1 research outputs found
Using Compound-Specific Stable Carbon Isotope Analysis to Trace Metabolism and Trophic Transfer of PCBs and PBDEs in Fish from an e‑Waste Site, South China
Two fish species (mud carp and northern
snakehead) forming a predator/prey
relationship and sediment samples were collected from a pond contaminated
by e-waste. The concentrations and stable carbon isotope ratios (δ<sup>13</sup>C) of individual polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and polybrominated
diphenyl ether (PBDE) congeners were measured to determine if compound-specific
carbon isotope analysis (CSIA) could be used to provide insight into
the metabolism and trophic dynamics of PCBs and PBDEs. Significant
correlations were found in the isotopic data of PCB congeners between
the sediment and the fish species and between the two fish indicating
identical origin of PCBs in sediment and fish. Most PCB congeners
in the fish species were enriched in <sup>13</sup>C compared with
the PCB congeners in the sediments as a result of isotopic fractionation
during the metabolism of PCBs in fish. The isotopic data of several
PCB congeners showing isotopic agreement or isotopic depletion could
be used for source apportionment or to trace the reductive dechlorination
process of PCBs in the environment. The PCB isotopic data covaried
more in the northern snakehead than in the mud carp when compared
to the sediment, implying that a similar isotopic fractionation occurs
from the prey to the predator fish for a PCB congener possibly due
to similar metabolic pathways. The PBDE congener patterns differed
in the three sample types with a high abundance of BDE209, 183, 99,
and 47 in the sediment, BDE47, 153, and 49 in the mud carp and BDE47,
100, and 154 in the northern snakehead. The isotopic change of BDE
congeners, such as BDE47 and BDE49, in two fish species, provides
evidence for biotransformation of PBDEs in biota. The results of this
study suggest that CSIA is a promising tool for deciphering the fate
of PCBs and PBDEs in the environment