ABSTRACT
Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a common contaminant of underground water supplies. To examine the effect of TCE on the developing central nervous system, rats were exposed to TCE throughout gestation until 21 days postpartum via their dams' drinking water. TCE concentrations of 312 mg/l, 625 mg/l and 1250 mg/l were tested. Exploratory behavior was higher in 60- and 90-day old male rats which were exposed to any level of TCE. The effect of TCE-exposure on locomotor activity (running wheel) was also examined in 60-day old males (625 and 1250 ppm exposure groups). Locomotor activity was significantly higher in rats exposed to 1250 ppm TCE. These data suggest that TCE has long-term effects on behaviour.
Subject(s)
Exploratory Behavior/drug effects , Motor Activity/drug effects , Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects , Trichloroethylene/toxicity , Aging , Animals , Drinking , Female , Male , Pregnancy , Rats , Rats, Inbred Strains , Water Pollutants, Chemical/toxicityABSTRACT
The fate of anthracene, a representative polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, was followed in a large outdoor stream microcosm . The major nonadvective route for the removal of anthracene was photolytic degradation to anthraquinone (half-life 43 min). The anthraquinone also photolyzed rapidly in this shallow stream system. Excluding the plastic channel liner, the sediment acts as the major sink for anthracene, absorbing 0.2% of the 14-day input dose. The periphyton community was the second most important sink, absorbing 0.04% of the input dose. All other compartments were of significantly less importance on a mass basis. Anthracene (11 micrograms liter-1) caused photo-induced 100% mortality of the bluegill sunfish in 9 hr in the upstream reach. Fish at the downstream station survived for approximately 26 hr and all died within 1 hr of each other. Other organisms, clams and dragonfly larvae, started to die off toward the end of the 14-day input period.
