Occurrence of POPs and other persistent organic contaminants in the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) from the Loire estuary, France

• Published in: Science of The Total Environment
• Main Authors: Couderc, M., Poirier, Laurence, Zalouk-Vergnoux, Aurore, Kamari, Abderrahmane, Blanchet-Letrouvé, I., Marchand, P., Vénisseau, A., Veyrand, B., Mouneyrac, C., Le Bizec, B.
• Other Authors: Mer, molécules et santé EA 2160 (MMS), Le Mans Université (UM)-Université de Nantes - UFR des Sciences et des Techniques (UN UFR ST), Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes - UFR des Sciences Pharmaceutiques et Biologiques, Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN), Laboratoire d'étude des Résidus et Contaminants dans les Aliments (LABERCA), École nationale vétérinaire, agroalimentaire et de l'alimentation Nantes-Atlantique (ONIRIS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Mer, molécules et santé (MMS UCO), Université Catholique de l'Ouest (UCO)-PRES Université Nantes Angers Le Mans (UNAM)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2015
• Subjects: [SDE]Environmental Sciences; Anguilla anguilla; European eel
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-04654550; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.09.053

International audience The chemical contamination of the Loire estuary by three classes of persistent organic pollutants (POPs): thepolychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), the polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and the perfluorinated andpolyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS), and three families of organic contaminants, the alkylphenols (APs),the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites (OH-PAHs) and the bisphenol A (BPA) were investigated inthe muscles and bile of European eel (Anguilla anguilla). Yellow eels (n = 30) were caught in three differentpoints along the estuary to highlight variations between sites and sources of contaminations. Silver eels (n =15) were also studied to compare contaminant impregnation between different life stages of the species. Averageconcentrations in the muscles of the eel ranged between: 857 and 4358 ng/g LW for the PCBs, 26 and 46 ng/g LWfor the PBDEs, 130 and 1293 ng/g LW for the PFAS; and in bile: 31 and 286 μg/g protein for the APs, 9 and 26 μg/gprotein for the OH-PAHs and ND-1213 μg/g protein for the BPA. Among PCBs, PCB 153 (40% contribution to thesum of PCBs) was predominant in all eel muscles. PBDE 47 (60%) was the most predominant PBDE congeners,while perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (85%) was the most widely detected PFAS. For APs, 4p-nonylphenol (91%)was the most abundant and for the OH-PAHs, it was 1OH-Pyrene (63%). All the eels exceeded the environmentalquality standards (EQS) for biota for the PBDEs and about 75% were higher than the EQS specific to PFOS. Finally,20% of the analyzed eels presented TEQ concentrations above the maximum limits for lipid-rich species. Theseresults supplied new data on the occurrence, levels, and patterns of 53 organic chemicals in the eels from theLoire estuary and they highlighted the need of further investigations focused notably on the potential effects ofthese chemicals on this species and their analysis in the water and sediments of the estuary.