Environmental Profiles of Chemical Flame-Retardant Alternatives for

Bioconcentration
Environmental Fate
Fish:
Conclusion: The bioconcentration of TPP has been adequately measured in rainbow trout,
goldfish, and killifish.
Basis for Conclusion: Similar BCFs are reported for rainbow trout in two key 90-day studies
(Monsanto Chemical Company, 1982c; Mayer, 1981). Other studies (Muir, 1984; Muir et al.,
1980) are available, but exhibit significant scatter in the data for rainbow trout. The data
reported by this author are based on uptake times of 24 hours or less, and may not represent
equilibrium conditions. The highest kinetic BCF value reported by this author, 18,960, may be
irrelevant because it was calculated based on a “slow” rate of elimination of residual
radioactivity by the fish. According to this study, the fish eliminated 98-99% of the initial load
of radioactivity (from the uptake of 14 C-labeled TPP) in 9 days. The remaining 1-2% was
eliminated more slowly. Because only the total amount of radioactivity was measured without
identifying specific radioactive compounds present, it is not certain that the residual radioactivity
was due to unchanged TPP and not to metabolites.
Adequate studies are available for goldfish and killifish (Sasaki et al., 1981, 1982). In these two
studies, the authors measured BCFs under both static and flow-through conditions, with varying
TPP concentrations, and over differing lengths of time. The authors found that the measured
BCFs for killifish were largely independent of these parameters.
Key Design Parameters
Exp. Range Study T
Reference Species BCF Type (ppb) Length (°C) Comments
Monsanto
Chemical Co,
1982c
Rainbow
Trout
271 90 days
Mayer, 1981 Rainbow 132­ Flow­ 0.22, 90 days Elimination half life
Trout 364 through 1.4 0.54 days
Muir, 1984 Rainbow 573 Static 3.1­ 1-24
Trout 931 50.4 hours
1368
1-53