Transplacental transfer of butyltins to fetus of Dall’s porpoises ( Phocoenoides dalli)

Abstract

Here we provided evidence, for the first time, on the placental transfer of butyltin species in Dall’s porpoise ( Phocoenoides dalli). The maternal to fetal transfer of butyltins including monobutyltin (MBT), dibutyltin (DBT) and tributyltin (TBT) was investigated in a mother–fetus pair collected off the Sanriku coast of Japan. The maternal individual was found contaminated as its liver accumulated the highest concentrations of all MBT, DBT and TBT. This study revealed that the transfer rate was about 0.3% for total butyltins to a fetus of about 6 months old. Unlike in the mother, the fetal liver does not appear to be a preferential organ for accumulation of all the butyltins. In a approximately 100 kg-weight mother Dall’s porpoise and its fetus of 2.21 kg-weight about 1269 μg (TBT, 578 μg; DBT, 480 μg; MBT, 211 μg) and 4.2 μg of total butyltins (TBT, 1.1 μg; DBT, 2.1 μg; MBT, 0.96 μg) were found, respectively.