Butyltins in sediments and biota from the Pearl River Delta, South China

Butyltins in sediments and biota collected from the Pearl River Delta, South China were analyzed by a gas chromatograph–atomic emission detector (GC-AED). The concentrations of tributyltin (TBT) in the sediments ranged from 1.7 to 379.7 ng/g dry weight. Their spatial distribution suggested that shipping activities, especially shipyards were mostly responsible for the TBT contamination in the region. A good linear relationship was observed between the DBT (dibutyltin)/TBT and MBT (monobutyltin) /TBT ratios of the samples in the Pearl River, the Pearl River estuary and the West River, suggesting that TBT in these areas came from similar sources but had undergone a different extent of degradation. The butyltins in the Macao waters seemed to have undergone a different degradation process. All TBT concentrations of the fish, mussel and shrimp samples collected in this study were below the seafood tolerable average residue level (TARL).