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This paper reports the first group of results on alkylphenol (APE) contamination of seafood in the Adriatic Sea, in the framework of a national project on the quality of this Sea (PRISMA 2). Nonylphenol (NP), octylphenol (OP), and their ethoxylates (NPE and OPE) were detected in edible molluscs, either filter feeders or predators (clams, mussels, cuttlefishes, and squids), caught from 15 harbors along the Italian coast in the Adriatic Sea in 1997. NP was the compound found always at levels much higher than the other APEs in all the examined species. It reached the maximum concentration of 696 ng/g fresh weight in the squids from the central Adriatic Sea. OP generally occurred at levels 30 times lower than NP. OP was found up to a level of 18.6 ng/g in squids from central Adriatic Sea. OPE was the compound always spotted at the lowest concentrations, up to 0.43 ng/g. NPE was always below the detection limit. The pattern of contamination in the three areas examined was different between bivalve and cephalopod species. No exhaustive risk assessment for marine organisms and human health can be conducted on the basis of these results because data are insufficient. Yet, the occurrence of NP suggests a negligible risk for mussels, which represent the only molluscs for which data are adequate. As to the possible human health implications, the consumption of molluscs of the Adriatic Sea implies APE intakes that are some orders of magnitude lower than those responsible for toxic effects in laboratory animals. Despite these apparently low risks for mussels and human health, the reasons for concern still remain because the levels of alkylphenols found in this study indicate a general contamination of the Adriatic Sea even far from the cost. Furthermore, these levels might represent an unacceptable hazard for other marine organisms. Finally, they contribute to the general environmental estrogen pool.

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There have been many studies on the efficacy of beta 2-adrenergic drugs as feed additives but no data are available at present on the use of clenbuterol in fish production. To evaluate the residues of clenbuterol in tissues of fish, 50 trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were fed for 21 days on a fish feed containing 5 ppm of the drug. The livers, muscles and skins of sample groups of fish were analysed by HPLC with visible spectrophotometric detection on days 15 and 21 of treatment and at intervals during a 30-day withdrawal time. Clenbuterol reached its highest levels in the liver (mean 440 ppb; SD = +/- 159; n = 5) on day 15 of treatment, with a slow depletion curve; 24 +/- 3 ppb was still present at the end of the withdrawal period. At this time, residues were still present in the edible tissues, i.e. muscle (5 +/- 1 ppb) and skin (7 +/- 3 ppb). Side-effects were noted during the first week of treatment.