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Chemosphere Nov 2018Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination has historically posed constraints on the recreational and commercial fishing industry in the Great Lakes. Empirical...
Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination has historically posed constraints on the recreational and commercial fishing industry in the Great Lakes. Empirical evidence suggests that PCB contamination represents a greater health risk from fish consumption than other legacy contaminants. The present study attempts a rigorous assessment of the spatio-temporal PCB trends in multiple species across the Canadian waters of the Great Lakes. We applied a Bayesian modelling framework, whereby we initially used dynamic linear models to delineate PCB levels and rates of change, while accounting for the role of fish length and lipid content as covariates. We then implemented Bayesian hierarchical modelling to evaluate the temporal PCB trends during the dreissenid pre- and post-invasion periods, as well as the variability among and within the water bodies of the Great Lakes system. Our analysis indicates that Lake Ontario is characterized by the highest PCB levels among nearly all of the fish species examined. Historically contaminated local areas, designated as Areas of Concern, and embayments receiving riverine inputs displayed higher concentrations within each of the water bodies examined. The general temporal trend across the Great Lakes was that the high PCB concentrations during the early 1970s followed a declining trajectory throughout the late 1980s/early 1990s, likely as a result of the reductions in industrial emissions and other management actions. Nonetheless, after the late 1990s/early 2000s, our analysis provided evidence of a decline in the rate at which PCB concentrations in fish were dropping, accompanied by a gradual establishment of species-specific, steady-state concentrations, around which there is considerable year-to-year variability. The overall trends indicate that reduced contaminant emissions have brought about distinct beneficial changes in fish PCB concentrations, but past historical contamination along with other external or internal stressors (e.g., invasive species, climate change) continue to modulate the current levels, thereby posing potential risks to humans through fish consumption.
Topics: Animals; Bayes Theorem; Fishes; Great Lakes Region; Humans; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Water Pollutants, Chemical
PubMed: 30208545
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.07.070 -
Poultry Science Mar 1974
Topics: Administration, Oral; Animal Feed; Animals; Bird Diseases; Body Weight; Chlorine; Coturnix; Japan; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Poultry Diseases
PubMed: 4208541
DOI: 10.3382/ps.0530597 -
Bulletin of Environmental Contamination... Sep 1984
Topics: Adipose Tissue; Biological Transport, Active; Humans; Lipids; Occupational Diseases; Polychlorinated Biphenyls
PubMed: 6434008
DOI: 10.1007/BF01625543 -
Science (New York, N.Y.) Sep 1972The concentration of polychlorinated biphenyls was shown to progressively increase with maturity in a series of lake trout. The presence of these compounds was...
The concentration of polychlorinated biphenyls was shown to progressively increase with maturity in a series of lake trout. The presence of these compounds was determined by column chromatographic isolation, specific detector gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The relation between fish age and the concentration of polychlorinated biphenyls was highly significant.
Topics: Age Factors; Animals; Biphenyl Compounds; Body Weight; Chromatography; Mass Spectrometry; New York; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Salmonidae; Sex Factors
PubMed: 4626944
DOI: 10.1126/science.177.4055.1191 -
Bulletin of Environmental Contamination... Aug 1979
Topics: Adipose Tissue; Animals; Cooking; Gamma Rays; Meat; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Trout
PubMed: 114259
DOI: 10.1007/BF02027029 -
Environmental Pollution (Barking, Essex... 2002Few studies have evaluated PCB concentrations in alligators. This is the first comparison of PCB concentrations in alligators eggs from the southeastern United States....
Few studies have evaluated PCB concentrations in alligators. This is the first comparison of PCB concentrations in alligators eggs from the southeastern United States. Eggs were collected from Bear Island and Winyah Bay, South Carolina and from the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana. Mean PCB concentrations in eggs from Bear Island (333 ng/g) were the same (P > 0.45) as those found at the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge (218 ng/g). However, eggs from Winyah Bay contained 3176 ng/g PCBs which is higher (P < 0.008) than concentrations from the other two sites. These data indicate the ubiquitous nature of PCBs and their bioaccumulation even in remote habitats.
Topics: Alligators and Crocodiles; Animals; Animals, Wild; Eggs; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental Pollutants; Louisiana; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; South Carolina; Tissue Distribution
PubMed: 11996374
DOI: 10.1016/s0269-7491(01)00284-6 -
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Aug 2002Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) toxicokinetics and hepatic P450 (CYP) 1A activities were studied in wild anadromous Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) during winter...
Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) toxicokinetics and hepatic P450 (CYP) 1A activities were studied in wild anadromous Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) during winter emaciation. The fish were captured as they returned from summer feeding in seawater and were held without food over winter. In September the fish were given a single, oral dose of either 0 (control), 0.1, 1, or 50 microg PCB/g fish. During winter a net loss of PCB occurred from the carcass (including gut), whereas net inputs and increases in concentrations of PCB in the liver and brain occurred with increases in brain PCB concentrations being up to 10-fold. Hepatic CYP1A activities were positively correlated with the PCB dose in October. In the fish given 1 mg PCB/kg fish in September, however, a 12-fold increase in CYP1A activity occurred from October to May. This increase in CYP1A activity was observed during a period in which the body burden of PCB decreased by 20%. These results demonstrate that interpretations of the CYP1A biomarker response must be made with caution. Overall, the findings point to potentiated risks of biological effects of PCB during periods of emaciation.
Topics: Animals; Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1; Environmental Pollutants; Nutritional Status; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Seasons; Tissue Distribution; Trout
PubMed: 12152778
DOI: No ID Found -
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Aug 2007Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are 209 related compounds, a dozen of which are known as dioxin-like PCBs (dl-PCBs) and are among the most toxic PCBs. Polychlorinated...
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are 209 related compounds, a dozen of which are known as dioxin-like PCBs (dl-PCBs) and are among the most toxic PCBs. Polychlorinated biphenyls contribute to many adverse effects to human health, including cancer, and are a major cause of fish advisories in North America. It is a common perception that individual PCB compounds, especially dl-PCBs, rather than total PCB need to be quantified to predict the environmental hazard because of differences in their toxicity potential and distribution among various environmental matrices, including aquatic food webs. Because the current analytical methods for quantifying dl-PCBs are complex and four- to fivefold more expensive, limited fish samples are analyzed for dl-PCBs. Using what likely is the largest dl-PCB fish data set (n = 912) with a wide distribution of fish species (n = 22), size (19-112 cm), weight (100-14,300 g), sex (male:female, 51:49), and PCB contamination level (20-7,300 ng/g wet wt), we show that the comparatively less expensive and rapid measurements of total PCB in fish can be utilized to assess dl-PCB-related toxicological hazard, measured as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin toxic equivalents (TEQ). A regression equation of dl-PCB-related TEQ (i.e., TEQdl-PCB) to total PCB in fish is presented (TEQdi-PCB = [2.56 x 10(-5)]CtotalPCB, r = 0.89, p < 0.001). The regression was evaluated by applying it to three independent data sets of substantial sizes (n = 55, 141, and 176). The TEQdl-PCB estimated using the regression and total PCB measurements were within a reasonable factor of two to three of the TEQdl-PCB calculated from the dl-PCB measurements. The successful evaluation indicates versatility of the regression.
Topics: Animals; Dioxins; Environmental Monitoring; Female; Fishes; Humans; Male; North America; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Risk Assessment; Water Pollutants, Chemical
PubMed: 17702334
DOI: 10.1897/06-621r.1 -
Journal of Hazardous Materials Dec 2000The recovery of five PCB congeners from PCB spiked organic matrices was studied using Accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) and Soxhlet extraction (SE). The chromatogram... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
The recovery of five PCB congeners from PCB spiked organic matrices was studied using Accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) and Soxhlet extraction (SE). The chromatogram of ASE extract was found to be relatively clean and similar to that of SE extract. ASE extraction efficiency was dependent on the operation temperature and sample size loading. ASE showed extraction efficiency comparable or slightly higher to that of SE for the PCB spiked organic matrix. PCB recovery from spiked matrix was dependent on the type and molecular weight of congener, and nature of matrix. For some selected PCB congeners, ortho-substitution did influence the PCB recovery from graphite matrix.
Topics: Coal; Environmental Pollution; Graphite; Humic Substances; Industrial Waste; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Soil Pollutants; Solvents; Waste Management
PubMed: 11080575
DOI: 10.1016/s0304-3894(00)00285-5 -
Environment International Aug 2004The objective in the first phase of this study was to screen alfalfa, flatpea, sericea lespedeza, deertongue, reed canarygrass, switchgrass, and tall fescue for...
The objective in the first phase of this study was to screen alfalfa, flatpea, sericea lespedeza, deertongue, reed canarygrass, switchgrass, and tall fescue for phytoremediation of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-contaminated soil. During the second phase, the focus was rhizosphere characterization to optimize PCB phytoremediation. Aroclor 1248 (PCB) was added to soil at 100 mg x kg(-1) of soil. In the first phase, all of the plant species treatments showed significantly greater PCB biodegradation compared to the unplanted controls and the two most effective species were selected for further study. During the rhizosphere characterization study, soil irradiation did not affect PCB biodegradation, but planting significantly increased PCB biodegradation; 38% or less of the initial PCB was recovered from planted pots, compared to more than 82% from the unplanted control soils. Presence of plants significantly increased the biological activity (microbial counts and enzyme activity) of both irradiated and unirradiated soils. Greater bacterial counts and soil enzyme activity were closely related to higher levels of PCB biodegradation. The data showed that Aroclor 1248 biodegradation in soil seem to be positively influenced by the presence of plants and plant-bacteria interactions. Our results suggested that phytoremediation could be an environmentally friendly alternative for PCB-contaminated soils.
Topics: Bacteria; Biodegradation, Environmental; Environmental Pollutants; Plant Roots; Plants; Polychlorinated Biphenyls; Radiation; Soil Microbiology; Soil Pollutants
PubMed: 15120198
DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2004.01.008