Impact of a phosphate fertilizer plant on the contamination of marine biota by heavy elements

Aoun, Maria; Arnaudguilhem, Carine; El Samad, Omar; Khozam, Rola Bou; Łobiński, Ryszard

Impact of a phosphate fertilizer plant on the contamination of marine biota by heavy elements

2015

Aoun, Maria | Arnaudguilhem, Carine | El Samad, Omar | Khozam, Rola Bou | Łobiński, Ryszard

Due to their toxicity, persistence, and bioaccumulation, metals are important marine environment pollutants, especially in low renewal rate water such as the Mediterranean Sea, receiving a lot of untreated industrial waste. The impact of a phosphate fertilizer plant on the marine biota metal contamination was studied. Several types of organisms: crabs, mussels, patella and fish were collected from two areas of the Lebanese coast, one subjected to the impact of the plant and another away from it; samples were analyzed for Zn, U, Cr, V, Mn, Ni, Co, Cu, As, Cd and Pb by ICP-MS. Higher accumulation was in crabs, patella, and mussels. Fish accumulated principally Zn, Cu, and Cd; a difference was observed between species and tissues. Cytosol metal fractionation using size-exclusion LC-ICP-MS showed principally Pb, As, Co, and Mn in the low molecular weight fraction (<1.8 Da); Cd, Zn, and Cu in the metallothionein fraction (1.8–-18 k Da), and Ni in high molecular weight fraction (>20 kDa).

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