Organochlorine contaminants in double-crested cormorants from Green Bay, WI: I. Large-scale extraction and isolation from eggs using semi-permeable membrane dialysis

Effect of In Ovo exposure to an organochlorine mixture extracted from double crested cormorant eggs (Phalacrocorax auritus) and PCB 126 on immune function of juvenile chickens

Organochlorine (OC) contaminants including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and p, p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) have been associated with immune modulation in wild fish-eating birds from the Great Lakes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the immune function of juvenile chickens after in ovo exposure to PCB 126 or an environmentally relevant OC mixture extracted from eggs of double crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) from Green Bay, Lake Michigan, USA. Fertile white leghorn chicken (Gallus domesticus) eggs were injected before incubation with 0.55-1.79 ng TCDD equivalents (TEQ)/egg PCB 126 and 1.2-4.9 ng TEQs/egg of cormorant egg extract into the air cell in two separate experiments. After hatching, the immune function was tested using in vivo phytohemagglutinin (PHA) skin response in 11-day-old chicks, antibody titers to immunization with sheep red blood cells (SRBC) in 28-day-old chicks, and, at necropsy, thymus and bursal mass and cellularity. PCB 126 decreased antibody titers at all doses and decreased the thymus and bursa index but not cellularity at 1.79 ng TEQ/egg. The cormorant egg extract caused no significant alterations in immune function even though it has been demonstrated as immunotoxic in chicken embryos. However, twofold to threefold increases in total anti-SRBC titers in 28-day-old chicks exposed to 1.2 or 2.4 ng TEQ/egg of cormorant extract were similar to elevations in anti-SRBC titer observed in Caspian tern (Sterna caspia) chicks from a highly OC-contaminated site in Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron. Posthatch exposure to OC through fish consumption in addition to in ovo OC exposure might be associated with the immune modulation reported in wild birds. Chicks in this study might have begun to compensate for embryonic immunotoxicity by the ages at which we studied them.

Analysis of UNEP priority POPs using HRGC-HRMS and their contamination profiles in livers and eggs of great cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) from Japan

The present investigation demonstrates establishment of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) priority Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) using high-resolution gas chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry. Particularly, POPs analytical methods were established using native and (13)C-labeled internal standards of HCHs, HCB, cyclodienes, chlordanes, DDTs, mirex, dioxin-like PCBs, PCDDs, and PCDFs by isotope dilution technique. The relative response factor for 6-point calibration curve native standards (18 replicate analysis) were in the ranges of 0.93-1.43 with relative standard deviation ranges from 1.68 to 4.96%. Instrument detection limit and instrument quantification limit was established for various POPs at femtograms. Concentrations of UNEP-POPs were measured in liver (n = 10) and egg (n = 10) of great cormorants and their major diet, gizzard shad (n = 2), collected in and around Tokyo, Japan. DDTs (ranges in liver and egg, respectively) were predominant accumulants (9800-310,000 and 9600-73,000) followed by dioxin-like PCBs (4500-69,000 and 7900-150,000), chlordanes (2600-16,000 and 700-4,800), cyclodienes (650-4600 and <1-1000), HCB (680-2800 and 180-590), HCHs (230-1800 and 120-490), PCDD/DFs (3.2-27 and 1.7-5.7) on nanogram per gram lipid basis. Concentrations (ranges) of POPs in gizzard shad were in the following order: DDTs (3900-16,000), chlordanes (3400-14,000), cyclodienes (340-1300), HCB (110-480), and HCHs (140-360) on nanogram per gram lipid basis.

Chlorinated hydrocarbon contaminants in blood of black and turkey vultures from Savannah River Site, South Carolina, USA

Blood of adult and juvenile black and turkey vultures in the Savannah River Site of South Carolina, USA was analyzed for the presence of 2,3,7,8-chlorine substituted polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (2,3,7,8-PCDDs), dibenzofurans (2,3,7,8-PCDFs), -dioxin-like and -di-ortho polychlorinated biphenyls. Concentration ranges of 2,3,7,8-PCDD/DFs in blood of black and turkey vultures were 14.2-34.6 and 8.7-56.2 pg/ml wet wt., respectively. Dioxin-like PCBs were in the ranges of 815-4627 and 753-3611 pg/ml wet wt. respectively, in black and turkey vultures. Considerable concentrations of two congeners of di-ortho PCBs were noticed in the ranges of 1415-10325 and 663-7500 pg/ml respectively, in black and turkey vultures. Comparatively, greater toxic equivalency (TEQ) were observed in blood of turkey vultures with the ranges of 3.2-20, whereas black vulture contained 1.8-8.4 pgTEQ/ml wet wt. basis. The species-specific accumulation profiles of PCDD/DFs and dioxin-like PCBs may reflect the different feeding habits, ecology, metabolic capacity and migratory movements of these two scavenging species.

Sequestration of priority pollutant PAHs from sediment pore water employing semipermeable membrane devices

Semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) were employed to sample sediment pore water in static exposure studies under controlled laboratory conditions using (control pond and formulated) sediments fortified with 15 priority pollutant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PPPAHs). The sediment fortification level of 750 ng/g was selected on the basis of what might be detected in a sediment sample from a contaminated area. The sampling interval consisted of 0, 4, 7, 14, and 28 days for each study. The analytical methodologies, as well as the extraction and sample cleanup procedures used in the isolation, characterization, and quantitation of 15 PPPAHs at different fortification levels in SPMDs, water, and sediment were reported previously (Williamson, M.S. Thesis, University of Missouri-Columbia, USA; Williamson et al., Chemosphere (This issue--PII: S0045-6535(02)00394-6)) and used for this project. Average (mean) extraction recoveries for each PPPAH congener in each matrix are reported and discussed. No procedural blank extracts (controls) were found to contain any PPPAH residues above the method quantitation limit, therefore, no matrix interferences were detected. The focus of this publication is to demonstrate the ability to sequester environmental contaminants, specifically PPPAHs, from sediment pore water using SPMDs and two different types of fortified sediment.

HPLC-PFD determination of priority pollutant PAHs in water, sediment, and semipermeable membrane devices

High performance liquid chromatography coupled with programmable fluorescence detection was employed for the determination of 15 priority pollutant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PPPAHs) in water, sediment, and semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs). Chromatographic separation using this analytical method facilitates selectivity, sensitivity (ppt levels), and can serve as a non-destructive technique for subsequent analysis by other chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques. Extraction and sample cleanup procedures were also developed for water, sediment, and SPMDs using various chromatographic and wet chemical methods. The focus of this publication is to examine the enrichment techniques and the analytical methodologies used in the isolation, characterization, and quantitation of 15 PPPAHs in different sample matrices.

Review of the background and application of triolein-containing semipermeable membrane devices in aquatic environmental study

This paper briefly reviews research on passive in situ samplers for aquatic environments but focuses on the development and application of the triolein-containing semipermeable membrane device in aquatic environmental monitoring. Special attention is paid to the calibration of the devices, quality control issues, and its potential uses in environmental assessments of aquatic contaminants. Also, the suitability of the technique for incorporation with selected bioassays is examined.