Bioaccumulation
The accumulation of pollutants within an individual organism over its lifetime, exceeding ambient environmental concentration.
Formula
BCF = [Pollutant in organism] / [Pollutant in environment]
Real World
Methylmercury discharged from the Chisso chemical plant into Minamata Bay, Japan, accumulated in fish tissue at concentrations thousands of times higher than the surrounding water, directly poisoning thousands of local residents.
Exam Focus
State the BCF value and confirm it exceeds 1 when describing bioaccumulation; vague answers without quantification lose marks.
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