Occurrence, trophic magnification and potential risk of short-chain chlorinated paraffins in coral reef fish from the Nansha Islands, South China Sea

Abstract

As emerging persistent organic pollutants in marine environment, short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) have attracted increasing attentions recently. Coral reefs are important ocean ecosystems. However, data on SCCP pollution in the coral reef regions is still unavailable. In the present work, bioaccumulation of SCCPs in the coral reef ecosystems was reported for the first time. SCCP concentrations in coral reef fish from the Nansha Islands of the South China Sea were in the range of 37.9–25,400 ng/g lipid weight (lw) (average: 4400 ± 6590 ng/g lw; median: 1020 ng/g lw). C10 SCCPs were the dominating SCCP homologues, accounting for 59% to 80% of the total SCCPs (average: 70 ± 5.0%), followed by C11 SCCPs (average: 23 ± 4.5%). Regarding chlorine substitution, SCCPs were dominated by Cl7 SCCPs (average: 45 ± 2.5%) and Cl8 SCCPs (average: 30 ± 5.4%). Trophic magnification factor (TMF) of total SCCPs was 8.5, indicating trophic magnification potential of SCCPs in the coral reef ecosystems. In addition, a parabolic relationship was established between TMFs and log Kow of specific SCCP homologues. SCCP residues in the coral reef fish from the Nansha Islands of the South China Sea did not pose significant risk to human health.