Butyltin and PAH Contamination of Mar del Plata Port (Argentina) Sediments and Their Influence on Adjacent Coastal Regions

LAITANO, M.V.; CASTRO, I.B.; GOMES COSTA, P.; FILLMANN, G.; CLEDÓN, M.

BULLETIN OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION AND TOXICOLOGY

SPRINGER

Año: 2015

0007-4861

The distribution of butyltins (BTs) and polycyclicaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were studied insurface sediments to assess how relevant is Mar del Plataport (Argentina) as a source of contamination to the surroundingenvironments. Within the port, TBT concentrationsranged from 24.2 to 150 ng Sn g-1 and PAHs (R16)from 180 to 17,094 ng g-1. At the surrounding beaches,PAHs were detected at low concentrations and TBT concentrationsreached 10.9 ng Sn g-1. Although those lowlevels indicate that the Port might not be an importantsource of contamination to the surrounding beaches, thevery low TOC content and the coarse grain size of thebeaches sediments could explain the sedimentary levels.The results show a reduction in TBT levels in Mar del Plataport after national and international use restrictions ofTBT-based antifouling paints.