Modeling organic chemical fate in aquatic systems: significance of bioaccumulation and relevant time-space scales.

The importance of aquatic food chain bioaccumulation of organic chemicals in contributing to human dose is derived. It is shown that for chemicals with log octanol water partition coefficients greater than about 3, the role of food chain transfer to fish consumed by humans becomes the more dominant route over drinking water. Modeling of aquatic food chain bioaccumulation then becomes necessary to accurately estimate dose of such chemicals to humans. The relevant time and space scales for groundwater and surface water also indicate a division of organic chemicals at a log octanol water partition coefficient of about 3. For chemicals greater than that level, groundwater transport is minimal, while for chemicals with log octanol water coefficients of less than about 3, detention times are long relative to surface water and biodegradation processes become more significant. An illustration is given of modeling the groundwater transport of two organic chemicals (BCEE and benzene) and a metal (chromium) at a Superfund site. The model indicates that after 10 years only a relatively small fraction of the chemicals had traveled in the groundwater about 300 m to the point of release from the site to surface water. On the other hand, steady state in the adjacent stream and lake is reached rapidly over a distance of 2000 m, illustrating the difference in spatial and temporal scales for the groundwater and surface water.

Development of a pharmacokinetic model for chromium in the rat following subchronic exposure. I. The importance of incorporating long-term storage compartment.

A pharmacokinetic model of chromium depuration in the rat has been developed under subchronic exposure conditions. Rats were exposed to 100 ppm Cr(VI) in their drinking water for 6 weeks, followed by a 140-day period of depuration. Tissue concentrations of Cr at the end of the 6-week exposure period were greatest in the bone, spleen, and kidney, with lower concentrations present in the liver and blood. The overall kinetics of Cr depuration from the tissues were relatively slow, especially for the largest compartment which included bone. The results indicated that the half-life of Cr in bone exceeded 100 days. A three-compartment model was developed to fit the data. Liver, kidney, and spleen were grouped into a single compartment which was linked to a major storage compartment (i.e., bone, skin, hair, and muscle) via the blood. Using this model, the time to a 50% reduction of whole body Cr (i.e., loss of total Cr mass for the whole rat) was calculated to be about 80 days. The higher half-life for the storage compartment of 100 days is due to the relative weights of the compartments and the more rapid loss of Cr from the liver, kidney, and spleen compartment. The data suggest that Cr may be sequestered and release of Cr by the storage compartment over an extended period of time, thereby, may play an important role in maintaining elevated body burdens and tissue concentrations of Cr following long-term exposure to this toxic metal.