Question

Please describe the process of bioaccumulation (there are two main parts to this process).

Answer 1

Answer: The process of bioaccumulation can be defined in simple words as the process by which certain toxic substances (such as heavy metals and polychlorinated biphenyls) accumulate and keep on accumulating in living organisms, posing a threat to health, life, and to the environment.

Example: Using of DDT as a pesticide caused thinning of the egg shells of the birds,causing them to break easily when the birds tried to incubate them due to this birds of prey were badly affected.

The two main process involved are:

1. One way is by an amount of the chemical coming into the living organism faster than the organism can break it down and use it. This means that more is going in than is coming out, therefore causing the chemical to accumulate in the organism.
2. The other main way that bioaccumulation occurs is by the chemical coming into the living organism and the organism not being able to break it down or excrete it in one way or another. In these instances, the chemical continues to accumulate until it eventually becomes deadly to the living organism.