Accumulation of metals in consumers associated with chromated copper arsenate-treated wood panels

Metals leached from chromated copper arsenate (CCA)-treated wood, taken up by epibiota and trophically transferred to their motile consumers or taken up directly by the consumers, were measured in caged organisms exposed to treated and untreated wood panels for 3 months. Epibiota on treated panels had more copper and arsenic than epibiota on untreated panels, and amphipods living on the former had elevated copper. However, metal concentrations in grass shrimp (Palaemonetes pugio) and two teleost fish, the naked goby (Gobiosoma bosci) and mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus), were unaffected by CCA-treated wood exposure. In addition, there was no evidence of biomagnification in the consumers other than the amphipods. Thus, trophic transfer was not demonstrated to the consumers, suggesting that the treated wood was not presenting a hazard to higher trophic levels. Fish may have more efficient mechanisms for regulating metal levels in their tissues. ©