Use of Transplanted Zebra Mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) To Assess the Bioavailability of Microcontaminants in Flemish Surface Waters

Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) were translocated in cages to 56 water bodies in Flanders (Belgium) during summer 2001. After six weeks, concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), p,p‘-DDE, and trace metals were measured in the transplanted mussels. It was investigated whether total dissolved water and sediment pollutant levels or bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) and biota-sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs) were predictive for mussel tissue levels. The sample sites covered a broad range both in terms of the type and concentration of the pollutants, and this was reflected in large differences in tissue concentrations of all pollutants among the sites. The highest pollutant levels in mussels were among the highest reported in the literature. For Cd and Zn levels up to 33 and 1994 μg/g dry wt. respectively were found. The lowest levels were comparable to those from uncontaminated sites in Europe and the U.S. For Cd and Zn respectively 51 and 75% of the variation in tissue levels was described. For both metals, dissolved and particulate metal contributed to the variation in accumulation. For other pollutants, relationships between tissue concentration and water or sediment concentration were weak or nonsignificant. Then the measured environmental factors (dissolved calcium, pH, oxygen, organic carbon and clay content in the sediment) were taken into account applying multiple regression analysis, and no increase in the described variation of pollutant accumulation was observed. The BAF and BSAF for all pollutants varied up to 1000-fold even after TOC-normalization. Clear negative relationships were found between BAFs/BSAFs and environmental levels. However, even at constant environmental concentrations a 10- to 100-fold variation in BAFs/BSAFs was observed. This study illustrated the need for biological monitoring since neither environmental levels nor BAFs/BSAFs predict bioaccumulation under natural conditions.