Contaminants can exist in a wide range of states in aqueous environments, especially in surface waters. They can be freely dissolved or associated with dissolved or particulate organic matter depending on their chemical and physical characteristics. The freely dissolved fraction represents the most bioavailable fraction to an organism. These freely...
Assessing the risk from exposure to a chemical mixture in the environment can seem prohibitively challenging. Most components of the mixture are not readily identifiable, chemicals may interact to cause other-than-additive toxicity, and the number of potential combinations of environmental contaminants is enormous. These challenges can make it seem impossible...
Chemicals must be bioavailable for there to be a potential for exposure and consequent risk to human or environmental health. Passive sampling devices (PSDs) are used to quantify the time-integrated concentration of bioavailable contaminants. We demonstrate that PSDs can be paired with the zebrafish developmental toxicity bioassay to produce site-specific,...
The seasonal distribution of bioavailable organochiorine contaminants in surface
water and the potential environmental factors influencing their bioavailability were
evaluated. The study was carried at the lower Willamette River at Portland Harbor, Oregon
where surface water runoff varied according to season. Bioavailable water concentrations of
DDTs and PCBs were determined...