US EPA

2181228 

Journal Article 

A polychlorinated biphenyl (Aroclor 1254) in the water, sediment, and biota of escambia bay, Florida 

Duke, TW; Lowe, JI; Wilson, AJ 

1970 

Yes 

Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology
ISSN: 0007-4861
EISSN: 1432-0800 

HAPAB/70/01864 

5 

2 

171-180 

English 

24185810 

10.1007/BF01617196 

HAPAB The occurrence of a polychlorinated biphenyl ( PCB ), Aroclor 1254, in the estuarine environment near Pensacola, Florida is reported and its possible effects on some fish, blue crabs and shrimp are discussed. Samples of biota, water and sediments were collected from April to October, 1969, from Escambia Bay. Tissues of the fish, crabs, oysters and shrimp were mixed with anhydrous sodium sulfate in a blender and extracted for 4 hr with petroleum ether in a Soxhlet apparatus. The extracts were concentrated and partitioned with acetonitrile, evaporated until dry, then transferred to a Florisil colum ( Mills et al., 1963 ) with petroleum ether. The PCB was eluted from the column with 6% ethyl ether in petroleum ether. Sediment samples were dried at room temperature and extracted with 10% acetone in a Soxhlet apparatus for 4 hr. Following the drying of the extracts, the residues were eluted from the Florisil column. Water samples were extracted with petroleum ether. The extracts were dried with sodium sulfate and concentrated to an appropriate volume. The extracts of all substrates were assayed by electron-capture chromatography involving use of columns with DC 200 and/or QF-1. Thin-layer chromatography in some cases was used for further confirmations. Interference from DDT was negligible. Recovery rates averaged about 80%. Related laboratory assays to determine the effects of Aroclor 1254 on shrimps, oysters, crabs and fish were performed and showed that juvenile shrimp were the most sensitive to the compound and were killed when exposed to 5.0 ppm in flowing water. The concentration of this compound found in Escambia Bay water, even near the mouth of the river, was less than 1 ppb. The maximum amount of Aroclor 1254 found in shrimp collected from the bay was 2.5 ppb. Assays of sediment samples revealed Aroclor residue concentrations as high as 487 ppb in August, but these decreased once the source of the chemical ( an industrial plant ) on the Escambia River was located and leakage from the plant was corrected. There is an obvious need for the continued surveillance of estuaries to preserve the nursery grounds for valuable fishery resources. The effect of sublethal concentrations of Aroclor 1254 on estuary organisms during the sensitive stages of their life should be investigated further. MONITORING AND RESIDUES 70/11/00, 504 1970