METABOLISM OF SINGLE AND COMBINED DOSES OF ALDRIN-C-14 AND P,P'-DDT-H-3 BY ATLANTIC SALMON (SALMO SALAR) FRY

Atlantic salmon (S. salar) fry were injected i.m. with 3H-p,p''-DDT and 14C-aldrin either alone or as a mixture at concentrations similar to those found in naturally contaminated fish; their rates of metabolism and clearance were then compared. 3H-p,p''-DDT was cleared slowly from the fish; approximately 60% of the injected material remained 8 wk after injection. 14C-Aldrin was cleared much more rapidly, only 55% of the injected material remaining in the fish 1 day after injection and less than 10% remaining at the end of the experiment. 3H-p,p''-DDT was dehydrochlorinated to p,p''-DDE; assuming an exponential rate of conversion, its half-life was 60 days. In contrast, 50% of the aldrin residues in the fish were epoxidized to dieldrin within 2 days. No interactions between the insecticides were observed, although aldrin apparently induced a slight increase in the fraction of total body weight accounted for by liver.