biomagnification. OH-PCB and PCB congener distributions and homolog groups were measured and compared in the various matrices. Data for fish and water from Lake Opeongo will be contrasted with these for Lake Ontario to determine how OH-PCB dynamics can differ in a remote lake and a heavily impacted lake.
Key words: biomagnification, OH-PCB, atmospheric, water