Basics of Bioaccumulation

2. Definitions
“The biological sequestering of a substance at a higher
concentration than that at which it occurs in the
surrounding environment or medium”
- US Geological Survey, 2007-
“General term describing a process by which chemicals
are taken up by an organism either directly from
exposure to a contaminated medium or by
consumption of food containing the chemical”
-US Environmental Protection Agency, 2010-

3. “Progressive increase in the amount of a substance in an
organism or part of an organism which occurs because the
rate of intake exceeds the organism’s ability to remove the
substance from the body”
- International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, 1993-
“Bioaccumulation means an increase in the concentration
of a chemical in a biological organism over a time,
compared to the chemical’s concentration in the
environment. Compounds accumulate in living things
anytime they are taken and stored faster than they are
broken down (metabolized) or excreted”

6. Types of Bioaccumulation

7. Factors Affecting
Bioaccumulation

8. Examples
1. DDT (Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane)
Mr. Paul MullerDDT Mrs. Rachel Carson

9. 2. Heavy Metals
3. Polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCB)

10. Sources of chemical pollutants
that are Bio accumulated

11. How to Avoid the Bio
accumulation of Chemical
Pollutants

13. THE END!!!