Sorption of Highly Hydrophobic Organic Chemicals to Organic Matter Relevant for Fish Bioconcentration Studies

With regard to a potential underestimation of bioconcentration factors (BCF) in flow-through fish tests, sorption of 11 highly hydrophobic organic chemicals (HOCs) (log K OW 5.5–7.8) from different substance classes was systematically investigated for the first time in the presence of fish feed (FF) and filter residues (FR), the organic matter (OM) most relevant for fish bioconcentration studies. Sorption was investigated in batch-equilibrium experiments by solid-phase microextraction (SPME) resulting in partitioning coefficients of solid–water (K d), total organic carbon–water (K TOC), and dissolved organic carbon–water (K DOC). Results prove a high affinity of HOCs for FF and FR supporting a significant impact on BCF studies and differing from sorption to Aldrich-humic acid (AHA) utilized as reference sorbent. Sorption is influenced by interactions between HOCs and OM characteristics. For FF, K DOC values were higher than K TOC values. Results help to assess the relevance of interaction of HOCs from different substance classes with OM relevant for BCF studies.