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Contaminated Sediment Processes and Bioavailability
Richard
Luthy , Civil & Env. Eng.
Stephen Monismith, Civil & Env. Eng.
David
Epel, Hopkins Marine Station
Richard Zare, Chemistry
Sediments comprise a reservoir from which benthic
organisms can acquire toxic compounds, which then
bioaccumulate as they are passed up the food chain
to higher predators such as fish and birds.
Our work seeks to develop a better understanding
of the sediment geochemical processes that influence
the bioavailability and bioaccumulation of polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
(PAHs). Our approach is to characterize the means
by which these contaminants are assimilated from
sediment into marine organisms at the base of
the food chain. Our hypothesis is that sediments
contain different types of sorbent organic matter
and that the bioavailability of hydrophobic organic
compounds like PCBs and PAHs is dependent on the
nature of the organic matter in sediments to which
the PCBs and PAHs may be bound.
This study comprised experimental investigations
of the relationship between carbonaceous sorbents
in sediment and the bioavailability of organic
contaminants bound to these particles. |
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