Accumulation of organotin compounds on mangroves in coastal ecosystems

Abstract

AbstractTo elucidate the details of both the current status of contamination and the accumulation of organotin compounds (OTs) in mangroves in coastal ecosystems, we determined the concentrations of butyltin compounds (BTs) and phenyltin compounds (PTs) in sediment and mangrove leaves collected from mangrove forests in Merambong and Tinggi Island, Malaysia. Butyltins were detected in all sediment samples collected from both regions, whereas PTs were not detected. The levels of tributyltin (TBT) compounds in the sediment samples were lower than those from previous studies conducted in Malaysia and at other sites in South-east Asia. In both Merambong and Tinggi Island, the average proportions of dibutyltin (DBT) and monobutyltin (MBT), which are degradation products of TBT, were ~70%. This result suggests that the input of TBT has decreased in Malaysia. The proportions of DBT and MBT in the sediment from Merambong were higher than those from Tinggi Island. The concentrations of TBT in mangrove leaves from Tinggi Island were significantly higher than those from Merambong. MBT was the most dominant type among the BTs in mangrove leaves from both Merambong and Tinggi Island. The ratios of the BTs burden in mangrove leaves to the BTs concentration in sediment from Merambong and Tinggi Island averaged 3.1 and 6.2, respectively. Among the values of BTs, the MBT values were found to be the highest in both regions.