2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo- p-dioxin metabolism and disposition in yellow perch

Accumulation, tissue distribution, and depuration of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo- p-dioxin (TCDD)-derived 3H were examined in fingerling yellow perch fed a diet containing 494 ppt of [ 3H]TCDD for 13 weeks followed by the same diet without TCDD for 13 weeks. None of the TCDD-exposed perch showed any signs of overt toxicity such as reduced growth rate, fin necrosis, cutaneous hemorrhage, or lethality. At the end of the 13-week exposure period, 78% of the total body burden of TCDD-derived 3H was contained in the carcass and visceral fat while the remaining 22% was distributed among the liver (9%), gill (5%), skin (3%), skeletal muscle (2%), gastrointestinal tract (1%), pyloric caeca (1%), kidney (