BIOACCUMULATION IN FISH OF CHLORINATED PHENOLS FROM KRAFT PULP-MILL BLEACHERY EFFLUENTS

During the last ten years the gross water pollution caused by oxygen consuming organic substances in the effluents from the pulp and paper industry has been considerably reduced. The greatest remaining pollution problem in the pulp industry is connected with the bleaching process. The work described here is an attempt to find out if the low-molecular chlorinated compounds, identified to be present in low concentration in the effluents from Swedish kraft pulp bleacheries and some of which have been shown to be acutely toxic to fish, also show tendencies to accumulate in fish. If such a bioaccumulation is demonstrated to occur, this would be a strong rationale for further studies on possible long term or chronic effects of this group of compounds.