Development and validation of a herring gull embryo toxicokinetic model for PCBs.

A toxicokinetic model was developed to describe polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) accumulation by herring gull (Larus argentatus) embryos during development. The model consists of two components, a bioenergetics model that predicts the lipid mass balance of embryo and yolk compartments with time and an empirical toxicokinetic model that describes PCB partitioning between lipid compartments in the egg. The model was calibrated using data on PCB and lipid partitioning between embryo and yolk + albumen at four time points during incubation in herring gull eggs injected with a PCB mixture, combined with data sets on herring gull embryo growth rates and bioenergetic demands with time.