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why is Bioaccumulation and biomagnification are important concepts to our health?

why is Bioaccumulation and biomagnification are important concepts to our health?

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BIOACCUMULATION:

Increase in concentration of a pollutant from the environment to the first organism in the food chain.

BIOMAGNIFICATION:

Increase of pollutant from one trophic level to another.

We are concerned about these phenomena because together they mean that even small concentrations of chemicals in the environment can find their way into organisms in high enough dosages to cause problems. In order for biomagnification to occur, the pollutant must be: long-lived, mobile, soluble in fats and biologically active. EXAMPLE: DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) and some heavy metals.

If a pollutant is short-lived, it will be broken down before it can become dangerous. If it is not mobile, it will stay in one place and is unlikely to be taken up by organisms. If the pollutant is soluble in water it will be excreted by the organism. Pollutants that dissolve in fats, however, may be retained for a long time. It is traditional to measure the amount of pollutants in fatty tissues of organisms such as fish. In mammals, we often test the milk produced by females, since the milk has a lot of fat in it and because the very young are often more susceptible to damage from toxins (poisons). If a pollutant is not active biologically, it may biomagnify, but we really don't worry about it much, since it probably won't cause any problems. ( Taken from a book : Conservation Biology)

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