Organotin compounds in surface sediments of the Southern\ud Baltic coastal zone: a study on the main factors\ud for their accumulation and degradation

摘要

Abstract Sediment samples were collected in the Gulf of\udGdańsk, and the Vistula and Szczecin Lagoons—all located\udin the coastal zone of the Southern Baltic Sea—just after the\udtotal ban on using harmful organotins in antifouling paints on\udships came into force, to assess their butyltin and phenyltin\udcontamination extent. Altogether, 26 sampling stations were\udchosen to account for different potential exposure to organotin\udpollution and environmental conditions: from shallow and\udwell-oxygenated waters, shipping routes and river mouths,\udto deep and anoxic sites. Additionally, the organic carbon\udcontent, pigment content, and grain size of all the sediment\udsamples were determined, and some parameters of the nearbottom\udwater (oxygen content, salinity, temperature) were\udmeasured as well. Total concentrations of butyltin compounds\udranged between 2 and 182 ng Sn g−1 d.w., whereas phenyltins\udwere below the detection limit. Sediments from the Gulf of\udGdańsk and Vistula Lagoon were found moderately contaminated\udwith tributyltin, whereas those from the Szczecin\udLagoon were ranked as highly contaminated. Butyltin degradation\udindices prove a recent tributyltin input into the sediments\udadjacent to sites used for dumping for dredged harbor\udmaterials and for anchorage in the Gulf of Gdańsk (where two\udbig international ports are located), and into those collected in\udthe Szczecin Lagoon. Essential factors affecting the degradation\udand distribution of organotins, based on significant correlations\udbetween butyltins and environmental variables, were\udfound in the study area.