Robinson Gabrielle L, Mills Gary L, Lindell Angela H, Schweitzer Sara H, Hernandez Sonia M
Warnell School of Natural Resources, University of Georgia, 180 E. Green St., Athens, GA, USA.
Environ Sci Process Impacts. 2015 Aug;17(8):1424-32. doi: 10.1039/c5em00183h. Epub 2015 Jul 13.
Concentrations of total mercury and the rare PCB mixture Aroclor 1268 in least terns (Sternula antillarum), a colonially-nesting, piscivorous seabird, in the Turtle River estuary and other coastal sites in Georgia, USA, were investigated. The Turtle River estuary is the location of the Linden Chemical Plant (LCP) Superfund site, a site prioritized by USA law for immediate remediation, where industries released effluent containing these contaminants until 1994. Aroclor 1268 is a highly-chlorinated PCB mixture that was used and released exclusively at the LCP site and nowhere else in the south eastern USA. High concentrations of Aroclor 1268 congeners and mercury have been documented in biota local to LCP, but no studies report concentrations in high trophic level, piscivorous birds such as least terns. We collected feathers and feces from chicks, and eggs from adults, at nesting colonies along the Georgia coast to analyze contaminant loads (in dry weight ppb). Mean Aroclor 1268 mixture concentrations in eggs (≤16,329 ppb) were highest at colonies in and just outside LCP, and decreased with increasing distance (up to 110 km) from LCP, but the Aroclor 1268 signature congener mixture was present at all sites. Mercury concentrations in eggs (≤3370 ppb), feathers (≤5950 ppb), and feces (≤417 ppb), were present at all sites, but did not vary significantly among sites. This report confirms the extensive dispersal of Aroclor 1268 congeners (approximately 110 km north and 70 km south of its point source) via bioaccumulation and trophic transfer.
对美国佐治亚州海龟河河口及其他沿海地区的小燕鸥（Sternula antillarum）体内的总汞和稀有多氯联苯混合物Aroclor 1268的浓度进行了调查。小燕鸥是一种在群体中筑巢的食鱼海鸟。海龟河河口是林登化工厂（LCP）超级基金污染场地的所在地，该场地是美国法律优先要求立即进行修复的场地，直到1994年，该场地的工业一直在排放含有这些污染物的废水。Aroclor 1268是一种高氯多氯联苯混合物，仅在LCP场地使用和排放，在美国东南部其他地方均未出现。LCP当地生物群中已记录到高浓度的Aroclor 1268同系物和汞，但尚无研究报告高营养级食鱼鸟类如小燕鸥体内的污染物浓度。我们在佐治亚州海岸沿线的筑巢群体中收集了雏鸟的羽毛和粪便以及成年鸟的蛋，以分析污染物负荷（干重，单位为ppb）。蛋中Aroclor 1268混合物的平均浓度（≤16,329 ppb）在LCP场地内及紧邻场地的群体中最高，并随着与LCP距离的增加（最远达110公里）而降低，但所有场地均存在Aroclor 1268特征性同系物混合物。所有场地的蛋（≤3370 ppb）、羽毛（≤5950 ppb）和粪便（≤417 ppb）中均存在汞，但各场地之间汞浓度无显著差异。本报告证实了Aroclor 1268同系物通过生物累积和营养转移实现了广泛扩散（在其点源以北约110公里和以南70公里范围内）。
