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Using Tenax Extractable Concentrations to Determine the Bioavailable Contaminant Fraction in Sediments

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In Situ Bioavailability and Toxicity of Organic Chemicals in Aquatic Systems

Part of the book series: Methods in Pharmacology and Toxicology ((MIPT))

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Abstract

It is well understood that bioavailability-based estimates of exposure are more accurate than traditionally used techniques. One method is the use of Tenax extractable concentrations. This technique uses Tenax, a porous polymer resin, to quantify the amount of hydrophobic organic contaminant that desorbs from sediment. This labile fraction is representative of exposure to benthic organisms and correlates with bioaccumulation and toxicity for several compounds and species. There are two general ways to compare Tenax extractable concentrations to exposure: determining the rapidly desorbing fractions using sequential extractions and using a fixed time single-point extraction. These extractions can be conducted by mixing small masses of sediments (typically <3 g) in overlying water with small masses of Tenax (~0.5 g) and mixing this matrix for fixed periods. The amount of sediment and Tenax can be altered to account for differences in organic carbon and contaminant concentrations. Since the Tenax floats, it can easily be removed from the matrix, and the compounds of interest can be extracted from the beads. These values are normalized for the proportion of organic carbon and compared to lipid-normalized tissue concentration or toxicity values. While there are some limitations to the method, it provides a rapid, accurate, cost-effective means of comparing and evaluating risk of hydrophobic organic contaminants in sediments.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Studies and Biology, Alma College, Alma, MI, USA

    Amanda D. Harwood

  2. Department of Biology, School of Science, Penn State Behrend, Erie, PA, USA

    Samuel A. Nutile

Authors
  1. Amanda D. Harwood
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  2. Samuel A. Nutile
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amanda D. Harwood .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hygiene-Institut des Ruhrgebiets, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

    Thomas-Benjamin Seiler

  2. Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada

    Markus Brinkmann

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Harwood, A.D., Nutile, S.A. (2019). Using Tenax Extractable Concentrations to Determine the Bioavailable Contaminant Fraction in Sediments. In: Seiler, TB., Brinkmann, M. (eds) In Situ Bioavailability and Toxicity of Organic Chemicals in Aquatic Systems. Methods in Pharmacology and Toxicology. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/7653_2019_41

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/7653_2019_41

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-2352-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-2353-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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