Tributyltin in U.S. Market-Bought Seafood and Assessment of Human Health Risks

Tributyltin in Seafood from Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America: Assessment of Human Health Risks

“…Several authors have reported decreases in TBT residues in aquatic life following regulation (Russell, Brancato, and Bennett, 1996;O'Conner, 1996). Comparison of data reported here to that reported for 1989 and 1990 in the United States (Cardwell et al, 1999), indicates similar residues. However, since none of the same locations were sampled and only one organism sampled was comparable (i.e., demersal flatfish), any influences about trends using this data are tenuous.…”

“…However, several studies (Batley, 1989;Kannan, Tanabe, and Tatsukawa, 1995;Kannan et al, 1996;Krone et al, 1989;Krone, Stein and Varanasi, 1996;and Scammell, Batley, and Brockbank, 1991) have reported concentrations for species collected for food, either from the open ocean or from another location used for commercial harvest of seafood. In addition, Cardwell, Simmonds and Keithly (1999) present results from a market basket survey of the U.S. in 1989 and 1990.…”

“…This study attempts to fill this important data gap by studying potential health risks to people purchasing seafood (fish, crustaceans, cephalopods, and bivalve molluscs) from retail seafood markets in eight cities worldwide. This study is similar to our study of human health risks due to TBT in seafood from the United States (Cardwell, Simmonds, and Keithly, 1999). The seafood samples were purchased from local seafood markets and/or distributors and sent to a laboratory specializing in butyltin analysis.…”

Accumulation of organotins in seafood leads to reproductive tract abnormalities in female rats

“…The consumption of seafood containing OTs in Europe may lead to an OTs intake that exceeds the TDI of 0.27 g/kg [41]. Similarly, TBT doses were estimated to be 2.6 g TBT/day/person in Korean seafood [42,43]. Studies conducted in Brazil and Japan suggest the possibility of human health risks derived from the intake of OTs accumulated in seafood, especially in riparian populations [44,45].…”

Pollutant Diseases, Remediation and Recycling

“…Among food items, shellfish and fish products tend to present the highest levels, due to the global contamination of the marine environment by tributyltin. Several studies described the levels of organotins in seafood and addressed the risk of its consumption towards humans (Airaksinen et al 2010;Cardwell et al 1999;Choi et al 2012;Guérin et al 2007;Keithly et al 1999;Rantakokko et al 2006;Santos et al 2009;Ueno et al 1999). Generally, those surveys demonstrate that dietary exposure corresponds to a limited fraction of the Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) 2 proposed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA 2004), and thus the risk for average consumers is relatively low.…”