The biokinetic behavior of 95mTc in juvenile Coho Salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch (Walbaum)

Abstract

Juvenile coho salmon, Onchorynchus kisutch, were exposed to 95mTc in both saltwater and freshwater to study the biokinetic behavior of this element in an anadromous fish. In freshwater, equilibrium whole-body concentration factors (CF 5) ranged from 28 to 32 in two separate experiments, in sharp contrast to an equilibriumCF of < 5 in saltwater. While the uptake kinetics were unimodal in saltwater, in freshwater, biomodal uptake kinetics were observed. Technetium-95m retention was biphasic in freshwater depuration experiments, an initial rapid loss of 21% to 26% of the steady-state activity with an elimination half-life of 3 to 5 days was followed by a slower loss rate, with a whole-body elimination half-life ranging from 23 to 33 days. In saltwater, retention was monophasic with an elimination half-life of 5–16 days. Dramatic decreases in 95mTc body burdens when freshwater-labeled fish are transferred to Tc-labeled saltwater indicate that the changes in physiology accompanying saltwater acclimation lead to the loss of 95mTc.