Investigation into the fate of ¹⁴C-labelled xenobiotics (naphthalene, phenanthrene, 2,4,5,2',4',5'hexachlorobiphenyl, octachlorostyrene) in Bermudian corals

Uptake and elimination of 4 labelled lipid-soluble xenobiotics (naphthalene, phenanthrene, 2,4,5,2',4',5'-hexachlorobiphenyl (PCB), octachlorostyrene) were studied in 19 anthozoans and 1 hydrozoan common to Bermudian waters. The concentration of radioactivity in the tissues was determined using liquid scintillation counting. All organisms tested took up radioactivity from the water. However, elimination rates were very slow compared to those of other marine organisms. Naphthalene was the most rapidly eliminated compound of the 4 tested. There was a much higher concentration of phenanthrene in the tissues than octachlorostyrene throughout the entire experiment. Tissue samples from Diploria strigosa taken 9 mo after exposure to PCB contained 84 % of the original radioactivity. No general trend or correlation between species and amount of radioactivity taken up was observed.