PCBs y DDTs como indicadores de contaminación industrial y agrícola en puntos de la costa del Mediterráneo español

Abstract

In this project the Red Mullet (Mullus Barbatus) will be used as a biomarker of the marine environment. The samples are prepared and analyzed in the laboratory with a specific chemical process. Pollutant concentration values are obtained from gas chromatograph from samples. These pollutants include: all PCBs (congeners 28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153 and 180), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), aldrin, isodrin, trans-nonachlor (t-NNC), pp´-DDE, pp´-DDT, op´-DDT, pp´-DDD and endrin, dieldrin, α-HCH (alpha-Hexachlorocyclohexane) and lindane (gamma-Hexachlorocyclohexane). All these contaminants will be analyzed in six points of the Spanish Mediterranean coast: Barcelona, Tarragona, Delta del Ebro, Valencia, Santa Pola and Palma de Mallorca. Descriptive statistics (average and standard deviation) were calculated, both the Shapiro-Wilk test and Levene test of homogeneity of variance were performed. An ANOVA test was performed in order to study the comparison of average method. Tukey test as post-hoc was used to determine which stations differed significantly. The following range of values was obtained for ΣPCBs: [314.99-3599.31] μg·kg-1 lipid. And for ΣDDXs: [218.05-2190.49] μg·kg-1 lipid. Sampled areas with higher concentration of pollutants were Barcelona, Tarragona and Delta del Ebro. An ecotoxicological evaluation of the levels of PCBs was made and the levels obtained were compared with the EACs. Pollutant values exceeding EACs were obtained in Barcelona and in Delta del Ebro. Finally a comparison with studies by other authors in other areas of the Iberian Peninsula and other areas of the Mediterranean Sea is carried out. Contaminant levels obtained in the Greek coast (Aegean Sea) and Italy (Tyrrhenian Sea) are similar to the data obtained in this study. In areas of the Adriatic and Ionian Sea, pollution levels collected were higher than ours. At the end of the project includes an annex with additional information on laboratory work for the preparation and analysis of samples.