Technical Summary of Information Available on the

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Bioaccumulation of Arsenic in Aquatic Organisms

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UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

2004

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CONTENTS

Notice ii

Acknowledgments iii

Contents iv

Glossary of Arsenic Abbreviations vii

1.0 INTRODUCTION . 1

1.1 Important Bioaccumulation Concepts 2

1.2 Bioaccumulation of Arsenic . 2

1.3 Overview of Document . 3

2.0 LITERATURE SEARCH AND CALCULATION METHODS 5

2.1 Literature Search 5

2.2 Methods for Estimating Bioaccumulation Factors 6

3.0 BAFs FOR ARSENIC IN FRESHWATER AND SALTWATER ECOSYSTEMS . 8

3.1 Estimation of BAFs Using Laboratory-measured BCFs 8

3.2 Estimation of BAFs Using Field Data - Freshwater Lentic Ecosystems . 10

3.2.1 BAFs for Trophic Level 2 Organisms . 10

3.2.2 BAFs for Trophic Level 3 Organisms . 13

3.2.3 BAFs for Trophic Level 4 Organisms . 17

3.3 Estimation of BAFs Using Field Data - Freshwater Lotic Ecosystems 17

3.3.1 BAFs for Trophic Level 2 Organisms . 17

3.3.2 BAFs for Trophic Level 3 Organisms . 19

3.3.3 BAFs for Trophic Level 4 Organisms . 20

3.4 Estimation of BAFs for Arsenic Using Field Data - Saltwater Ecosystems 21

3.4.1 BAFs for Trophic Level 2 Organisms . 21

3.5 Summary of BAFs for Arsenic in Freshwater and Saltwater Ecosystems 23

4.0 CHEMICAL TRANSLATOR FOR ARSENIC IN SURFACE WATERS . 25

4.1 Introduction to Chemical Translators . 25

4.2 Objective . 25

4.3 Results and Discussion 26

4.4 Application of the Chemical Translator for BAF Calculations 27

5.0 ARSENIC SPECIATION IN TISSUES OF AQUATIC ORGANISMS . 28

5.1 Freshwater Aquatic Organisms 28

5.1.1 Trophic Level 2 28

5.1.2 Trophic Levels 3 and 4 30

5.2 Saltwater Aquatic Organisms 32

6.0 SUMMARY OF ARSENIC BAFs AND SUPPORTING INFORMATION . 34

6.1 Freshwater and Saltwater Arsenic BAFs . 34

6.2 BAFs Based on Total Arsenic versus Other Forms of Arsenic 34

6.3 Arsenic in Tissues of Freshwater and Saltwater Aquatic Organisms . 36

7.0 CONCLUSIONS . 37

8.0 REFERENCES 38