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Description:
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The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Western Kentucky is an industrial facility built in the 1950s to enrich raw uranium for fuels and bomb materials . Polychlorinated biphenyls , metals , and other contaminants have been released into the environment through various industrial processes over the past fifty years , and are thought to have moved into the surrounding areas through erosion and run -off .
Contaminant concentrations in tissues of wildlife species were measured to monitor the amounts and spatial distribution of contaminants at this site . A residue study using white -footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus ) and rice rats (Oryzomys palustris ) as indicator species documented the movement of contaminants into the lowest levels of the terrestrial food web and identified highly contaminated areas . Rice rats were the best biomonitors for PCB contamination and white -footed mice the best indicators of metal contamination at this site .
Results of the rodent study raised questions about the potential bioaccumulation of contaminants into higher trophic -level organisms inhabiting the areas surrounding the plant . Raccoons (Procyon lotor ) were chosen to assess distribution of contamination on a larger scale and to evaluate the potential for bioaccumulation of contaminants in upper trophic -level organisms . Raccoons were captured , radio -collared , and tracked to determine spatial utilization of potentially contaminated areas . Concentrations of PCBs and metals were determined in raccoon tissues . Physiological biomarkers of exposure , including a variety of cytochrome P450 measurements , porphyrins , and other physiological markers were measured to evaluate adverse responses to contaminant exposure . |