SEDL / STP / STP707-EB / STP27409S

A Critical Comparison of Two Bioconcentration Test Methods

Bishop, WE
Aquatic biologist and section head, Procter and Gamble Co., Ivorydale Technical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio

Maki, AW
Aquatic biologist and section head, Procter and Gamble Co., Ivorydale Technical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio

Pages: 17    Published: Jan 1980

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Abstract

The potential of a chemical to be bioconcentrated from the aqueous environment into fish tissues is generally determined by the kinetic or plateau method. The experiments reported here were designed to evaluate and compare these two methods directly. The test materials included ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), an anionic surfactant, a nonionic surfactant, and DDT. Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) whole-body equilibrium bioconcentration factors (BCF) based on ¹⁴C retention were calculated from short-term kinetic experiments and compared with BCF values measured in individual 28-day plateau tests. The bioconcentration factors ranged from essentially zero for EDTA, through very low for the surfactants, to very high for DDT. Over this range, BCF values calculated by the kinetic method compared favorably with those derived from the plateau tests. The bioconcentration potential of a wide variety of chemicals may be adequately described by either approach, the kinetic method having certain operational advantages.