Temporal Trend of Organochlorine Marine Pollution Indicated by Concentrations in Mussels, Semipermeable Membrane Devices, and Sediment

Abstract

To assess the short-term trend of pollution by hexachlorobenzene (HCB), chlorophenols, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) emitted to a marine environment, existing and former loads were estimated based on pollutant concentrations in water, blue mussels, and sediment, using partitioning calculations. The study included chemical analyses of organochlorines in sediment samples, caged mussels, and semipermeable membrane devices (SPMD) incubated in the water column and in the outflow from an adjacent plant in order to find out whether the high pollutant concentrations found in the superficial sediment corresponded to former or existing discharges. A comparison was made of hypothetical water concentrations calculated from values determined in SPMDs, mussels, and sediment, assuming equilibrium in the distribution of the pollutants between mussels and water or sediment and water. Sediment-derived water concentrations of HCB in the vicinity of the outlet were much higher than the water concentrations calculated from SPMDs or mussels, indicating that the discharges of HCB from a local source were strongly reduced during the past decade. It is concluded that partitioning calculations applied on analytical data from mussels and superficial sediment, when combined with SPMD data, make possible the detection of short-term changes of environmental loads of hydrophobic pollutants.

Accumulation of organochlorinated pesticides by triolein-containing semipermeable membrane device (triolein-SPMD) and rainbow trout

“…It has been successfully used for monitoring chemicals in aquatic environments [2][3][4][5][6][7][8], and in air [9,10]. Triolein-SPMD has also been used for screening and preliminary identification of emission sources in wastewater systems and groundwater [11][12][13][14], and appears to simulate the bioconcentration of dissolved chemicals by aquatic organisms [15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. The procedure for dialytic recovery of pesticides can be used separately to remove lipids and other interferences from environmental sample extracts [22,23].…”

Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Polybrominated Biphenyls

“…Common formats for water sampling include semipermeable membrane devices, low density polyethylene, and silicone rubber (Lohmann et al, 2012). Passive sampling techniques have been applied for analysis of PCBs in river water (Grabic et al, 2010) and seawater (Granmo et al, 2000;Fernandez et al, 2012).…”

Review of the background and application of triolein-containing semipermeable membrane devices in aquatic environmental study

“…They have been successfully used for monitoring chemicals in aquatic environments (Huckins et al, 1990aHuckins et al, 1997bPetty et al, 1995Petty et al, , 1998Ellis et al, 1995;Lebo et al, 1992Lebo et al, , 1995Bennett et al, 1996;Moring and Rose, 1997;Bergqvist et al, 1998a;Axelman et al, 1999;Zimmerman et al, 2000), and in air (Ockenden et al, 1998;Lohmann et al, 2001). Triolein-SPMDs have also been used for screening and preliminary identification of emission sources in wastewater systems and groundwater (Stuer-Lauridsen and Kjolholt, 2000;Granmo et al, 2000;Gustavson and Harkin, 2000), and appear to simulate the bioconcentration of dissolved chemicals by aquatic organisms (Huckins et al, 1996;Prest et al, 1992;Wood, 1994;Devita and Crunkilton, 1994;Herve et al, 1995;Peven et al, 1996;Hofelt and Shea, 1997). The procedure for dialytic recovery of analytes can be used separately to remove lipids and other interferences from environmental sample extracts (Huckins et al, 1990b;Meadows et al, 1993Meadows et al, , 1996Strandberg, 1998;Bergqvist et al, 1998b).…”