Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
9464531 | Environmental Research | 2005 | 7 Pages |
Abstract
The uptake and bioaccumulation of the platinum group metals (PGM) platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), and rhodium (Rh) by the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) were investigated in exposure studies using ground material from unused automobile catalytic converters as metal source. The mussels were exposed to the metals in tap water or humic water. In the soft tissue samples of exposed mussels mean Pt levels ranged in dependence on the type of tank water and the exposure period (6, 9, or 18 weeks) between 780 and 4300Â ng/g, the Pd levels ranged between 720 and 6300Â ng/g, and the Rh levels ranged between 270 and 1900Â ng/g. In contrast, the control mussels had metal concentrations of <20Â ng/g (Pt), <50Â ng/g (Pd), and <40Â ng/g (Rh). Considerably higher PGM levels were found in the exposed mussels of the humic water group than in those of the tap water group. Although there is a cumulative increase of the PGM concentrations in the environment since the introduction of the automobile catalyst more than 20 years ago, only little information about the PGM contamination in the biosphere, especially the fauna, is available. Due to the high capacity of D. polymorpha to accumulate PGM, this bivalve could be used as a potential sentinel for monitoring the noble metals in aquatic ecosystems.
Related Topics
Life Sciences
Environmental Science
Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Authors
Sonja Zimmermann, Jürgen Messerschmidt, Alex von Bohlen, Bernd Sures,