Bioconcentration of xenobiotics in trout bile: a proposed monitoring aid for some waterborne chemicals.

A technique is proposed for the monitoring of certain xenobiotic pollutants in suspect aquatic enviornments by fish bile analysis. Bile removed from rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) exposed to nine different radioactive compounds in vivo contained concentrations of radioactivity greater than those in the surrounding water. Bile-to-water radioactivity ratios as high as 10,000: 1 were found after 24-hour exposures. The results of these experiments suggest that analysis of bile of wild or caged fish from a suspect site may be useful as a qualitative monitoring aid for certain types of xenobiotics in water.