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Toxic Bioaccumulative Chemicals

Toxic Bioaccumulative Chemicals. Mercury. Most mercury enters aquatic environments from the atmosphere. The dominant inorganic forms are Hg o and Hg 2+ . Positively charged Hg 2 + can become attached to negatively charged organic and inorganic particles in soils and sediments

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Toxic Bioaccumulative Chemicals

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  1. Toxic Bioaccumulative Chemicals

  2. Mercury Most mercury enters aquatic environments from the atmosphere The dominant inorganic forms are Hgo and Hg2+. Positively charged Hg2+ can become attached to negatively charged organic and inorganic particles in soils and sediments which tends to immobilize them. Under anaerobic conditions, Hg2+ can be converted to organic Methylmercury which is more toxic and persistent in organisms. Mercury methylation is related to the metabolism of Sulfur-reducing bacterial under anaerobic conditions The exact biochemical mechanism is poorly understood. High sulfur concentrations increase mercury methylation

  3. The following are required for mercury methylation Inorganic Mercury Anaerobic Conditions Carbon Source (sediments) Sulfate/Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria Methylmercury is more directly toxic and remains in The tissues of organisms longer than inorganic Hg2+. This allows methymercury to bioaccumulate in organisms Bioaccumulation occurs when an organism absorbs a toxic substance at a rate greater than that at which the substance is lost from the body. Bioaccumulation allows for biomagnification which is the increase in concentration of a chemical in organisms higher up in the food chain.

  4. Biomagnification: concentration of a chemical in organisms as it moves up the food chain. Organisms near the top of the food chain may have concentrations of mercury millions of times greater than in the aquatic environment

  5. Other Bioaccumulative Toxins Synthetic Organic Chemicals

  6. Synthetic Organic Chemicals Organic = carbon-rich compounds Dioxin Dioxins Pesticides PBDE PCBs Flame Retardants PCB DDT Organochlorines

  7. Potential Toxicity July November 2004 Viktor Yushchenko Ukrainian President 6,000 times the usual concentration in his body the second highest dioxin level ever measured in a human

  8. Chemicals like dioxin are acutely toxic In high doses, but they also can bioaccumulate creating chronic toxicity at lower doses The cause of their ability to bioaccumulate is related to their water solubility.

  9. Water Solubility NaCl Na+ + Cl- Sodium Chloride 350 g/L Potassium Chloride 280 g/L Why?

  10. Water Molecules are Polar + + Unequal distribution of electrons Oxygen is electron-greedy -

  11. NaCl Na+ + Cl- Cl- Na+ Sodium Chloride water solubility: 350 g/L

  12. Contrast with Organic Chemicals

  13. Organic Chemicals Carbon-rich compounds Greases, Oils, Paints, Pesticides, Industrial Chemicals Grease and Oil Oil Paint C16H14OS Composed mostly of carbon and hydrogen, and possessing no electrical charge.

  14. Dioxin C11H18O2Cl4 DDT C14H22Cl5 C12H21Cl2 PCB Principally carbon, hydrogen Do not possess an electrical charge

  15. Dioxin Dioxin water solubility: 0.2 µg/L

  16. 0.2 µg/L Dioxin DDT < 0.1 µg/L PCB 10 µg/L Uncharged and principally carbon, hydrogen

  17. Toxaphene: 3 mg/L Dieldrin: 186 ug/L Chlordane: 9 ug/L

  18. Greases, Oils, Paints, Pesticides, Industrial Chemicals These types of chemicals are poorly soluble in water In what substances do they dissolve?

  19. Hexane Common Organic Solvents Carbon-based D-limonene oil petroleum

  20. Organic Solvents carbon Hexane carbon Acetone Dioxin Lipids carbon carbon Carbon-based compounds dissolve more easily in carbon- based solvents. water

  21. Soap SO4- SO4- SO4- -SO4 SO4- SO4- SO4- SO4- SO4- hydrophobic hydrophilic High Carbon Concentration

  22. Bioaccumulation in Organisms

  23. Bioaccumulation in Organisms Lipid Tissue in Organisms carbon Fundamental similarity between the chemical and the solvent. The chemical essentially dissolves into the lipid tissues

  24. Synthetic organic chemicals are poorly soluble in water They are soluble in organic solvents and lipids Lipids are found in all organisms Despite low levels of organic chemicals in water due to their low water solubility, high amounts can accumulate in the tissues of living organisms

  25. Water Concentration = 0.2μg/L Zooplankton concentration = 160 μg/L Magnification of 800 x

  26. Zooplankton to fish: 31 x Fish to eagle: 4.8x Bio-Magnification Water and phytoplankton to zooplankton: 800 x Overall: 120,000 times original concentration in water

  27. PCBs and Pesticides

  28. PCBs Used as insulating fluids and coolants in electrical equipment and machinery from 1929-1977. Electrical equipment plasticizers inpaints, plastics and rubber products pigments, dyes andcarbonless copy paper EPA estimates that 150 million pounds of PCBs are dispersed throughout the environment, including air and water supplies; an additional 290 million pounds are located in landfills in this country some PCBs act like hormones, and other PCBs are nerve poisons PCBs were “banned” in 1979

  29. Killer Whales (1000 ppm) PCBs in Marine Mammals High on food chain Lipid tissues Hazardous Waste level (Canada)

  30. Toxaphene (670 chemicals) lipid carbon 400,000 tons: 1946 to 1974 Seawater 0.0003 ppb Arctic cod muscle 14 - 46 ppb 50,000 X Narwhal blubber 2440 - 9160 ppb ~ 8 M X

  31. Toxaphene and Mirex: 1959 - 1976 highest levels ever recorded in a living organism.

  32. Summary • Many synthetic organic chemicals are uncharged. • 2. Because they are uncharged, they do not permit • orientation of water molecules and are poorly soluble • in water. • 3. Ionic compounds (e.g. NaCl) are about 1 billion times • more water-soluble than uncharged organics. • 4. Uncharged organic chemicals, however, tend to be • soluble in organic solvents and organic materials • because of similar carbon-based chemistry. • 5. These materials can include lipid tissues in organisms • which can lead to biomagnification

  33. Solubility carbon Hexane carbon Acetone Dioxin Lipids carbon carbon Carbon-based compounds dissolve more easily in carbon- based solvents. water

  34. Many synthetic organic chemicals, particularly those like PCBs and DDT are very persistent in the environment. They last for decades. They become stored in organic materials that naturally occur in aquatic and terrestrial systems Where in these environments do we find high levels of carbon?

  35. Organic Matter Carbon Hydrogen Oxygen Coiled and convoluted chains of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen

  36. Organic Matter H C H C H H H C carboxylic COOH H H C H enolic OH C H H C H H C H C C C C C C C C Carbon Hydrogen Oxygen

  37. Partitioning/Distribution Organic matter Soil Solution Absorption

  38. Partitioning of neutral organic chemicals into soil organic matter limits their mobility in the environment

  39. Aquatic Systems

  40. Solubility of < 0.1 μg/L Environmental Persistence Water DDT Organic Sediments Organic chemicals become stored in organic sediments This protects them from degradation and increases their lifetime in the environment

  41. N Concentration Organic Carbon mg Carbon /g sediment Lake Michigan PCBs “banned” in 1979 EPA 2004 PCBs µg PCB/Kg sediment (parts per billion) Open water PCB concentration = < 1 part per trillion

  42. Lake Erie PCB levels PCBs EPA, 2004 After 30 years, PCBs continue to persist in the Environment

  43. Persistence in the Environment Old sediments

  44. Florida and Organic Chemicals

  45. DDT dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane First Modern Pesticide Insecticide developed to combat insect-borne disease Use was later expanded to include agriculture

  46. Rita Island, Okeechobee Organic soils DDT levels ranging from 2,200 to 110,000 µg/kg (ppb) in organic soils and sediments.

  47. Lake Apopka 30,800 acres mean depth is 5.4 feet 15 miles northwest of Orlando Historically characterized by clear water and a highly prized sports fishery, it served as a popular destination for boaters, swimmers, and fishermen for decades.

  48. In the 1970s, scientists considered Lake Apopka a prime place to harvest eggs and hatchlings to study them in captivity. In 1980 and 1981, scientists counted populations of 1,200 to 2,000 alligators in a single night on the lake By the late 1980s, they counted only 150 per night

  49. Pesticide Use in Agricultural Area Agriculture Pesticide use included high amounts of DDT

  50. "Lake Apopka is a big chemical soup," Michael Fry, a researcher from the University of California Tower Chemical Company TOC content ranges from 33 to 37% Produced dicofol, a mixture of the pesticide DDT and DDE, a by-product of DDT. Periodic spills occurred there, but a particularly large accident in 1980 caused dicofol to spread into the lake

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