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Organochlorine accumulation by sentinel mallards at the Winston-Thomas sewage treatment plant, Bloomington, Indiana

Custer, T. W., Sparks, D. W., Sobiech, S. A., Hines, R. K. and Melancon, M. J., 1996, Organochlorine accumulation by sentinel mallards at the Winston-Thomas sewage treatment plant, Bloomington, Indiana: Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, v. 30, no. 2, p. 163-169.

Abstract

Farm-raised 12-month-old female mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) were released at the Winston-Thomas sewage treatment plant, Bloomington, Indiana. Five mallards were sacrificed at the start of the study and at approximately 10-day intervals through day 100. Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in carcasses increased linearly with time of exposure and exceeded 16 mu g/g wet weight by day 100; PCBs in breast muscle exceeded 3.9 mu g/g by day 100. These PCB values are among the highest recorded for wild or sentinel waterfowl. PCB concentrations in breast muscle (26-523 mu g/g lipid weight) were 50-1,000 times greater than human consumption guidelines for edible poultry in Canada (0.5 mu g/g lipid weight) and 9-176 times greater than consumption guidelines for edible poultry in the United States (3.0 mu g/g lipid weight). Additionally, PCB concentrations in carcass and breast muscle exceeded the threshold of the Great Lakes Sport Fish Consumption Advisory 'do not eat' category (1.9 mu g/g wet weight) by day 20 and day 50, respectively. Hepatic cytochrome P450-associated monooxygenases including BROD (benzyloxyresorufin-O-dealkylase), EROD (ethoxyresorufin-O-dealkylase), and PROD (pentoxyresorufin-O-dealkylase) were induced over 5-fold compared to reference mallards. BROD, EROD, and PROD were each significantly correlated to total PCBs and to the toxicity of selected PCB congeners, relative to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin.

Keywords: USA, Indiana, Bloomington, wastewater facilities, ducks , polychlorinated biphenyls, bioaccumulation , standards , toxicity , water pollution effects, Anas platyrhynchos, PCB , sewage-treatment plants, water pollution, pollution-effects, PCB compounds, sewage disposal, wastewater treatment, aquatic birds