Abstract
Two species of marine bivalve, Cerastoderma edule (Linnaeus) and Macoma balthica (Linnaeus), were exposed to particles contaminated with three commercial polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) mixtures, Aroclors® 1242, 1254 and 1260. The accumulation of PCB in bivalve tissue was monitored for periods of up to 40 days. In addition to measuring total PCB concentrations, which reached 60 ppm of Aroclor 1242 in M. balthica, the fate of individual PCB homologues of different chlorine content, ranging from 2 to 8 chlorine atoms per biphenyl molecule, was also determined. Selective accumulation of PCBs with 5 chlorine atoms per biphenyl molecule occurred, whilst isomers of very low and very high molecular weights were accumulated at much slower rates.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Bidleman, T.F. and C.E. Olney: Chlorinated hydrocarbons in the Sargasso Sea atmosphere and surface water. Science, N.Y. 183, 516–518 (1974)
Courtney, W.A.M. and G.R.W. Denton: Persistence of polychlorinated biphenyls in the hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria) and the effect upon the distribution of these pollutants in the environment. Envir. Pollut. 10, 55–64 (1976)
Denton, G.R.W.: The uptake and elimination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the hardshell clam Mercenaria mercenaria, 194 pp. Ph. D. thesis, London 1974
Duke, T.W., J.I. Lowe and A.J. Wilson, Jr.: A polychlorinated biphenyl (Aroclor 1254) in the water sediment and biota of Escambia Bay, Florida. Bull. envir. Contam. Toxicol. 5, 171–180 (1970)
Foster-Smith, R.L.: The effect of concentration of suspension on the filtration rates and pseudofaecal production for M. edulis (L), C. edule (L) and Venerupis pullastra (Montagu). J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 17, 1–22 (1975)
Fujiwara, K.: Environmental and food contamination with PCBs in Japan. Sci. total Envir. 4, 219–247 (1975)
Hansen, L.G., C.S. Byerly, R.L. Metcalf and R.F. Berill: Effect of a polychlorinated biphenyl mixture on swine reproduction and tissue residues. Am. J. vet. Res. 36, 23–26 (1975)
Hattula, M. L. and O. Karlog: Absorption and elimination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) in goldfish. Acta pharmac. tox. 32, 237–245 (1973)
Holden, A.V.: International cooperative study of organochlorine and mercury residues in wildlife 1969/1971. Pestic. Monit. J. 7, 37–52 (1973)
— and K. Marsden: Single-stage clean-up of animal tissue extracts for organochlorine residue analysis. J. Chromat. 44, 481–492 (1969)
Jansson, B., S. Jensen, M. Olsson, L. Renberg, G. Sundstrom and R. Vaz: Identification by GC-MS of phenolic metabolites of PCB and p,p′-DDE isolated from Baltic guillemot and seal. Ambio 4, 93–97 (1975)
Koeman, J.H., M.C. ten Noever de Brauw and R.H. De Vos: Chlorinated biphenyls in fish, mussels and birds from the River Rhine and Netherlands coastal area. Nature, Lond. 221, 1126–1128 (1969)
Langston, W.J.: A quantitative and qualitative study on the uptake and retention of polychlorinated biphenyls in two species of marine bivalve, 267 pp. Ph. D. thesis, London 1976
Marchand, M., D. Vas and E. K. Duursma: Levels of PCBs and DDTs in mussels from the N.W. Mediterranean. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 7, 65–69 (1976)
Nimo, D.R., D.J. Hansen, J.A. Couch, N.R. Cooley, P.R. Parrish and J.I. Lowe: Toxicity of Aroclor 1254 and its physiological activity in several estuarine organisms. Archs envir. Contam. Toxicol. 3, 22–29 (1975)
Rehfeld, B.M., R.L. Bradley Jr. and M.L. Sunde: Toxicity studies on polychlorinated biphenyls in the chick. II. Biochemical effects and accumulations. Poult. Sci. 51, 488–493 (1972)
Risebrough, R.W., W. Walker II, T.T. Schmidt, B.W. de Lappe and C.W. Conners: Transfer of chlorinated biphenyls to Antarctica. Nature, Lond. 264, 738–739 (1976)
Rote, J.W. and P.G. Murphy: A method for the quantitation of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) isomers. Bull. envir. Contam. Toxicol. 6, 377–384 (1971)
Sissons, D. and D. Welti: Structural identification of polychlorinated biphenyls in commercial mixtures by gas chromatography nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectroscopy. J. Chromat. 60, 15–32 (1971)
Thruston, A.: Quantitative analysis of PCB's. PCB Newsl. 3, 1–4 (1971)
Vreeland, V.: Uptake of chlorobiphenyls by oysters. Envir. Pollut. 6, 135–140 (1974)
Zitko, V., O. Hutzinger and S. Safe: Retention times and electron capture detector responses of some individual chlorobiphenyls. Bull. envir. Contam. Toxicol. 6, 160–163 (1971)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by J.H.S. Blaxter, Oban
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Langston, W.J. Accumulation of polychlorinated biphenyls in the cockle Cerastoderma edule and the tellin Macoma balthica . Mar. Biol. 45, 265–272 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00390610
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00390610