Bioaccumulation of 137 Cs in anuran larvae utilizing a contaminated effluent canal on the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Site.

Autor: Leaphart JC; University of Georgia, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Aiken, SC, 29802, USA; University of Georgia, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, Athens, GA, 30602, USA. Electronic address: leaphart@uga.edu., Wilms KC; University of Georgia, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Aiken, SC, 29802, USA., Bryan AL Jr; University of Georgia, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Aiken, SC, 29802, USA., Beasley JC; University of Georgia, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Aiken, SC, 29802, USA; University of Georgia, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, Athens, GA, 30602, USA.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Journal of environmental radioactivity [J Environ Radioact] 2019 Jul; Vol. 203, pp. 25-29. Date of Electronic Publication: 2019 Mar 05.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2019.02.012
Abstrakt: As a result of activities such as nuclear weapons testing, nuclear power generation and waste disposal, and nuclear accidents, radiocesium ( 137 Cs) is a widely distributed radio-contaminant of concern that readily accumulates in exposed wildlife. Although bioaccumulation of 137 Cs is an important factor for understanding its fate within the environment, there are currently limited data available on bioaccumulation patterns of 137 Cs in amphibians, despite their widespread distribution and potential to transport contaminants between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the amount of time necessary for anuran larvae experimentally placed in a contaminated system to reach a steady-state whole-body 137 Cs concentration, and to determine the threshold at which that steady-state 137 Cs concentration occurred for tadpoles within our study system. By restricting uncontaminated bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) larvae to three experimental enclosures located along a 137 Cs contaminated effluent canal on the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Site, we modeled 137 Cs uptake through time using the von Bertalanffy modification of the Richards Model. The results of our modified Richards Model indicate that bullfrog tadpoles achieved steady-state 137 Cs concentrations of 3.68-4.34 Bq/g 137 Cs dry whole-body weight after 11.63-15.50 days of exposure among sampling sites, with an average of 3.94 Bq/g after 14.07 days exposure. Radiocesium accumulation in bullfrog tadpoles was more rapid than that reported for other biota studied from other contaminated systems, likely due to incidental ingestion of sediments and a diet consisting of periphyton and other items that accumulate high levels of 137 Cs. Given their rapid accumulation of 137 Cs and inability to leave aquatic environments prior to metamorphosis, our data suggest amphibian larvae may be useful indicators for monitoring 137 Cs distributions and bioavailability within aquatic systems.
(Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
Externí odkaz: