Bioaccumulation is the net accumulation of chemicals in an organism from all exposure routes (water, food, sediment, air) when uptake exceeds elimination, leading to concentrations higher than in the surrounding environment. It is quantitatively characterized by metrics such as the bioaccumulation factor (BAF), which relates organism concentration to ambient concentration at steady state. Bioaccumulation is influenced by physicochemical properties of contaminants (e.g., hydrophobicity, persistence), organism traits (lipid content, metabolic capacity), and environmental conditions. It is a central topic in ecotoxicology and environmental risk assessment, particularly for persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) substances and contaminants of emerging concern.
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