Bioavailability of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) to the Sydney rock oyster (Saccostrea glomerata) from sediment matrices of an economically important Australian estuary

Abstract

Improving risk assessment and remediation rests on better understanding of contaminant bioavailability. Despite their strong toxicological attributes, little is known about the partitioning behaviour and bioavailability of polar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in aquatic environments. The present study provides an insight into the bioavailable fractions of polar PAHs and their parent analogues in the tissues of the Sydney rock oyster, Saccostrea glomerata, a model aquatic bio-indicator organism. The concentration and distribution patterns of parent and polar PAHs including oxygenated PAHs (oxyPAHs), nitrated PAHs (NPAHs) and heterocyclic PAHs (HPAHs) were determined in water, sediment and oysters from an ecologically and economically important estuary of New South Wales, Australia. Total concentrations of PAHs, oxyPAHs, NPAHs and HPAHs were higher in sediments compared to oyster tissue and water. For most polar PAHs, total concentrations for water, sediment and oyster samples were less than 1 µg/g (µg/l for water) while parent PAH concentrations were several orders of magnitude higher. Computed biota-sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs) on lipid-normalized oyster concentrations revealed that while ∑oxyPAHs and ∑HPAHs exhibited low accumulation from sediment to oyster tissues (BSAF < 1), ∑PAHs and ∑NPAH were found to be accumulated at high levels (BSAF > 1). BSAF individual computation showed that bioaccumulation of nine investigated HPAHs in oyster tissues were relatively low and only 2-EAQ (oxyPAH ) and 1N-NAP (NPAH) showed high levels of accumulation in oyster tissues, similar to parent PAHs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first known study on the bioavailability of polar and non-polar PAHs in an Australian aquatic environment. The outcome of this study might be a useful indicator of the potential risks of polar PAHs to humans and other living organisms.

Fingerprinting Plastic-Associated Inorganic and Organic Matter on Plastic Aged in the Marine Environment for a Decade

“…The PIOM ( n = 9) and background water samples ( n = 3) were extracted following the US EPA 3051A method and analyzed via inductively coupled plasma–mass spectroscopy (ICP–MS) (Supporting Information S3). Details of the PAH and PFAS quantification in the PIOM ( n = 9 for each segment) and background water ( n = 3) are provided in Supporting Information S4 and S5, respectively. Further details on the analytical methods and quality control procedures can be found in the Supporting Information and previous publications by the research team. , …”

“…The Port Stephens estuary has a known issue of PFAS contamination and legacy tar deposits containing PAHs in sediments underlying oyster leases, potentially contributing to elevated levels of these contaminants in the PIOM. The concentration of PAHs in the sediments (mean, 6442.94 μg g –1 ) at 33 sites from the surrounding area has previously been investigated by our research group . The elevated levels of metal­(loid)­s, PAHs, and PFAS in the PIOM may also be due to the hydrophobic/hydrophilic organic distributions in the extracellular polymeric substances, and the presence of polysaccharides, proteins, lipid membranes and charged groups ( e.g.…”

“…The concentration of PAHs in the sediments (mean, 6442.94 μg g −1 ) at 33 sites from the surrounding area has previously been investigated by our research group. 50 The elevated levels of metal(loid)s, PAHs, and PFAS in the PIOM may also be due to the hydrophobic/hydrophilic organic distributions in the extracellular polymeric substances, and the presence of polysaccharides, proteins, lipid membranes and charged groups (e.g., −COO, −SO 4 ) in biological phases. 30,34,35,116 The hydrophobic nature and environmental persistence of plastics may present a currently unknown and unquantified risk to wild and cultured marine organisms and subsequently to humans by promoting a contaminant-rich 117 and taxonomically different microbiome compared with natural materials.…”

Distribution and Risk Assessment of 80 Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds in Surface Water and Industrial Effluent in the Upper Yangtze River, China

“…36 Qiao et al 25 investigated the distribution of 16 PPAHs, 4 MPAHs, 6 OPAHs, and 8 XPAHs in 3 rivers in northern China, showing that the concentration of OPAHs (321 ± 651 ng/L) was higher than those of PPAHs (158 ± 105 ng/L), APAHs (28 ± 22 ng/L), and XPAHs (30 ± 12 ng/L). Idowu et al 26 investigated the distribution of 14 parent PAHs, 7 OPAHs, 3 NPAHs, and 9 HPAHs in Australia and found that the concentrations of PPAHs (50−9640 ng/L) were higher than those of NPAHs (30−6660 ng/L), OPAHs (110−2180 ng/L), and HPAHs (40−120 ng/L). The NPAH concentrations in the present study were higher than those reported in the Meichuan River (n.d.−5.2 ng/L) and Luchuan River (n.d.− 19.7 ng/L) 23 but lower than those in Japan (604 ng/L).…”

TPH and PAHs in an oil-rich metropolis in SW Iran: Implication for source apportionment and human health

“…Among the hundreds of PAHs, United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) has promulgated sixteen PAHs as significant contaminants, due to their mutagenic and toxic effects. These have been extensively studied in numerous environments such as soil, dust, natural waters and living organisms (e.g., Sarigiannis et al 2015;Sun et al 2016;Zheng et al 2016;Idowu et al 2020;Nováková et al 2020;Peng et al 2020).…”