POCs can build up on the particles that are suspended in an aquatic system or settled on the sediment. Numerous bottom-dwelling organisms will feed on these contaminated particles. The contaminated microbes in turn will serve as food for aquatic biota. People consuming fish can also be exposed to POCs present in these aquatic systems, in that POCs can become increasingly concentrated in bigger fish up the food chain. These persistent chemicals can accumulate in the fats of contaminated fish and later build up in a fish consumer’s body, usually for a fairly long time. Further argument for such a contamination potential was presented in an earlier online lecture on environmental endocrine disruptors (Dong, 2004).