Ecological half-lives (Te's) were estimated for 137Cs in largemouth bass, sunfishes, and bullheads from two reservoirs and three streams on the Savannah River Site, a nuclear weapons material production facility in South Carolina. Ecological half-life is the time required for a given contaminant concentration to decrease by 50% as a result of physical, chemical, and/or biological processes that remove it from an ecosystem or render it biologically unavailable. Te's were estimated from whole-fish 137Cs concentrations in samples collected during 1972-1996, following radionuclide releases that occurred primarily during the 1960's and early 1970's. Te's ranged from 3.2 to 16.7 y, and all were shorter than expected from the half-life for radioactive decay (Tp = 30.2 y) alone. Fish taxa from the same locations differed in mean 137Cs concentrations (highest in largemouth bass and lowest in sunfishes) but, in most cases, exhibited similar 137Cs Te's. Rates of 137Cs removal in fishes were strongly correlated with rates of 137Cs removal in water. The shortest Te's occurred in the upper portions of the streams. Te's in lower portions of the streams were longer, as were Te's in one of the reservoirs. Te's in the second reservoir, which had a much shorter water residence time, were nearly comparable to those in the upper portions of the streams until 1991. At that time, 137Cs concentrations in fishes began to increase following drainage and refilling of the reservoir, which apparently resuspended 137Cs buried in the sediments.
Mercury TMDLs (Total Maximum Daily Loads) are a regulatory instrument designed to reduce the amount of mercury entering a water body and ultimately to control the bioaccumulation of mercury in fish. TMDLs are based on a BAF (bioaccumulation factor), which is the ratio of methyl mercury in fish to dissolved methyl mercury in water. Analysis of fish tissue and aqueous methyl mercury samples collected at a number of locations and over several seasons in a 118 km reach of the Savannah River demonstrated that species specific BAFs varied by factors of three to eight. Factors contributing to BAF variability were location, habitat and season related differences in fish muscle tissue mercury levels and seasonal differences in dissolved methyl mercury levels. Overall (all locations, habitats, and seasons) average BAFs were 3.7 x 10 6 for largemouth bass, 1.4 x 10 6 for sunfishes, and 2.5 x 10 6 for white catfish. Inaccurate and imprecise BAFs can result in unnecessary economic impact or insufficient protection of human health. Determination of representative and precise BAFs for mercury in fish from large rivers necessitates collecting large and approximately equal numbers of fish and aqueous methyl mercury samples over a seasonal cycle from the entire area and all habitats to be represented by the TMDL.
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