Level of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Marine Environment of Algiers Bay, Algeria

Abstract

Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent organic pollutants with significant bioaccumulation in the global environment. Owing to their high toxicity and lipophilic property, PCBs are potential threat to the human and ecological system. The objective of this work was to investigate the polychlorinated biphenyls in seawater and blue mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis collected in the eastern coastal side of the Algiers bay. Surface and bottom water samples were collected at six different periods from July to October 2002 in the port of Tamentfoust and four locations around the port. Mussel samples were collected from Tamentfoust port and Surcouf beach. After extraction, the PCBs levels were determined in marine water and biological samples by gas chromatography with electron capture detector. Total polychlorinated biphenyls concentrations varied from 4.0 to 18.8 ng · L−1 in surface and from 4.4 to 16.6 ng · L−1 in bottom seawater and were relatively high in August (30th and 45th days). In mussels that concentrate the organochlorinated compounds in their tissues, the sum of ICES 7 PCBs concentrations was relatively high. It ranged from 64.2 to 185.8 ng · g−1 dw (average 125.8 ng · g−1 dw) in samples collected from Surcouf. The level of contamination in Tamentfoust port mussels was about twice higher (225.2 ng · g−1 dw). The observed PCBs distribution was close to that of common commercial mixture and suggests an industrial origin of this pollution emitted from a continental source in addition to the port activities. Although the use of target compounds has been banned for more than three decades, they are still persistent in Algiers Bay.