Premium
Occurrence and fate of tributyl‐ and triphenyltin compounds in western mediterranean coastal enclosures
Author(s) -
Tolosa I.,
Bayona J. M.,
Albaigés J.,
Merlini L.,
De Bertrand N.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
environmental toxicology and chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1552-8618
pISSN - 0730-7268
DOI - 10.1002/etc.5620110203
Subject(s) - seawater , tributyltin , environmental chemistry , biota , mediterranean sea , mediterranean climate , chemistry , genetic algorithm , pollutant , environmental science , ecology , oceanography , geology , biology , organic chemistry
Tributyltin (TBT) and its degradation products, mono‐ (MBT) and dibutyltin (DBT) have been determined in the dissolved and particulate phases of seawater, sediments, and biota collected in some representative open and enclosed coastal areas of the western Mediterranean Sea. The highest levels were found in sediments and seawater of dry docks and marinas, closely related with boating activity and clearly decreasing according to the distance from the point sources. Triphenyl‐ (TPhT) and diphenyltin (DPhT) were also identified for the first time in seawater and sediments collected in marinas, exhibiting concentrations similar to TBT. Concentration ratios between TBT/DBT and TPhT/DPhT in each environmental compartment as well as the field partition coefficients ( K d , K ′ d , and K b ) of the different tin species point out the complexity of organotin speciation, because accumulation and degradation processes occur at different rates, depending on the environmental compartment.