Endocrine disruptors in blue mussels and sediments from the Gulf of Gdańsk (Southern Baltic)

Abstract

Samples of blue mussel (Mytilus trossulus) and sediment were collected in the Gulf of Gdańsk (Southern Baltic Sea) to assess the extent of their contamination with two groups of endocrine disruptors: 4-nonylphenols and organotins (butyl- and phenyltins). Five sampling stations were chosen along the coastline of the Tricity Agglomeration (Gdańsk, Sopot, Gdynia) in 2008, 2012, and 2013. No evident differences between the three campaigns were found in either the mussel or the sediment samples. The mussels were moderately contaminated with 4-nonylphenols (30–111 ng g−1 d.w.), whereas the levels of these compounds in the sediment samples were very low (0.8–2.7 ng g−1 d.w.). Total concentrations of butyltin compounds in the mussels and sediments ranged between 41 and 164 ng Sn g−1 d.w., and from below the limit of detection to 22 ng Sn g−1 d.w., respectively, whereas phenyltins were not detected in any of the samples. Butyltin degradation indices indicate an old tributyltin input into the coastal environment, which is characterized by intense maritime activity. The results obtained from this work demonstrate that 5 years after the total ban on using organotin-based antifouling paints was imposed, butyltins are still present in mussels and sediments of the Gulf of Gdańsk.

Organotin compounds in Brachidontes rodriguezii mussels from the Bahía Blanca Estuary, Argentina

“…As it can be noted, local levels were considerably lower than those reported in Slovenia (Nemanič et al, 2009), Luermen Stream estuary, Taiwan (Tang et al, 2010), Busan Harbor, Korea (Choi et al, 2010) and Portugal (Sousa et al, 2009a). Concomitantly, the TBT concentration reported for Turkey (Kucuksezgin et al, 2011) and gulf of Gdańsk, Poland (Filipkowska and Lubecki, 2016) were slightly higher than the levels reported in this study. Furthermore, the levels found in Bahía Blanca estuary were comparable with those reported in Zealand (Höher et al, 2012) and Greek coasts (Chandrinou et al, 2007).…”

“…However, the use of BDI seems to be adequate in view of the fact that the samples were collected at the same time, in a relatively small area and under similar environmental conditions. Although the BDI was firstly proposed for sediment studies, it has recently been used in gastropods and mussels tissues by many authors as TBT pollution indicator (Castro and Fillmann, 2012;Commendatore et al, 2015;Couceiro et al, 2009;Filipkowska and Lubecki, 2016;Kim et al, 2008;Ruiz et al, 2008Ruiz et al, , 1998Sousa et al, 2009a;Wang et al, 2010).…”

Endocrine disruption by PFAS: A major concern associated with legacy and replacement substances

“…It is increasingly recognized that endocrine disruptors (EDs) are chemicals of great concern for human health and growing interest has emerged around these substances in the last decade, when they started to enter into the international chemical policy arena (82). Since then, many efforts have been made to rapidly gain scientific knowledge on the impact of EDs on human health (83)(84)(85)(86) and the environment (87)(88)(89)(90). The growing number of these substances (greater than 1000) that involves well-known chemicals such as Phthalates, Polychlorinated biphenyls, DDT and Bisphenol A, has recently been expanded with the inclusion of PFAS, due to their documented interference with hormone function in humans and wildlife (91)(92)(93)(94).…”

Metal load and oxidative stress driven by organotin compounds on rainbow trout

“…Furthermore, TBT has been declared one of the most toxic chemicals ever introduced into the aquatic environment (Goldberg 1986 ; Zuo et al 2012 ; Revathi et al 2013 ), leading to devastating biological effects (e.g. immunotoxicity, embryotoxicity, genotoxicity and endocrine disrupting properties) on mussels, fish, marine mammals and birds (Tolosa et al 1996 ; Lagadic et al 2007 ; Antizar-Ladislao 2008 ; Lopes-dos-Santos et al 2014 ; Filipkowska and Lubecki 2016 ). Consequently, the use of TBT in antifouling coats was limited by the European Community since 2003, and it was banned by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) since 2008 ( https://www.imo.org/ ).…”