Contamination profiles of heavy metals, organochlorine pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and alkylphenols in sediment and oyster collected from marsh/estuarine Savannah GA, USA

Abstract

Inorganic compounds from natural and anthropogenic sources continuously enter the aquatic ecosystem where they pose a serious threat because of their toxicity, long time persistence, bioaccumulation, and biomagnification in the food chain (Papagiannis et al., 2004). Increased industrialization and agricultural activities contribute to their elevated levels in natural waters (Wahlberg et al., 2001). Aquatic animals accumulate large quantities of these xenobiotics, and the accumulation depends up on the intake and elimination from their body (Karadede et al., 2004). Among different aquatic organisms; clams, oysters and mussels, accumulate large quantities of heavy metals due to their habitat and feeding nature. Inorganic compounds such as heavy metals are shown to have a multitude of toxic effects such as acute syndrome and neurotoxic effects (that ultimately cause disease in brain, kidney, skin cancer, etc.). Organochlorine compounds (OCs) such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) such as hexachlorocyclohexane isomers (HCHs), chlordane compounds (CHLs), DDT and its derivatives, as well as hexachlorobenzene (HCB) have been detected in sediments and sediment-dwelling organisms from several countries (Tanabe et al., 1982; Haynes et al., 2000; Guruge and Tanabe, 2001; Loganathan et al., 2001; Senthil Kumar et al., 1999, 2001; Fillmann et al., 2002; Menone et al., 2007; Sajwan et al., 2007). Despite a 1970s ban on use of PCBs and DDTs in the USA, these compounds are ubiquitous and persistent in various environmental media and biota. Organochlorines have been reported to cause a variety of adverse effects including hormone dependent cancers, compromised reproductive fitness, and abnormal reproductive system development in wildlife and humans (Giesy and Kannan, 1998), thus they remain a cause for significant concern. Therefore, monitoring of fish and shellfish in an aquatic environment serves as an important indicator of the water quality in a given ecosystem (Fairey et al., 1997). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of common environmental contaminants. PAHs originate from anthropogenic sources such as waste incineration, coal gasification, accidental oil spills, as well as natural processes such as fossil fuel and wood combustion (Asikainen et al., 2002; Law et al., 2002; Koh et al., 2004; The objective of BASELINE is to publish short communications on different aspects of pollution of the marine environment. Only those papers which clearly identify the quality of the data will be considered for publication. Contributors to Baseline should refer to ‘Baseline—The New Format and Content’ (Mar. Pollut. Bull. 42, 703–704).