British Sign Language Glossaries of Curriculum Terms

BSL Environmental Science Glossary - Bioaccumulation definition

Definition: Bioaccumulation is the build-up of toxins in the body from the contaminated food eaten. A fish may eat lots of a contaminated food and the toxins from the prey are ingested and accumulate in the body to a level where it becomes poisonous to the fish. The toxins are stored in the fat of the fish as they are fat soluble, where they build up to a toxic level which make the fish ill and then die. If the toxins are ingested in small enough amounts and infrequently however, they may be broken down by the body and excreted through urine or faeces and so do not affect the fish.