Occurrence of polychlorinated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in green mussels (Perna viridis) from Singapore, Southeast Asia

Abstract

The green mussel, Perna viridis, was used in this study to measure levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and, for the first time, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) in the marine environment. Samples were collected from eight different locations in the coastal waters of Singapore between April and May 2002. Forty-one PCB and 21 PBDE congeners were quantified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and were all positively detected in the mussel tissues. Total concentrations in green mussel tissues ranged from 6.1 to 82 ng/g and 2.0 to 38 ng/g on a dry-weight basis for PCBs and PBDEs, respectively. Such levels reflect the ubiquity of these persistent organic pollutants in a tropical marine environment. Principal component analysis was applied to the PCB data and revealed similarities in the congener composition of mussel tissues to that of the commercial PCB mixture, Aroclor 1254. The PBDE levels, to date, were approximately one order of magnitude greater than the upper concentrations reported for blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) tissues in Europe. At some sampling sites, the congener composition of PBDEs in P. viridis tissues indicated recent exposure to a commercial pentabrominated flame retardant.

Tris(2,3-dibromopropyl) Isocyanurate, Hexabromocyclododecanes, and Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in Mollusks from Chinese Bohai Sea

“…The corresponding lipid weight based mean was 12.4 ng/g lw. The concentrations in Ost and Myt found in this work were 10−100 times lower than those in North America (9−64 ng/g, dw), 27 Korea (0.38−9.19 ng/g, wet weight), 28 Hong Kong (27.0−83.7 ng/g, dw), 29 and Singapore (2.0−38 ng/g, dw), 30 but comparable to those other Asian countries, such as India, Vietnam, Indonesia. 5,23 The relative abundances of the 12 PBDE congeners were very similar among the 11 mollusks species, with dominant congeners of BDEs 47, 71, 28, and 154, which accounted for 31.4 ± 7.9%, 15.8 ± 5.3%, 15.3 ± 11.6%, and 11.2 ± 9.7% of ∑ 12 PBDE, respectively.…”

Occurrence and distribution of pharmaceutically active and endocrine disrupting compounds in Singapore's marine environment: Influence of hydrodynamics and physical–chemical properties

“…Mixture toxicity and specific drugedrug interactions may be particularly important for assessing ecological risks of PhACs in marine ecosystems. In the present study, we observed residues of contaminants belonging to a variety of chemical classes, including different classes of pharmaceuticals and other consumer chemicals such as herbicides (atrazine and linuron) and bisphenol A. Additionally, other potentially toxic chemicals such as organohalogen contaminants, including organochlorines and brominated flame retardants are present at appreciable levels in this coastal system (Bayen et al, 2003(Bayen et al, , 2005. There is currently a paucity of studies describing the toxicological endpoints of PhACs and EDCs for marine organisms, especially tropical species.…”

Impacts of pollution on marine life in Southeast Asia

“…Their recalcitrant nature allow them to bioaccumulate in animals, especially in top predators (Bayen et al 2003), including humans (Wolff et al 1993). SE Asia is a point source from which many key organochlorine pollutants spread to the rest of the globe through the process of evaporation and atmospheric deposition (Iwata et al 1994).…”

“…PBDEs from old electronic components enter the atmosphere and eventually deposit into the water where they persist in marine animals. PBDEs are ubiquitous in the marine environment of Singapore (Bayen et al 2003) but there is little information on PBDE pollution for elsewhere in SE Asia.…”