Accumulation of tributyltin in the blood of fish: Its application for monitoring in the marine environment

✍ Scribed by Won Joon Shim; Joong Kyun Jeon; Jae Ryoung Oh; Nam Sook Kim; Soo Hyung Lee

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2002
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 76 KB
• Volume: 21
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0730-7268
• DOI: 10.1002/etc.5620210716

✦ Synopsis

Accumulation of tributyltin (TBT) in serum, liver, muscle, and gill of olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) was examined in a 30-d static-renewal exposure. Tributyltin accumulated rapidly in the serum of the olive flounder and to a greater extent than in the other tissues. The accumulated TBT concentrations in tissues were in the order of serum > gill > liver > muscle on a dry-weight basis. Tributyltin also was detected in the serum of feral fine-spotted flounder, Pleuronichthys cornutus, collected from the coastal area. The mean TBT concentration in serum (2,470 ng Sn/g) of the fine-spotted flounder was about 40 times higher than that in the liver (60 ng Sn/g) and 200 times higher than that in the muscle (27 ng Sn/g) on a dry-weight basis. The TBT concentrations in serum and sediment demonstrated a positive correlation. The percent TBT composition to total butyltin was much higher in the serum (71%) than in the other tissues and sediment (<47%). These results suggest that the analysis of fish blood serum could be a useful tool for monitoring exposure to TBT in the marine environment.