Sean Carbonaro Nathan Howell Dr. Hanadi Rifai NSF REU Civil - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Sean Carbonaro Nathan Howell Dr. Hanadi Rifai NSF REU Civil Engineering @ UH July 29, 2009

Background � Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) � Group of 209 congeners � 1929: Man-made chemical used as a dielectric fluid in transformers and hydraulic fluid � 1936: Toxicological effects discovered � 1976: Banned in US � Still persistent

Bioaccumulation � Bioaccumulation factor (BAF): � Regulate fish concentration by regulating water quality Objective : Determine BAF of PCBs for Atlantic Croaker and Hardhead Catfish in Houston Ship Channel

High volume sampler

Sampling By boat By land

Sampling Sediment Fish

Year Results 2002- Percent reduction 2003 2008 (%) Water (Total) (ng/L) Standard: 0.885 ng/L � Exceed standards for All congeners 2.58 1.98 23.1 Water (Dissolved) (ng/L) water and/or fish tissue All congeners 1.68 1.55 8.0 at 24 of 25 stations at 24 of 25 stations Water (Suspended) (ng/L) surveyed All congeners 0.89 0.43 51.6 Sediment (ng/g) � General decline in All congeners 228 26 88.8 concentrations of PCBs Catfish tissue (ng/g ww) Standard: 47 ng/g from 2002-2003 to 2008 All congeners 154 112 27.6 Catfish tissue (ng/g lipid) All congeners 9033 9023 0.1

2008 2002-2003 BAF (L/kg BAF (L/kg R ² R ² Water Species p-value lipid) p-value lipid) Total (All cong) Catfish 0.022 0.563 1.28E+06 0.102 0.17 1.02E+06 Dissolved (All cong) Dissolved (All cong) Catfish Catfish 0.007 0.007 0.752 0.752 1.28E+06 0.042 0.329 1.28E+06 0.042 0.329 1.03E+06 1.03E+06 Suspended (All cong) Catfish 0.064 0.325 6.09E+06 0.145 <0.05 2.48E+06 Total (All cong) Croaker 0.696 <0.05 2.65E+06 Dissolved (All cong) Croaker 0.656 <0.05 3.45E+06 Suspended (All cong) Croaker 0.394 <0.05 5.38E+06

30000 Catfish ncentration (ng/g lipid) y = 1276.3 1276.3x + 9113.5 1276.3 1276.3 20000 R² = 0.025 p=0.752 Catfish tissue concen 10000 0 0 1 2 3 4 Dissolved water concentration (ng/L)

12000 ncentration (ng/g lipid) Croaker 8000 y = 3453.8 y = 3453.8 3453.8 3453.8x - 281.02 3453.8x - 281.02 3453.8 3453.8 3453.8 Croaker tissue conce R² = 0.6556 R² = 0.6556 p<0.05 p<0.05 4000 0 0 1 2 3 4 Dissolved water concentration (ng/L)

5.E+07 (L/kg lipid) 5.E+06 BAF (L/k 5.E+05 2002 2008 2008 2002 2008 2008 Catfish Catfish Croaker Catfish Catfish Croaker Total Total Total Dissolved Dissolved Dissolved

5.E+06 er BAF (L/kg lipid) Croaker B y = 0.0266x + 3E+06 y = 0.0266x + 3E+06 3.E+06 R² = 0.0835 p=0.338 1.E+06 1.0E+06 2.1E+07 4.1E+07 6.1E+07 Catfish BAF (L/kg lipid)

Conclusions � Bioaccumulation factor (BAF) is species-specific, but may remain constant over time may remain constant over time � Simple, linear statistical model cannot predict BAF for all fish species in a region � Differences in diet and life cycle

Acknowledgement � The research study described herein was sponsored by the National Science Foundation under the Award No. EEC-0649163. The opinions expressed in this study are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsor.

Questions?