Organochlorine Compounds in Beached Plastics and Marine Organisms

Abstract

Here we compare bioaccumulation factors in marine organisms to partition ratios in marine debris for dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and polychlorinated biphenyls. Both organochlorines are synthetic persistent organic pollutants emitted into the environment since the beginning of the last century in approximately equal amounts. Their vast use and dispersion have resulted in approximately similar median concentrations of the two organochlorines in some pelagic organisms, namely in the liver and muscle tissue of fish. Molluscs, on the other hand, show higher median uptake of PCBs (median = 2.34 ng/g) than of DDTs (median = 1.70 ng/g), probably reflecting more localized conditions. We found that the bioaccumulation factors can be several orders of magnitude higher than the partition ratios. For instance, the median concentrations of organochlorines in the different matrices of fish, birds, and mammals are between one to four orders of magnitude higher than those found in marine debris, when lipid-normalized; or up to two orders of magnitude when measured as wet-weight. But, in molluscs, bioaccumulation/partition equals unity, which agrees with previous studies using passive samplers. Future research should focus on reducing sources of uncertainty by 1) homogenization of chemical procedures; 2) better assessment of chemical partition equilibrium between water and polymers in environmental conditions; 3) use of (multi)polymer passive samplers better aimed at mimicking uptake of specific living tissues.