Accumulation of organic pollutants in aquatic organisms from ennore estuary, Chennai, India

Abstract

The coastal waters of the maritime states are under the constant threat of pollution from a number of sources. Many economically important marine fishes and invertebrates are depending upon these regions for habitat and food. The present study focused on assessing the levels of organic pollutants in aquatic organisms, viz., fishes, prawn, crab and clams in the polluted stretch of Ennore estuary, southeast coast of India and to find out the relation between the organic pollutants and lipid profiles. After a field survey, six edible species were selected and caught from the polluted stretch of the estuary. Following USEPA 8280 procedure, the samples were processed and analyzed for organic pollutants by HRGC/LRMS. Presence of pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, phthalates and polymers shows the degraded environmental quality in the Ennore estuary. Mud crab is found to contain maximum pollutant accumulation followed by blood clams. The organic contamination in the selected aquatic animals indicates the possibility of high health risks for their consumers.