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Baseline of butyltin contamination in sediments of Sundarban mangrove wetland and adjacent coastal regions, India

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Abstract

The study reports the first assessment for the quantification and speciation of butyltins (BTs) in surface marine sediment samples (0–5 cm) from intertidal mudflats of Sundarban mangrove wetland along with the Hugli (Ganges) river basin, eastern coastal part of India. Concentrations of tributyltin (TBT), dibutyltin (DBT) and monobutyltin (MBT) were monitored at 16 stations and present at all study areas, in concentrations in sediments up to 84.2, 26.4 and 48.0 ng g−1 of TBT, DBT and MBT, respectively. Significant correlations were obtained between MBT and DBT (r = 0.62, p = 0.01) and DBT and TBT (r = 0.54, p = 0.03). Calculated BT degradation index (BDI) values indicated recent contamination of BTs at 8 stations, and suggested either no degradation of TBT or very recent degradation at a 4 further stations. Additionally, BDI values also indicated no recent inputs of BTs in 4 stations (only MBT present in one of these stations). High concentrations of BTs, particularly TBT, have the potential to induce ecotoxicological impacts based on levels specified in Australian Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQGs). This study indicated that the majority of the analyzed stations were in the highest range of priority, due to high TBT concentrations.

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Acknowledgments

Antizar-Ladislao acknowledges the support from the Scottish Funding Council for the Joint Research Institute with the Heriot-Watt University, which is a part of the Edinburgh Research Partnership in Engineering and Mathematics (ERPem). Chatterjee and Bhattacharya are grateful to Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, India for providing financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Infrastructure and Environment, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh, William Rankine Building, Edinburgh, EH9 3JL, UK

    Blanca Antizar-Ladislao

  2. Department of Marine Science, University of Calcutta, 35 Ballygunge Circular Road, Calcutta, 700019, India

    Santosh Kumar Sarkar, Bhaskar Deb Bhattacharya & Mousumi Chatterjee

  3. Faculty of Engineering, Scottish Environmental Technology Network (SETN), Royal College Building, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G1 1XW, Scotland, UK

    Peter Anderson & Tanya Peshkur

  4. Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Environmental and Industrial Safety Section, Safety Group, Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, 603102, India

    Kamala Kanta Satpathy

Authors
  1. Blanca Antizar-Ladislao
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  2. Santosh Kumar Sarkar
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  3. Peter Anderson
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  4. Tanya Peshkur
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  5. Bhaskar Deb Bhattacharya
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  6. Mousumi Chatterjee
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  7. Kamala Kanta Satpathy
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Correspondence to Blanca Antizar-Ladislao or Santosh Kumar Sarkar.

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Antizar-Ladislao, B., Sarkar, S.K., Anderson, P. et al. Baseline of butyltin contamination in sediments of Sundarban mangrove wetland and adjacent coastal regions, India. Ecotoxicology 20, 1975–1983 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-011-0739-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-011-0739-5

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