45 research outputs found
Organochlorine compounds (Polychlorinated biphenyls and Pesticides) and Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in populations of Hexaplex trunculus affected by imposex in the lagoon of Venice, Italy
Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in gastropods from the Lagoon of Venice, Italy. The visceral coil and the rest of the soft body of organisms (Hexaplex trunculus) sampled at two stations inside the lagoon and three stations on the seaward side were analyzed to evaluate their contamination levels. Preferential accumulation of PCBs and pesticides in the visceral coil (>80%) compared with the rest of the soft body was observed, whereas on average, PAHs showed no preferential partitioning. Differences between levels of organochlorine contaminants in the gastropods highlighted a gradient of pollution from the stations inside the lagoon (PCBs, 45-363 ng/g; pesticides, 4-51 ng/g) to the sea (PCBs, 13-131 ng/g; pesticides, 2-29 ng/g). The possible role of the three classes of contaminants, in addition to that of organotin compounds (OTCs), previously analyzed in the same samples, in causing one of the anatomic modifications because of imposex in this gastropod also was studied. A modeling approach by partial least squares (PLS) in latent variables was applied to explain the penis length of imposex-affected females with concentrations of organic pollutants. The synergistic role of PCBs, pesticides, and OTCs was evidenced, whereas the contribution of PAHs appeared to be very low
Organotin compounds in surface sediments of the Southern Baltic coastal zone: a study on the main factors for their accumulation and degradation
Abstract Sediment samples were collected in the Gulf of
GdaĆsk, and the Vistula and Szczecin Lagoonsâall located
in the coastal zone of the Southern Baltic Seaâjust after the
total ban on using harmful organotins in antifouling paints on
ships came into force, to assess their butyltin and phenyltin
contamination extent. Altogether, 26 sampling stations were
chosen to account for different potential exposure to organotin
pollution and environmental conditions: from shallow and
well-oxygenated waters, shipping routes and river mouths,
to deep and anoxic sites. Additionally, the organic carbon
content, pigment content, and grain size of all the sediment
samples were determined, and some parameters of the nearbottom
water (oxygen content, salinity, temperature) were
measured as well. Total concentrations of butyltin compounds
ranged between 2 and 182 ng Sn gâ1 d.w., whereas phenyltins
were below the detection limit. Sediments from the Gulf of
GdaĆsk and Vistula Lagoon were found moderately contaminated
with tributyltin, whereas those from the Szczecin
Lagoon were ranked as highly contaminated. Butyltin degradation
indices prove a recent tributyltin input into the sediments
adjacent to sites used for dumping for dredged harbor
materials and for anchorage in the Gulf of GdaĆsk (where two
big international ports are located), and into those collected in
the Szczecin Lagoon. Essential factors affecting the degradation
and distribution of organotins, based on significant correlations
between butyltins and environmental variables, were
found in the study area