Ref ID : 6961
Barry G. Oliver; Biouptake of Chlorinated Hydrocarbons from Laboratory-Spiked and Field Sediments by Oligochaete Worms. Environ.Sci.Technol. 21:785-790, 1987
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The uptake and depuration of 37 chemicals from spiked Lake Ontario sediments by oligochaete worms has been studied at 8 and 20 degrees C in laboratory aquaria. The worms were found to rapidly accumulate the chemicals and reach peak concentrations within 2 weeks. The concentration of chemicals in the sediment pore water appeared to be the major factor controlling the bioconcentration of chemicals by the worms. The worm bioconcentration factors increased with increasing octanol-water partition coefficient of the chemicals. The worm-mediated fluxes of the chemicals from the sediments have also been estimated. Depuration studies showed the half-lives of the chemicals in the worms ranged from less than 5 days to several months. Field worms and associated sediments from Lake Ontario near the Niagara River were analyzed. The agreement between the field and laboratory results was good for the more persistent chemicals but poor for the less persistent contaminants because of time differences for sorting the two sample types.