Abstract
The occurrence of organotins in the Yangtze River and the Jialing River in the urban section of Chongqing, China and their impact on drinking water waterworks are reported in this study. Water samples were extracted by solid-phase microextraction and measured using a gas chromatograph with mass spectrometer. The results showed that the rivers studied were polluted by both butyltins and phenyltins and that the butyltin species was the dominant pollutant. Butyltins, especially monobutyltin, were detected in all 18 sampling stations, and phenyltins were detected only in 11 sampling stations. Majority of the organotins were MBTs with concentrations varying from 27.3 to 1,145.8 ng Sn L−1. Diphenyltin and dibutyltin were the second most common with the highest levels of 113.7 and 202.5 ng Sn L−1, respectively. Monophenyltin, tributyltin, and triphenyltin had the lowest detection rates with concentration levels of 9.7, 161.8, and 37.2 ng Sn L−1, respectively. Some of the organotins were also detected in drinking water waterworks, which posed a threat to the water quality of Chongqing.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alzieu, C., Sanjuan, J., Deltreil, J. P., & Borel, M. (1986). Tin contamination in Arcachon Bay: effects on oyster shell anomalies. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 17, 494–498.
Cao, D. D., Jiang, G. B., Zhou, Q. F., & Yang, R. Q. (2009). Organotin pollution in China: an overview of the current state and potential health risk. Journal of Environment Management, 90, 16–24.
European Union (OJ 2003). Regulation (EC) No 782/2003 of the European parliament and of the council of 14 April 2003 on the prohibition of organotin compounds on ships, L115:1-8.
European Union (OJC 2002). Commission decision of 20 June 2002 concerning the non-inclusion of fentin hydroxide in Annex I to Council Directive 91/414/EEC and the withdrawal of authorisations for plant protection products containing this active substance (2002/479/EC), L164:43-44.
Gao, J. M., Hu, J. Y., Zhen, H. J., Yang, M., & Li, B. Z. (2006). Organotin compounds in the three Gorges Reservoir region of the Yangtze River. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 76, 155–162.
Gao, J. M., Hu, J. Y., Zhen, H. J., **, X. H., & Li, B. Z. (2009). Occurrence and fate of organotins in a waterworks in North China. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 83, 295–299.
Gibbs, P. E., Bryan, G. W., & Pascoe, P. L. (1991). TBT-induced imposex in the dog whelk, Nucella lapillus: geographical uniformity of the response and effects. Marine Environmental Research, 32, 1–5.
Hu, J. Y., Zhen, H. J., Wan, Y., An, W., An, L. H., Fen, J., et al. (2006). Trophic magnification of triphenyltin in a marine food web of Bohay Bay, North China: comparison to tributyltin. Environment & Science Technology, 40(10), 3142–3147.
Meena, R. M., Garg, A., & Jadhav, S. (2009). Seasonal variation in organotins in the waters of the Dona Paula Bay, west coast of India. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 82, 586–589.
Nikolaou, A. D., Gatidou, G. M., Golfinopoulos, S. K., Thomaidis, N., & Lekkas, T. D. (2007). A one-year survey of organotin compounds in the reservoirs supplying the drinking water treatment plants of Athens, Greece. Desalination, 210, 24–30.
Pent, K., & Hunn, J. (1995). Organotins in freshwater harbors and rivers: temporal distribution, annual trends and fate. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 14, 1123–1132.
Rantakokko, P., Hallikainen, A., Airaksinen, R., Vuorinen, P. J., Lappalainen, A., Mannio, J., et al. (2010). Concentrations of organotin compounds in various fish species in the Finnish lake waters and Finnish coast of the Baltic Sea. Science of the Total Environment, 408, 2474–2481.
Saitoh, M., Yanase, T., Morinaga, H., Tanabe, M., Mu, Y. M., & Nishi, Y. (2001). Tributyltin or triphenyltin inhibits aromatase activity in the human granulose-like cell line KGN. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 2, 198–204.
Yamabe, Y., Hoshino, A., Imura, N., & Suzuki, T. (2000). Enhancement of androgen-dependent transcription and cell proliferation by tributyltin and triphenyltin in human prostate cancer cells. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 169, 177–184.
Acknowledgments
This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21107147), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (CDJZR10210010), and the Natural Science Foundation Project of CQ CSTC (2009BB7351). We thank the Chongqing Water Service Group for their sampling cooperation.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gao, JM., Zhang, Y., Guo, JS. et al. Occurrence of organotins in the Yangtze River and the Jialing River in the urban section of Chongqing, China. Environ Monit Assess 185, 3831–3837 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-012-2832-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-012-2832-5