Relationship Between Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) Accumulation in Semipermeable Membrane Devices and PAH Bile Metabolite Levels in Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua)

Abstract

The extent to which accumulations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) by semipermeable membrane devices (SPMD) may be correlated to the concentration of PAH metabolites in fish was examined. Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and SPMD were exposed over a 4-wk period to a mixture that was designed to simulate the composition of PAH in produced water discharges in the North Sea. Fish bile and whole SPMD were analyzed after exposure in a high, low, and a control treatment tank. PAH metabolites were detected and quantified by means of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) or gas chromatography–time-of-flight mass spectroscopy (GC-ToF-MS) and PAH in SPMD by gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). The level and duration of exposure were generally reflected in both matrices. Exposure water concentrations, calculated from SPMD accumulations, showed some considerable differences from nominal concentrations for volatile compounds. Concentration factors (CF) for fish based on SPMD-derived water concentrations ranged from 2.9 to 354.3 L/g. CF increased with hydrophobicity with more variation at higher log K _ow. Regression analysis of accumulations of individual compounds in fish and SPMDs showed reasonable but compound-specific correlation, r ² = .54−.85 (C1-phenanthrenes/anthracenes and pyrene, respectively). Comparison of the two exposures suggests that fish CF may not be entirely independent of water concentrations. Overall the results show that accumulation of up to four-ring PAH in SPMD may be related to internal exposure of fish to these substances when exposed through water, as evidenced by metabolite concentrations. The usefulness of using SPMD to measure exposure concentrations in a large-scale flow-through study is also examined.

This work was funded by the Norwegian Research Council (NFR) through the projects Predfish (Predicting chronic effects in fish from sublethal markers, contract 164419/S40) and Passimpact (Use of passive sampling devices in monitoring of potential impact of offshore discharges and accidental oil spills, contract 164398/S40).