title: Asia-Pacific mussel watch: monitoring contamination of persistent organochlorine compounds in coastal waters of Asian countries.
abstract: Contamination of persistent organochlorines (OCs) such as PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), DDT and its metabolites (DDTs), HCH (hexachlorocyclohexane) isomers (HCHs), chlordane compounds (CHLs), and HCB (hexachlorobenzene) were examined in mussels collected from coastal waters of Asian countries such as Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Far East Russia, Singapore, and Vietnam in 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2001 to elucidate the contamination status, distribution and possible pollution sources and to assess the risks on aquatic organisms and human. OCs were detected in all mussels collected from all the sampling sites investigated. Considerable residue levels of p,p(')-DDT and alpha-HCH were found in mussels and the concentrations of DDTs and HCHs found in mussels from Asian developing countries were higher than those in developed nations suggesting present usage of DDTs and HCHs along the coastal waters of Asian developing countries. On the other hand, lower concentrations of PCBs detected in mussels from Asian developing countries than those in developed countries indicate that PCBs contamination in mussels is strongly related to industrial and activities. To our knowledge, this is a first comprehensive report on monitoring OCs pollution in the Asia-Pacific region.
authors.affiliation: Center for Marine Environmental Studies, Ehime University, Tarumi 3-5-7, Matsuyama 790-8556, Japan.
authors.forename: In
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Monirith
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ueno
authors.forename: Shin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Haruhiko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakata
authors.forename: Agus
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sudaryanto
authors.forename: Annamalai
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Subramanian
authors.forename: Subramanian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karuppiah
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ismail
authors.forename: Muswerry
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Muchtar
authors.forename: Jinshu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Bruce J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Richardson
authors.forename: Maricar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Prudente
authors.forename: Ngyen Duc
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Hue
authors.forename: Touch Seang
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Tana
authors.forename: Alexander V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Tkalin
authors.forename: Shinsuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tanabe
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001208:Asia; D049872:Bivalvia; D003634:DDT / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis; D003906:Developing Countries; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis; D001556:Hexachlorocyclohexane / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis; D007221:Industry; D007306:Insecticides / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis; D018570:Risk Assessment
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D007306:Insecticides; D001556:Hexachlorocyclohexane; D003634:DDT; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls