Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and their hydroxylated metabolites in fish bile and sediments from coastal waters of Colombia

• Published in: Environmental pollution (1987) Vol. 151; no. 3; pp. 452 - 459
• Main Authors: Johnson-Restrepo, Boris, Olivero-Verbel, Jesus, Lu, Shijun, Guette-Fernández, Jorge, Baldiris-Avila, Rosa, O'Byrne-Hoyos, Indira, Aldous, Kenneth M., Addink, Rudolf, Kannan, Kurunthachalam
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.02.2008; Elsevier
• Subjects: Agnatha. Pisces; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Applied ecology; Bile - chemistry; Biological and medical sciences; Biotransformation; Cartagena Bay; chemical analysis; coastal water; Colombia; ecosystems; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; environment; environmental assessment; environmental exposure; environmental impact; environmental models; Environmental Monitoring - methods; fish; Fish bile; fish health; Fishes - metabolism; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; Geologic Sediments - analysis; Hydroxylated PAH metabolites; Hydroxylation; Marine; mathematical models; Oceans and Seas; PAHs; pollutants; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons - analysis; quantitative analysis; Sediment; sediment contamination; sediments; Spectrum Analysis; Vertebrates: general zoology, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, cytogenetics, geographical distribution; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; water pollution; Colombia; Atlantic Ocean; ASW, Colombia, Bolivar, Cartagena Bay; ASW, Colombia; A, Atlantic; Colombia; Hydroxylated PAH metabolites; Sediment; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; PAHs; Cartagena Bay; Fish bile; Metabolite; Coastal zone; Persistent organic pollutant; Marine environment; Aquatic environment; Pollution; Pisces; Coastal water; Organic compounds; Seawater; Hydrocarbon; Polycyclic aromatic compound; Sediments; Vertebrata; Environment; Bay; Degradation product; Bile
• ISSN: 0269-7491; 1873-6424
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2007.04.011

Sediments and fish bile collected from the Atlantic coastal waters of Colombia were analyzed for 16 parent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and 23 hydroxylated PAHs (OH-PAHs), respectively. Sediments contained overall mean ΣPAH concentrations of 2090, 234 and 170 ng/g, dry wt, for Cartagena Bay, Caimanera Marsh, and Totumo Marsh, respectively. The mean concentration of the summed OH-PAHs in fish bile was 1250, 180 and 64.1 ng/g bile wt for Cartagena Bay, Caimanera Marsh, and Totumo Marsh, respectively. The results suggest that Cartagena Bay is heavily polluted by PAHs, and that exposure to high concentrations of PAHs together with other factors could contribute to the decreased health of fish living in this ecosystem. This is one of the first studies to describe the analysis of 23 individual OH-PAHs in fish bile, using authentic standards. Elevated concentration of hydroxylated PAHs in fish bile is associated with high concentrations of PAHs in sediment.