Alkylphenols and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in eastern Mediterranean Spanish coastal marine bivalves

Abstract

This paper reports the first results on alkylphenol pollution in edible bivalves from the Spanish coast. Two sampling campaigns (July 2006 and July 2007) were carried out to determine the concentration of nonylphenol (NP), octylphenol (OP) and eight Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in wild mussels (Mytilus Galloprovincialys) and clams (Donax trunculus) at 14 sampling sites along the eastern Mediterranean Spanish coast. The results show that NP is the predominant alkylphenol, being the port of Valencia the most polluted area (up to 147 g/kg wet weight in clams). Moving away from the ports the concentration of NP in bivalves decreased. OP concentration was below its detection limit in most of the studied areas and its maximum concentration (6 g/kg w.w.) was measured in clams from the port of Sagunto. The presence of low levels of PAHs was observed in most of the studied areas. The total PAHs concentration (i.e. sum of the 8 measured PAHs) achieved a maximum value of 10.09 g/kg w.w. in the north coast of Valencia city. The distribution pattern of the individual PAHs showed that both pollution sources petrogenic and pyrolytic were present in the sampled areas. Fluoranthene was the most abundant PAH in mussels while benzo(b)fluoranthene in clams. The maximum concentration of 10 µg/kg w.w. for benzo(a)pyrene established by the European Commission was never reached, indeed sampled bivalves showed concentrations 10 times lower than this reference value. Thus, they can be considered safe for human consumption. Despite the low contamination levels, the results show an overall pollution of bivalves by alkylphenol and PAHs as well as an increment in the number of polluted areas from 2006 to 2007. Thus, periodical sampling campaigns should be carried out to monitor the long-term tendency of these toxic and persistent pollutants.

Exposure of marine mussels Mytilus spp. to polystyrene microplastics: Toxicity and influence on fluoranthene bioaccumulation

“…Fluoranthene was selected as (i) it is a model PAH belonging to the list of priority substances in water policy of the European Commission (Directive 2008/105/EC) and (ii) it constitutes one of the most abundant PAH found in the aquatic environment and in molluscs (Baumard et al, 1998;Bouzas et al, 2011). It is noteworthy that in most of the cited studies, as well as in our work, animals were acclimatized and then reared in "clean water" (seawater filtered on active carbon filters in our case) and exposures were performed in clean and controlled laboratory conditions.…”

Effect of nutritive status on Mytilus galloprovincialis pollution biomarkers: Implications for large-scale monitoring programs

“…FLU, a three-aromatic-ring PAH, is considered to be the most toxic PAH for marine biota in the short term (Ben Othman et al, 2012) and it is one of the PAHs found in highest concentrations in sediments, particulate matter, and water (Baumard et al, 1998;Van Hattum et al, 1998;Viñas et al, 2010). It has a persistent lipophilic character, compared to other compounds of the same group, and consequently, it is one of the most abundant PAHs accumulated in molluscs (Baumard et al, 1998;Bouzas et al, 2011;Bellas et al, 2014).…”

Endocrine-Disrupting Alkylphenols are Widespread in the Blood of Lobsters from Southern New England and Adjacent Offshore Areas

“…Worldwide annual alkylphenol production was estimated to be 500,000 t and increasing in 1997 (Ying 2006), and a large proportion of this material ends up in aquatic or marine environments via discharge from wastewater treatment plants or industry (Soares et al 2008, David et al 2009, Harman et al 2011. Alkylphenol contamination has been reported widely in both freshwater (Soares et al 2008) and marine (David et al 2009) ecosystems, particularly in sediments and filter-feeding organisms (e.g., Hale et al 2000, Munshi et al 2009, Bouzas et al 2011. Alkylphenols were also detected in the urine of 95% of humans tested in 2004 (Calafat et al 2005).…”