The fate of polyaromatic hydrocarbons in an intertidal sediment exposure system: Bioavailability to macoma inquinata (mollusca: Pelecypoda) and abarenicola pacifica (annelida: Polychaeta)

Macoma inquinata, a detritus feeding clam, was exposed for 60 days to coarse-grained, and Abarenicola pacifica, a burrowing polychaete, to fine-grained, sediment. Each sediment contained ¹⁴-C-labelled phenanthrene, chrysene or benzo(a)pyrene. Over 70% of the chrysene and benzo(a)pyrene, but only 8% of the phenanthrene, remained in the coarse sediment during the exposure. Essentially all of the chrysene and benzo(a)pyrene and 70% of the phenanthrene remained in the fine sediment. The concentrations of chrysene and benzo(a)pyrene in the clams rose steadily, reaching levels 11·6 and 5·2 times as high as those in the sediment. The tissue phenanthrene concentration rose for 3 days, then fell to one-eighth of the initial concentration. The concentrations of each of the aromatic hydrocarbons in Abarenicola tissue increased for 2 weeks to four to six times the sediment levels. The tissue concentration of chrysene remained constant thereafter, but the levels of phenanthrene and benzo(a)pyrene fell to three-quarters of their peak values. No intermediate degradation products of any of the hydrocarbons were identified in extracts of sediment from either exposure system, or in solvent extracts of tissue or of tissue digestates.Significant ¹⁴C-activity, associated with non-solvent extractable compounds, remained in tissue digestates of individuals of both species exposed to phenanthrene.