Characterization and sources of extractable organochlorine in white sucker downstream from bleached kraft pulp mills

Abstract

Organochlorine, obtained by extraction with hexane–acetone mixture (3 : 1) of fillets of white sucker (Catostomus commersoni) sampled downstream of pulp mills and in a reference river, was characterized by gel-permeation chromatography, transesterification, neutron activation analysis, and gas chromatography with halogen-sensitive detection. It was found that over 78% of the extractable organochlorine (EOCl) is of relatively high molecular weight (>∼350). Chlorinated fatty acids account for 43–80% of EOCl in the high-molecular-weight portion, while chlorobenzenes, chlorinated pesticides, and polychlorinated biphenyls account for 4–55% of EOCl in the low-molecular-weight portion. Though undetectable in reference fish, three particular chlorinated fatty acids, i.e. threo-5,6-dichlorotetradecanoic, threo-7,8-dichlorohexadecanoic and threo-9,10-dichlorooctadecanoic acids, are characteristic of EOCl from fish collected downstream of bleached kraft pulp mills using chlorine-based bleaching, representing about 30% of total EOCl, of which threo-5,6-dichlorotetradecanoic acid alone accounts for 60–70%. It is thus evident that, among chlorinated compounds discharged from bleached kraft pulp mills, threo-9,10-dichlorooctadecanoic acid, presumably generated in chlorine-based bleaching processes, is the most bio-accumulative in fish and can be biodegraded by fish into dichlorohexadecanoic and dichlorotetradecanoic acids, presumably via β-oxidative metabolism. These three compounds were also identified in suspended solids isolated from biologically treated final effluent discharged from a bleached pulp mill using 50% ClO₂ substitution, thus confirming the effluent-related source for downstream fish. The finding also suggests that β-oxidation of dichlorooctadecanoic acid may also be operative in micro-organisms.