Tributyltin distribution and producing androgenic activity in water, sediment, and fish muscle

Abstract

This study investigated the concentrations of Tributyltin (TBT) in water, sediment, and fish muscle samples taken from Kaohsiung Harbor and Kaoping River estuary, Taiwan. TBT concentrations in water and sediment samples ranged from less than 18.5 to 34.1 ng Sn L⁻¹ and from 2.44 to 29.7 ng Sn g⁻¹ weight per weight (w/w), respectively. Concentrations in the TBT‐contaminated fish muscle samples ranged from 10.8 to 79.6 ng Sn g⁻¹ w/w. The TBT concentrations in fish muscle were higher than those in water and sediment samples. The fish muscle/water TBT bioconcentration factor (BCF) ranged from 590 to 3363 L kg⁻¹. Additionally, the water samples were assessed for androgenic activity with an MCF7‐AR1 human breast cancer cell line. The androgenic activity ranged from 0.94 to 3.1 ng‐dihydrotestosterone per litre water (ng‐DHT L⁻¹). Higher concentrations of TBT in water and sediment samples occurred in the dry season, but the androgenic activity had higher values in the rainy season.

Keywords:

• Androgenic activity
• anti‐fouling agent
• bioconcentration factor (BCF), endocrine disrupting chemical, in vitro bioassay
• Megalaspis cordyla, organotins
• Pennahia argentatus
• Psenopsis anomala
• tributyltin (TBT)

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge C‐H Wang and R‐K Huang (Environmental Analysis Laboratory, TEPA) for their assistance.

Funding

This work was supported by the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration (TEPA) under project EPA‐92‐E3S5‐02‐01.