Eric L. Brunson Ning Wang James F. Dwyer Gerald T. Ankley David R. Mount James Huckins J. Petty Peter F. Landrum Christopher G. Ingersoll 2003 <p>Uptake of sediment-associated contaminants by the oligochaete <i>Lumbriculus variegatus</i> was evaluated after 1, 3, 7, 14, 28, and 56 d of exposure to a field-collected sediment contaminated with DDT and its metabolites, dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (DDD) and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), or to a field-collected sediment contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Depuration of contaminants by oligochaetes in a control sediment or in water was also evaluated over a 7-d period after 28 d of exposure to the field-collected sediments. Accumulation of PAHs with a log octanol-water partitioning coefficient (log Kow) 5.6 or DDD and DDE typically exhibited a steady increase from day 1 to about day 14 or 28, followed by a plateau. Therefore, exposures conducted for a minimum of 14 to 28 d better reflected steady-state concentrations for DDT and its metabolites and for PAHs. Depuration rates for DDT and its metabolites and high-Kow PAHs were much higher in organisms held in clean sediment relative to both water-only depuration and model predictions. This suggests that depuration in clean sediment may artificially accelerate depuration of hydrophobic compounds. Comparisons between laboratory-exposed<i> L. variegatus</i> and oligochaetes collected in the field from these sediments indicate that results of laboratory tests can be extrapolated to the field with a reasonable degree of certainty.</p> application/pdf 10.1002/etc.5620220427 en Wiley Uptake and depuration of nonionic organic contaminants from sediment by the oligochaete, Lumbriculus variegatus article