ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the basic qualities of chemicals, organisms, and the environment that have the strongest influence on bioaccumulation. It discusses the importance of temperature- and size-dictated changes in biological functions and structures. The bioavailability of inorganic contaminants in aerosols, food, sediments, soils, and other solids is difficult to predict; however, some general themes emerge from the literature. The bioavailability of metals or metalloids in solid aerosols in air is determined by their chemical forms in the solid, the size of particulates, and the distribution of the element within particulates. Bioavailability is strictly applicable to a single species according to its functional ecology and physiological traits. Several general trends can be identified regarding metal bioavailability for oxic sediments. Solid and dissolved sources of organic and inorganic contaminants were detailed relative to bioavailability.
