The bioconcentration and bioaccumulation factors for molybdenum in the aquatic environment from natural environmental concentrations up to the toxicity boundary.

Abstract In a regulatory context, bioaccumulation or bioconcentration factors are used for considering secondary poisoning potential and assessing risks to human health via the food chain. In this paper, literature data on the bioaccumulation of molybdenum in the aquatic organisms are reviewed and assessed for relevance and reliability. The data available in the literature were generated at exposure concentrations below those recommended in the REACH registration dossiers for molybdenum compounds i.e. PNEC freshwater 12.7 mg Mo/L. To address possible environmental concerns at regulatorily-relevant molybdenum concentrations, both a field study and a laboratory study were conducted. In the field study, whole body and organ-specific molybdenum levels were evaluated in fish (eel, stickleback, perch, carp bream, roach) held in the discharge water collector tanks of a molybdenum processing plant, containing a mean measured molybdenum level of 1.03 mg Mo/L. In the laboratory study, rainbow trout were exposed to two different nominal molybdenum levels (1.0 and 12.7 mg Mo/L), for 60 days followed by a 60-day depuration period. Whole body concentrations in rainbow trout during the exposure period were between