A baseline for POPs contamination in Australian seabirds: little penguins vs. short-tailed shearwaters

Novel ultrasound assisted extraction and d-SPE clean-up for the analysis of multiple legacy and emerging organic contaminants in edible fish

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs), phthalate esters (PAEs) are pervasive environmental pollutants, posing threats to both ecosystems and human health. Although several analytical methods were developed for these compounds, they are not performed simultaneously. This study addresses the need for a sustainable, novel, analytical approach capable of simultaneously determining these diverse chemical classes in edible fish muscles. Employing ultrasound extraction coupled with dispersive solid-phase extraction (d-SPE) as a cleanup procedure, the method was compared to conventional techniques, revealing significant improvements. Analytical parameters were thoroughly assessed, and the innovative method demonstrated notable advantages, reducing extraction and purification times by approximately 74-80 % and solvent consumption by around 94-97 %. Applied to Mediterranean Sea fish samples, the results underscore the method's potential as a viable, sustainable alternative to traditional approaches, promising enhanced efficiency and reduced environmental impact.

Exposure to Persistent Organic Pollutants in Australian Waterbirds

There is growing worldwide recognition of the threat posed by persistent organic pollutants (POPs) to wildlife populations. We aimed to measure exposure levels to POPs in a Southern Hemisphere aquatic waterbird species, the nomadic gray teal (Anas gracilis), which is found across Australia. We collected wings from 39 ducks harvested by recreational hunters at two sites (one coastal, one inland) in Victoria, southeastern Australia, in 2021. We examined three groups of POPs: nine congeners of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 13 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), and 12 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The PCBs, OCPs, and PAHs were detected at quantifiable levels in 13%, 72%, and 100% of birds, respectively. Of the congeners we tested for in PCBs, OCPs, and PAHs, 33%, 38%, and 100% were detected at quantifiable levels, respectively. The highest levels of exposure to POPs that we found were to the PAH benzo[b]fluoranthene, occurring at a concentration range of 1.78 to 161.05 ng/g wet weight. There were some trends detected relating to differences between geographical sites, with higher levels of several PAHs at the coastal versus inland site. There were several strong, positive associations among PAHs found. We discuss potential sources for the POPs detected, including industrial and agricultural sources, and the likely role of large-scale forest fires in PAH levels. Our results confirm that while Australian waterbirds are exposed to a variety of POPs, exposure levels are currently relatively low. Additional future investigations are required to further characterize POPs within Australian waterbird species. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:736-747. © 2023 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in little penguins and associations with urbanisation and health parameters

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are increasingly detected in wildlife and present concerning and unknown health risks. While there is a growing body of literature describing PFAS in seabird species, knowledge from temperate Southern Hemisphere regions is lacking. Little penguins (Eudyptula minor) can nest and forage within heavily urbanised coastal environments and hence may be at risk of exposure to pollutants. We analysed scat contaminated nesting soils (n = 50) from 17 colonies in lutruwita/Tasmania for 16 PFAS, plasma samples (n = 45) from nine colonies, and three eggs for 49 PFAS. We detected 14 PFAS across the sample types, with perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) most commonly detected. Mean concentration of PFOS in plasma was 2.56 ± 4.3 ng/mL ( Collapse

Key Words

• Ecotoxicology
• Genotoxicity
• Human impacts
• Seabird sentinels
• Wildlife health

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MESH Headings

• Male
• Female
• Animals
• Spheniscidae
• Urbanization
• Alkanesulfonic Acids/analysis
• Environmental Pollutants/analysis
• Fluorocarbons/analysis
• Soil
• Sulfonic Acids

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Review of scientific literature on available methods of assessing organochlorine pesticides in the environment

Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are persistent organic pollutants (POPs) widely used in agriculture and industry, causing serious health and ecological consequences upon exposure. This review offers a thorough overview of OCPs analysis emphasizing the necessity of ongoing work to enhance the identification and monitoring of these POPs in environmental and human samples. The benefits and drawbacks of the various OCPs analysis techniques including gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), gas chromatography-electron capture detector (GC-ECD), and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) are discussed. Challenges associated with validation and optimization criteria, including accuracy, precision, limit of detection (LOD), and limit of quantitation (LOQ), must be met for a method to be regarded as accurate and reliable. Suitable quality control measures, such as method blanks and procedural blanks, are emphasized. The LOD and LOQ are critical quality control measure for efficient quantification of these compounds, and researchers have explored various techniques for their calculation. Matrix interference, solubility, volatility, and partition coefficient influence OCPs occurrences and are discussed in this review. Validation experiments, as stated by European Commission in document SANTE/11813/2017, showed that the acceptance criteria for method validation of OCP analytes include ≤20 % for high precision, and 70-120 % for recovery. This may ultimately be vital for determining the human health risk effects of exposure to OCP and for formulating sensible environmental and public health regulations.

New and legacy persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in breeding seabirds from the East Antarctic

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are pervasive and a significant threat to the environment worldwide. Yet, reports of POP levels in Antarctic seabirds based on blood are scarce, resulting in significant geographical gaps. Blood concentrations offer a snapshot of contamination within live populations, and have been used widely for Arctic and Northern Hemisphere seabird species but less so in Antarctica. This paper presents levels of legacy POPs (polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)) and novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs) in the blood of five Antarctic seabird species breeding within Prydz Bay, East Antarctica. Legacy PCBs and OCPs were detected in all species sampled, with Adélie penguins showing comparatively high ∑PCB levels (61.1 ± 87.6 ng/g wet weight (ww)) compared to the four species of flying seabirds except the snow petrel (22.5 ± 15.5 ng/g ww), highlighting that legacy POPs are still present within Antarctic wildlife despite decades-long bans. Both PBDEs and NBFRs were detected in trace levels for all species and hexabromobenzene (HBB) was quantified in cape petrels (0.3 ± 0.2 ng/g ww) and snow petrels (0.2 ± 0.1 ng/g ww), comparable to concentrations found in Arctic seabirds. These results fill a significant data gap within the Antarctic region for POPs studies, representing a crucial step forward assessing the fate and impact of legacy POPs contamination in the Antarctic environment.

Persistent organic pollutant (POPs) concentrations from great-winged petrels nesting in Western Australia

Marine animals that traverse coastal and offshore environments are potentially exposed to multiple sources of pollution. Baseline data of pollutant concentrations of these fauna are needed in remote areas as human populations grow and economic development increases because changes may affect local wildlife in unforeseen ways. Persistent organic pollutant (POPs) concentrations were quantified in an understudied seabird, the great-winged petrel (Pterodroma macroptera), that breeds in southern Western Australia. Organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs) were measured in adults. Total POPs concentrations ranged 5.6-46.4 ng g^-1 ww. The most frequently detected POPs were the dichlorodiethyltrichloroethane (DDT) metabolite 4,4'DDE, the PCB CB-28, and the BFR polybrominated diphenyl ether BDE-99. These results contribute to the limited POPs data in marine fauna in this remote region, and the Southern Hemisphere, adding to the growing body of evidence that remote regions are affected by global trends of POPs distributions.