Time trend of butyl- and phenyl-tin contamination in organisms of the Lagoon of Venice (1999-2003).

In the period 1999-2003 a monitoring study on the accumulation of organotin compounds in edible organisms in the Lagoon of Venice was conducted. Butyl and Phenyl derivatives were determined in pooled samples of Mytilus galloprovincialis and Tapes spp. with the aims of assessing organotin contamination in the Lagoon of Venice in the period just preceding their ban in Europe, monitoring the concentrations in organisms with a high commercial use, evaluating a potential hazard for human health due to seafood and identifying the possible contamination sources. Sampling stations (up to 20) were distributed around the Lagoon and particularly concentrated in the area close to the town of Chioggia. Significantly higher (analysis of variance (ANOVA), p < 0.05) tributyltin (TBT) concentrations were found in mussels (from 38 +/- 8 to 6,666 +/- 1,333 microg kg(-1) d.w., as TBT(+)), than in clams (from 6 +/- 1 to 2,256 +/- 451 microg kg(-1) d.w., as TBT(+)). During the 3 years of the survey no increase in average concentrations of the butyltin compounds (tributyltin (TBT) + dibutyltin (DBT) + monobutyltin (MBT)) was observed (ANOVA, p > 0.05) in either species. Furthermore, by analyzing the entire data set, it is evident that most stations show analogous concentrations in the 3 years for both species, whereas few have anomalously higher concentrations. If organotin concentrations in specimens from some sites are compared with the Tolerable Average Residue Level, a possible risk for human health must be considered.