Pesticide toxicokinetics in fish: accumulation and elimination.

Bioaccumulation of fenitrothion in the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) was studied using two sublethal concentrations of this pesticide in a flow-through test system. The pesticide concentrations used were one-tenth (0.002 ppm) and one-fifth (0.04 ppm) the 96-h LC50 of fenitrothion in this species. Steady state was reached early (2 h) when the animals were exposed to 0.02 ppm of toxicant, and after 48 h when the animals were exposed to 0.04 ppm. Toxicokinetic parameters for fenitrothion in eel muscle (K1, K2, and T1/2) were calculated for both experiments. The highest bioconcentration factor was calculated for animals exposed to 0.04 ppm of toxicant, indicating the relationship between the…