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Polychlorinated biphenyls in a grassland food network: Concentrations, biomagnification, and transmission of toxicity
- Source :
- Science of The Total Environment. 709:135781
- Publication Year :
- 2020
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2020.
-
Abstract
- The production of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) is prohibited by the Stockholm Convention in 2001, but the unintentionally produced PCBs are still continuously discharged into the environment. In this study, the distributions, biomagnification and toxicity amplification in a grassland food network (including inorganic environment, animals and vegetation) were investigated. PCB concentrations in various samples were determined, and PCBs appeared to be enriched as the trophic level increased. The PCB concentrations in the inorganic environment samples ranged from below the detection limit to 0.329 ng g−1, and the PCB concentrations in vegetation were 0.0829–4.45 ng g−1. The PCB concentration in snake subcutaneous fat (8.74 ng g−1 lipid weight) was higher than the concentrations in other animal samples, and the next highest concentration was found in yellow weasel muscle (7.31 ng g−1 lipid weight). Biomagnification factors were calculated for different PCBs and different organisms. Biomagnification was most obvious for organisms at the top of the food chain (the snake/mouse biomagnification ratio was >1000). The PCB-126 toxic equivalent concentration increased markedly as the trophic level increased. The toxic equivalent concentrations were 1200 times higher for high trophic level biota than low trophic level biota. PCB-169 had the highest toxic equivalent concentrations for the animal hair samples (0.00001 pg toxic equivalents g−1). However, PCB-81 had the highest toxicity equivalent concentrations for the herdsmen hair samples. PCBs found at relatively low concentrations and low toxic equivalent concentrations at low trophic levels can be biomagnified as they are transferred through the food chain and can reach high actual and toxic equivalent concentrations at high trophic levels.
- Subjects :
- Food Chain
Environmental Engineering
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
Biomagnification
010501 environmental sciences
01 natural sciences
Grassland
Mice
Food chain
Equivalent
Animals
Environmental Chemistry
Waste Management and Disposal
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Trophic level
geography
geography.geographical_feature_category
Chemistry
food and beverages
Snakes
Biota
Bioaccumulation
Polychlorinated Biphenyls
Pollution
Environmental chemistry
Toxicity
Equivalent concentration
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 00489697
- Volume :
- 709
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Science of The Total Environment
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....bc48d6abba7aab18d3ce7168c2c2e0e4