EFFECTS OF DISSOLVED ORGANIC-MATTER (DOM) ON THE BIOCONCENTRATION OF ORGANIC-CHEMICALS IN AQUATIC ORGANISMS - A REVIEW

Current knowledge on the effects of dissolved organic matter (DOM) on the bioconcentration of organic chemicals in aquatic animals (water fl eas, mussels, amphipods and fish) is summarized. A graphical represent ation of the available data gives an overview of the magnitude of the observed effects. Most of the studies have shown decreases in bioconce ntration in the presence of DOM (2 to 98% relative to DOM-free control s). However, at low DOM levels, up to 10 mg/L, also enhancements of bi oconcentration due to DOM, ranging from 2 to 303% have been reported. Generally, the change in BCFw (Bioconcentration factor on a wet weight basis) per mg/L DOC was most pronounced at low levels of DOG. The dat a also show that DOM from different sources with different characteris tics and quality can lead to substantial variations in the bioconcentr ation of organic compounds at comparable levels of DOG. While decrease s in bioconcentration have generally been attributed to a lack of bioa vailability of DOM-bound chemical, no mechanisms have been proposed to explain increased uptake of xenobiotics caused by DOM. (C) 1998 Elsev ier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.