Triclosan and triclocarban are antimicrobial compounds added to a variety of consumer products that are commonly detected in waste water effluent. The focus of this study was to determine whether the bioconcentration of these compounds in wetland plants and sediments exhibited species specific and site specific differences by collecting field samples from a constructed wetland in Denton, Texas. The study showed that species-specific differences in bioconcentration exist for triclosan and triclocarban. Site-specific differences in bioconcentration were observed for triclosan and triclocarban in roots tissues and sediments. These results suggest that species selection is important for optimizing the removal of triclosan and triclocarban in constructed wetlands and raises concerns about the long term exposure of wetland ecosystems to these compounds. (2010), I also hypothesized that the bioconcentration of TCS, MTCS, and TCC by P. cordata would be greater than S. graminea. Analyte Concentration Patterns in Plants and Sediment at Different LocationsThe ability of constructed wetlands to effectively treat organic contaminants, such 5 as PPCPs, is generally related to the multiple destructive (e.g. phyto-and microbial degradation) and non-destructive (e.g. sorption, volatilization, plant uptake) processes that are simultaneously ongoing in constructed wetlands systems (Imfeld et al., 2009).Although the contribution of individual processes to overall treatment efficacy is hard to quantify, longer exposure of the pollutant load to the constructed wetland environment (i.e. hydraulic retention time) has been associated with increased removal efficiencies (Matamoros et al., 2008). Thus, the exposure concentrations and, by extension, the amount of contaminants available for bioconcentration in wetland plants and sediments would also be expected to decrease as the plug of effluent water travels through the constructed wetland. As part of my study, I conducted an experiment to test the theory that wetland plants and sediments are exposed to progressively lower concentrations of the target contaminants by comparing the bioconcentration of TCS, MTCS, and TCC in plant tissues and sediments at different locations within an operational constructed wetland. The practical implications of this research include 1) the documentation constructed wetland PPCPs removal efficiency via bioconcentration patterns in wetland plants tissues and sediments. I hypothesized that analyte concentrations in plant tissues and sediments at the wetland inflow would be greater than the wetland outflow. Relationship between Analyte Concentrations in Tissues and SedimentsExisting models concerning the ability of plants to uptake organic contaminants is SamplingCollection sites were located at the inflow (Site 1), outflow (Site 3), and a third site (Site 2) representing the midpoint of the flow path between the inflow and outflow. 10Each site consisted of a rectangular plot measuring 3.1m x 6.1m (10ft x 20ft) oriented parallel to the flow of water. Do...