Distribution of Contaminants in Aquatic Organisms from East Fork Poplar Creek

The ecological risk assessment of East Fork Poplar Creek (EFPC) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, investigated the nature and magnitude of the observed or expected adverse effects of the site's organic and inorganic contaminants on the ecosystem structure and function. Aquatic biota such as benthic macroinvertebrates, crayfish (Astacidae), redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus), and stonerollers (Campostoma anomalum), representative of various habitats, were sampled for whole-body contaminant analysis. The whole-body residue analysis of the representative aquatic organisms revealed the presence of over 50 contaminants in varying proportions. The relative whole-body distribution of organic contaminants such as mixtures of polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and pesticides was comparable among the indicator organisms. The relative whole-body distribution of inorganic contaminants was, however, less consistent. Physicochemical variables characteristic of organic contaminants—such as long octanol/water partition coefficient (logKow), log aqueous solubility, and log bioconcentration factors (log BCF), and chemical uptake efficiency (E) unique for the organisms sampled for chemical analysis—were used to explain the observed whole-body distribution of contaminants in the aquatic organisms from EFPC.