Frontiers in Marine Science (Jun 2014)
Bimonthly assessment of PAH content in wild mussels from the Spanish Atlantic Coast
Abstract
During 2013-14 wild mussels were bimonthly sampled in five stations along the Spanish Atlantic coast in order to assess any temporal variation in the concentration of parent PAHs. The sampling stations selected (Oia, Raxó, Mera, Avilés and Pedreña) included both polluted and unpolluted sites and tried to reflect the different situations in the area (coastal and more estuarine waters). The samples were shipped to the lab and three homogenates from each site were prepared and frozen until analysis. 13 parent PAHs were quantified using HPLC with fluorescence detection. In general, the highest concentrations were found in the January-March sampling, during the pre-spawning period. PAHs contents were related to mussel biochemical composition, mainly carbohydrates and lipids, and to mussel reproductive stage. In general the 4-ring PAHs is the most abundant group of PAHs. The input of the HMW PAHs (4-5 rings) to the total PAH burden generally increases in the winter months probably due to both different sources in that season (building heatings) and the remobilization of sediments.
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