Journal article
Bioaccumulation in Functionally Different Species: Ongoing Input of PCBs with Sediment Deposition to Activated Carbon Remediated Bed Sediments
United States Army Corps of Engineers1
Sediment Solutions, LLC2
United States Environmental Protection Agency3
Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark4
Environmental Fate & Effect of Chemicals, Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark5
Northeastern University6
Technical University of Denmark7
Activated carbon (AC) amended bed sediments reduced total polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) accumulation in three functionally different marine species, sandworms (Alitta virens), hard clams (Mercenaria mercenaria), and sheepshead minnows (Cyprinodon variegatus), during both clean and contaminated ongoing sediment inputs.
Mesocosm experiments were conducted for 90 days to evaluate native, field-aged bed sediment PCBs and ongoing input PCBs added thrice a week. Simulated in situ remediation applied an AC dose equal to the native organic carbon content, which was pre-mixed into the bed sediment for one month. The highest bioaccumulation of native PCBs was in worms, which remained in and directly ingested the sediment, whereas the highest bioaccumulation of the input PCBs was in fish, which were exposed to the water column.
When periodic PCB contaminated sediment inputs were introduced to the water column, the AC remedy had minimal effect on the input PCBs, while the native bed PCBs still dominated bioaccumulation in the control (no AC). Therefore, remediation of only the local bedded sediment in environmental systems with ongoing contaminant inputs may have lower efficacy for fish and other pelagic and epibenthic organisms.
While ongoing inputs can continue to obscure remedial outcomes at contaminated sediment sites, this study showed clear effectiveness of AC amendment remediation on native PCBs despite these inputs, but no remediation effectiveness for the input-associated PCBs (at least within the study duration).
Language: | English |
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Year: | 2019 |
Pages: | 2326-2336 |
ISSN: | 15528618 and 07307268 |
Types: | Journal article |
DOI: | 10.1002/etc.4526 |
ORCIDs: | 0000-0003-4504-5125 , Mayer, Philipp and Nørgaard Schmidt, Stine |
SDG 14 - Life Below Water benthic macroinvertebrates bioaccumulation bioavailability polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) sediment assessment
Alitta virens Animals Bioaccumulation Biodegradation, Environmental Biodiversity Bivalvia Charcoal Cyprinodon variegatus Environmental Monitoring Fishes Geologic Sediments Lipids Mercenaria mercenaria Polychaeta Polychlorinated Biphenyls Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) Sediment remediation Species Specificity