Metal Contamination of Flatfish around a Large Submarine Outfall

Large quantities of trace metals are released annually through a wastewater control plant's submarine outfall system, resulting in contamination of bottom sediments on the Palos Verdes Shelf. Levels of silver, cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel, lead, and zinc have been measured in Dover sole, a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal - Water Pollution Control Federation 1976-08, Vol.48 (8), p.1913-1918
Main Authors: McDermott, Deirdre J., Alexander, George V., Young, David R., Mearns, Alan J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal fins
Animals
California
Chromium
Fishes - metabolism
Gonads
Kidneys
Lead
Liver
Metals - analysis
Seawater
Sediments
Silver
Specimens
Statistical significance
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Summary:Large quantities of trace metals are released annually through a wastewater control plant's submarine outfall system, resulting in contamination of bottom sediments on the Palos Verdes Shelf. Levels of silver, cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel, lead, and zinc have been measured in Dover sole, a flatfish inhabiting bottom sediments, collected from the discharge region and the Santa Barbara Channel. Despite enhancements of trace metals in Palos Verdes sediments by factors ranging from 2 to 150, no overall pattern of tissue uptake was observed in the flesh, liver, and gonads of fish trawled from those contaminated sediments. Analysis of trace metals in the flesh, liver, gonads, kidney, heart, brain, and gill arches of diseased and healthy Palos Verdes Dover sole revealed significant enhancements of chromium in the liver and kidney, and lead in the kidney, of diseased fish; significant depressions were observed in the gonadal and heart tissues.
ISSN:0043-1303