UPTAKE OF METALS AND PERSISTENT ORGANOCHLORINES IN CRABS (CANCER-PAGURUS) AND FLOUNDER (PLATICHTHYS-FLESUS) FROM CONTAMINATED SEDIMENTS - MESOCOSM AND FIELD EXPERIMENTS

In the mesocosm experiment, the crabs and flounders were exposed to se diments strongly contaminated with persistent organochlorine compounds (OCs). Uptake of OCs in fillet of bounder and crab hepatopancreas was observed. The final concentrations of PCDF/D, given as toxic equivale ncy factors (TEQ) in flounder and crabs were more than one order of ma gnitude below levels in the recipient area. In the field experiment up take of Cr, Pb, Ni and Fe was observed in crabs. No clear uptake of Cu and As was observed, despite high concentrations in the sediment. In flounder, no evidence of increased concentration of metals could be se en after one month. The relative uptake of organochlorines (OCs) in th e two experiments reflects the local degree of sediment contamination, The metal concentrations did not increase more than 6 times whereas t he persistent OCs increased up to 100 times in crabs, illustrating the importance of sediments as a source especially for OCs contamination of the biota. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.