An Age Dependent Model Of PCB In A Lake Michigan Food Chain
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Date
1981-09-30
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Abstract
An age-dependent food chain model that considers species bioenergetics
and toxicant exposure through water and food is developed. It is successfully
applied to PCB contamination of the Lake Michigan lake trout food chain
represented by phytoplankton, Mysis, alewife, and lake trout. The model indicates
that for the top predator lake trout, PCB exposure through the food
chain can account for greater than 99 percent of the observed body burden. A
simple steady-state computation indicates that ratios of chemical concentration
in predators to that in prey in feeding experiments may be as low as 0.2
and still result in significant food chain transfer. It is estimated that a criterion specifying that PCB concentrations of
all ages of lake trout be at or below 5 ug/g (wet weight) in the edible portion
would require that dissolved PCB concentrations be reduced to somewhere
between 0.5 and 2.5 ug/R. The range reflects uncertainty in the PCB assimilation
efficiency of the species and the dissolved PCB concentration. This report was submitted in fulfillment of Cooperative Agreement No.
CR805916010 by Manhattan College under the sponsorship of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency. This report covers the project period May 1, 1978
to September 30, 1981.
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Keywords
Age Dependent Model, PCB, Lake Michigan, Food Chain