Distribution of butyltin compounds in the coastal environment of the Bahía Blanca estuary, Argentina

QUINTAS, PAMELA Y.; ANDRÉS H. ARIAS; ALVAREZ, MÓNICA; DOMINI, CLAUDIA; GARRIDO, MARIANO; MARCOVECCHIO, J.H.

ARCHIVES OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION AND TOXICOLOGY

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2021

0090-4341

This study evaluates for the first time the distribution and accumulation of butyltincompounds (BTs) in different compartments such as seawater, sediments, suspendedparticulate matter (SPM), and mussels (Brachidontes rodriguezii) in the Bahía Blancaestuary. The samples were collected from six sampling sites with differentanthropogenic impacts. A better visualization and interpretation of data was achievedusing chemometric tools (Tucker4 model), which made it possible to reveal the mainrelationships among the variables. This analysis showed the presence of BTs in all theestuarine environmental compartments, even in sites with low human intervention. Therelationships found among BT levels, seasons, and environmental matrices show theimportance of biological processes such as phytoplankton blooms and remobilizationof sediments (by tidal dynamics and/or periodic dredging) in BT distribution anddegradation. In addition, partition coefficients showed that mussels mainlybioaccumulate tributyltin from sediment, water and, to a lesser extent, SPM.