colonization at this mound, or that some other contaminant or 

 combination of contaminants not analyzed for were responsible. 



It is instructive to compare the results of the body 

 burden analyses in the present study with those from other studies. 

 The Fe concentrations reported for the present study ranged between 

 340 and 820 ppm dry weight, except for the CLIS-86 sample which 

 showed a concentration of 8,600 ppm. The levels reported by Munns 

 et al. (in press) were all between 600 and 1,000 ppm. The 

 extremely high Fe levels found in the CLIS-8 6 Nephtys samples was 

 probably due to the presence of sediment in the gut of these 

 organisms. The levels of most other elements were also elevated 

 in the CLIS-86 sample, probably due to the same reason. Therefore, 

 the contaminant levels measured in the organisms from this station 

 will not be discussed. 



Lake et al. (1985) conducted a laboratory study on the 

 bioaccumulation of several inorganic elements from Black Rock 

 Harbor sediment, the material that was disposed at FVP. Their 

 study measured the concentrations of Cr, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Fe in 

 organisms exposed to sediment. The results showed that only Cr and 

 Cu were significantly bioaccumulated from the sediments. Both of 

 these elements as well as Pb showed elevated concentrations in the 

 present study at FVP. 



Munns et al. (1988) reported that Cr concentrations in 

 Nephtys collected at the CLIS reference station ranged from 1-2 ppm 

 dry weight. This is higher than the concentrations (0.20-0.30 ppm) 

 found in Nephtys collected from the reference station in the 

 present study (Tables 3-29 and 3-30) , and similar to the levels 

 reported on the FVP and MQR disposal mounds. Munns et al. (1988) 

 reported concentrations between 2 and 5 ppm for Cr in Nephtys 

 collected on dredged material at FVP. 



For Cu, the range of concentrations reported here were 

 17-21 ppm for organisms from the reference station. Munns et al. 

 (1988) reported levels of about 30 ppm from the reference station. 

 Levels were highest in organisms from FVP in the present study, 

 reaching about 50 ppm. Munns et al. (1988) also reported 

 concentrations near 50 ppm on dredged material around FVP. 



The Pb levels that Munns et al. (1988) reported for the 

 CLIS reference station were about 3-4 ppm. On dredged material, 

 Munns et al. measured Pb concentrations in Nephtys of about 7 ppm. 

 In this study, the reference levels were about 3-4 ppm and about 

 8-10 ppm on the FVP and MQR disposal mounds. 



Zn concentrations were about 180 ppm at the reference 

 station and only slightly higher at 240 ppm in the mound samples. 

 Munns et al. reported similar Zn concentrations ranging from 

 130-150 ppm dry weight at the reference station and about 200 ppm 

 on dredged material. The Cd concentrations found at the reference 



43 



