US EPA

2915945 

Journal Article 

Distribution of mirex in an experimental estuarine ecosystem 

Schoor, WP 

1979 

Yes 

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

PESTAB/79/1550 

21 

3 

315-321 

English 

444722 

PESTAB. The movement and accumulation of mirex was studied in an experimental estuarine ecosystem designed to represent the natural environment. Aquaria containing artificial seawater, beach sand, turtle grass plants and adult grass shrimp were set up. Mirex was introduced by air-lift columns, in which water swept over mirex bait is flushed into the aquaria by air introduced into the bottom of the columns. A gas chromatograph with an electron capture detector was used for determination of mirex. The mirex concentration in the water ranged from 0.12 mug/kg on day 1 to 0.018 mug/kg on day 13. The only living component in which the mirex concentration increased was the hepatopancreas of the grass shrimp, which showed mirex concentrations of 280 mug/kg on day 1 and 650 mug/kg on day 13. Both turtle grass and sand had low levels of mirex. However, the linear increase in the amount of mirex in the sand indicates that it may be a reservoir.