Document 6wkLnLXpMjmgxG2kYG49nN3r1

PUBLISHED SY THE S?J3T FISHSiJ IliSTITUTE 6M-13TH STREET. N.'.V. . ITASKUTTO.!, 0. 0. i. No.soa "7/v Ou.itily oj ! !u'.un'> lltj , it ll.'i 0.:.ihl\ </ I.niltg'' March, 1*7* RESEARCH ON PCB's IN AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are complex mixtures of chlorine-substituted biphenyl compound- \ highly heatresistant) which have been used extensively since I`.mi for .1 wide variety of iinlu-iri.il pori-osc-. ptiuunh in clcsincul-- capacitors and transformers in recent years. Mixtures of PCBs may contain over 200 distinct compounds containing various amounts of chlorine. Compounds containing the higher percentages of chlorine are generally the mure stable and persistent or exhibit lower toxicity in the environment than compounds with lower chlorine content. Dim lo their highly stable chemical nature and the apparent case with which they may possibly be assimilated by lishand other organisms. PCBs have been popularly described as highly persistent and'hazardous environmental contami nants. According to some estimates, approximately ten tuns may be stored in freshwater Ash. alone. Since (he initiation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of a nationw ide PCB monitoring program in 1969.98 percent of all freshwater fish sampled have been found to contain PCBs in excess of 0.5 parts per million. The heaviest concentrations of PCBs in freshwater Ashes have been found in the fatty tissues of fish such, as lake trout, coho salmon, chinook salmon, chubs, etc., especially in the Grcut Lakes, in streams in the eastern U.S. (Hudson River in New York and Housatonic River in Connecticut) as well ns in (he Mississippi River Basin. In August. 1977. the Sport Fishery Research Foundation recommended to the Environmental Quality Committee of the American Fishing Tackle Manufacturers Association that it grant funds through the Foundation to enable qualified stalT at Tulane University to conduct research o.i Polychlo rinated Biphenyls Translocation and Environmental Control. The initial grant ($25,000) was (dr a two-year study. Based on encouraging fundings at the end of the first year, the project was expanded in scope during the second year and extended in time to include a third year. As n result, funds committed to the project by AFTMA'a EQ Committee now total $41,500 over the three-year period, ending mid-Septem ber. 1980. This project was undertaken. ( I I to determine the transport mechanisms id PCBs in n freshwater stream and reservoir. (2) to determine possible translocation mechanisms and sea sonal fluctuation of hiouccunmlution of I'CBs in list), and (7) to develop feasible methods ofdecontamination or control of PCB* under Held conditions. The Add investigation is being conducted ui nine field sta tions established at Logan Marlin Reservoir (Alabama) and major tributaries, both above (control stations) and below the site of a recently inactivated chemical plant of the Mon* santo Corporation which had released large quantities of PCBs into the receiving waters over a ten-year period. Ptcliminaix examination of the lirsi year s field data sug gest- the follow me iviiimnl ob-ei \ ations: (II there is no ohseix.iblc btoje-nmiil.ition due to soluble l'CU> tbiuuccumttlalion appears to result from the intake of sedimented purticlcs and organic detritus); (2) an observed drop in con centrations of PCBs over the ten-year period appears to have occurred at u substantially faster rale than the 50 lo 100-year half-life that has been estimated by others based on limited laboratory studies: (3) PCBs do exert a major influence on both microecosystems and on tnucroecosystems. bul aqueous translocation does not appear to be due to soluble PCBs;(4i the controlling "sinks'" forthc PCBs cycle appear) to be the colloidal portions of the sediment and the bottom organisms (benthos); and (51 xume of the .benthos organisms appear to exhibit a detoxification mechunism for PCBs. Fish samples collected from the area of river immediately below the chemical plant showed the highest average level (65.3 ppm) of PCBs residues. In general, residues of PCBs in tish samples obtained from the river gradually decreased with increasing distance downstream from the plant. Fish collected from the lowermost sampling stations located within Logan Martin Reservoir exhibited the least amount of PCBs. They averaged 4.7 ppm PCUs. somewhat less than the 5 ppm "action level'1 set by the Federal Food and Drug Administration. Different species offish expressed different trends of PCBs accumulation over ihcir life cycles. For example, small 'shiner" minnows (A.o.yA sp.) collected from Station 2. located inuncdij(ci) below the plant, accumulated PCBs throughout their lifetime. Older Ash exhibited higher concen trations of PCBs than did the younger Ash. indicating a direct correlation between PCBs concentration and nge. However, sunfish and stone rollers (a large minnow species) showed higher concentrations in younger Ash than in older ones. Alsu, different species of similar body weight from the same station appeared to accumulate PCBs at varying rales. In herent differences in metabolic rates, fat content, extent of exposure u PCD*, or possibly other unknown factors, were assumed to be responsible for the differences in bmuecumt* lution rate* observed among the various species and sizes of Ash tested. However, additional Ash sampling and refinement of statistical (realmom techniques (now under way) will be necessstry lo accuratels assess the precise relationships re sponsible for the observed diOerenccx in biooccumuluiion rules of 1*C Bs. Analysis of PCUs in bottom organisms (benthos) and of the in-sitti half-life of PCUs in sediments and in H*h will be completed by mid 1979. Negotiations are under way with the MONS 003322 SUBhUvIm No. M2. Starrh /"TV Monsanto Corporation seeking permission to use iticir his torical analytical data for IVBs collected earlier (l'X>5- IV7IH below the plant outlairby their consulting investigator at ttic time. Comparison of such ilniu unit data acquired under the present investigation will he instrumental in confirming re vised half-life estimates for I'd!' developed in this investi gation. Further laboratory studies me coni inning with respect 10 biodegradation. sediment sorption, and hioacemunl.iiion pathways. The increased funding granted lor use during the second year of the project aml the appio\ed thud-vcai extension of the project w ill facilitate espansionot pioted objectives along promising lines which have developed thus far in the cur rently-approved project. Project augmentation provides for in-field investigations of PCBs decontamination to he conducted concurrently with expanded and mote detailed laboratory procedures. The de contamination investigations will include. < 11 experimental application under field conditions of promising sonication techniques (expected to effect a breakdown of highly chlo rinated stable PCBs compounds to less chlorinated and more degradable forms), coupled with (2) experimental seeding of PCBt-laden sediments with especially acclimated bacteria capable of digesting the PCBs. Attempts to culture such bacteria are currently under way using techniques successfully employed hy Canadian inves tigators. Also. (3) the investigators will determine the possi ble efficiencies of various types of aquatic plants for removing PCBs from soil and sediment sinks. Subsequent harvest of these PCBs-laden plants would constitute vet another effec tive method of PCBs removal. This technique has excellent potential for effecting accelerated removal of PCBs through out a wide range of ecosystems. -- The project was conceived in collaboration with qualified representatives of the Sport Fishery Research Foundation, and is headed up at Tnlnnc University hy Dr. Robert Kellners. Assistant Professor. Department of Environmental Health Sciences. Assisting Dr. Rcimers. us Advisory and Participating Investigators, urc Dr. Gerald E. Gunning. Pro fessor. Department of Biology (Ecological Group): Dr. Ann C. Anderson. Associate Professor. Department of Environ mental Health Sciences (Microbial Degradation Group) and Dr. A. Aldcighuni. Assistant Professor. Department of En vironmental Health Sciences (I ahomtory Group). Included in the research team as Sludcnl lincstigaUns are Mrs. Maty Wilke Vilter. Ph.D. candidate: Mr. Henry S. Gardner. Jr . M.S. candidate: R. Brown. M.S. candidate: C. Paul Lo. Doctoral candidate, and other students. FURTHER SANDY HOOK DIVIDEND New dividends from the federal marine game fish research program are in the form of addition compilations of HIO* LOGICAL A FISHERIES DATA (on various species of flnltshei). in the Technical Series Reports coming irregularly from the Sandy Ht*ok Laboratory. Northeast fisheries Cen ter. National Marine Fisheries Service, vu: No.MMareh. 107k): HUTIl'Kl lSH./'.y'n/uv/nuruul/iur. by Steven A. Murawski. Donald G. Frank, and Sukwm* Chang. No. l3(June. 197k): NORTHERN SI-AKOMN.l'riotou.% rmWfrms, by Susan C. Roberts. No. 17 (August. I')7H): AMI.RIC AN EEL. Atu-tnlhi n,u train, hy Michael I* luhay. the maleriaK presented reflect reviews of (he pertinent published scicntdic literature on the biology of and fisheries for (he piiiiicol.il species addressed in each report, rather than original icscarch by [he itiilhois thereof Report format follow-. that of the h\<) lishetivs synopsis scries. Results of **n<.:oin;j k'H'anH, not yet completed, and findings mil as yet published mi scicniilie iouinalv m;iv not he rctlceted. Despite this paiticulai possible shorieomme. doubtless inevitable in urn cllort ol litis soil, the series are immensely valuable. Copies ol'lhe individual icpoiis ma\ he secured h> writing tit the Sand) Hook I aivraton. Northeast fisheries Center, National Marine I i she vies Sers iec. NO A A, US. Department ol Commerce. Highlands. New Jersey. Request the Technical Series Report No. of your interest, and note the specie* of fish it reviews. AUSTRALIAN ANGLING According to an item in the November-December. 1971. issue (Vol. 40. No. 8:10) of THE INTERNATIONAL MA RINE ANGLER (International Game Fith Association, Fort Luuderdulc. Florida), at least 30 percent of the population of New South Wide*. Australia, fish for recreation. As re ported by (he IGFA. a May. 1977. survey of amateur fisher men. commissioned by the New South Wales State Fisheries, brought forward that finding. A report in the government publication. AUSTRALIAN FISHERIES, states: The sur vey indicated that rccrcutional fishing is a big industry, prob ably as important to the economy as the professional fishing industry." The survey covered u stratified random sample of 2.092 people, aged 13 and over, in ail Stales of Australia. It was primarily aimed at finding out how many people fished in New .South Wales annually, how long, and (heir origins. Data showed that 1.165.000 NSW residents (WA) fished in the Slate during the 12 months preceding the survey. About 88 percent of these, or one million people, fished in suit water at some lime during the year. Ofthe entire Australian population (excluding the Northern Territory), about 1.5X1.(XX) people 11y> fished in NSW dur ing the same period. Alvout 75 percent of these fished exclu sively in salt w ater and about 12 percent fished exclusively in fresh water. OKLAHOMA BASS LENGTHS According to a recent announcement by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, through its Wildlife New s Service, black bass anglers will hove 14-inch minimum length catch requirements at four additional reservoirs tn Oklahomu under a regulation passed earlier I December 4) by the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission. New lakes with the restrictions urc Wuunka. Sooner. Tcnkiller. and Arhwekle. This brings to six the number of lukc* in the statu having the 14-inch legal catch minimum since the limit it nlrcudy inctTect at Steed and llirch reservoirs. Fisheries Division personnel at tlie Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation indicated informational signs writ be in place preceding the spring angling season. The regulation was recommended to I lie Commission fol lowing a round of 2b public hearings conducted by Fisheries 2 MGNS 003323