title: The mussel caging approach in assessing biological effects of wastewater treatment plant discharges in the Gulf of Finland (Baltic Sea).
abstract: Biological effects of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents were investigated in Baltic mussels (Mytilus trossulus) caged for one month 800m and 1100m from the WWTP discharge site and at a reference site 4km away. Significant antioxidant, genotoxic and lysosomal responses were observed close to the point of the WWTP discharge. Passive samplers (POCIS) attached to the cages indicated markedly higher water concentrations of various pharmaceuticals at the two most impacted sites. Modeling the dispersal of a hypothetical passive tracer compound from the WWTP discharge site revealed differing frequencies and timing of the exposure periods at different caging sites. The study demonstrated for the first time the effectiveness of the mussel caging approach in combination with passive samplers and the application of passive tracer modeling to examine the true exposure patterns at point source sites such as WWTP pipe discharges in the Baltic Sea.
authors.affiliation: Finnish Environment Institute SYKE, Marine Research Centre, Hakuninmaantie 6, FI-00430 Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: raisa.turja@ymparisto.fi.
authors.forename: Raisa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Turja
authors.affiliation: Finnish Environment Institute SYKE, Marine Research Centre, Hakuninmaantie 6, FI-00430 Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Kari K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Lehtonen
authors.affiliation: Åbo Akademi University, Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Piispankatu 8, FI-20500 Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meierjohann
authors.affiliation: Åbo Akademi University, Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Piispankatu 8, FI-20500 Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Jenny-Maria
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Brozinski
authors.affiliation: City of Helsinki Environment Centre, P.O. Box 500, FI-00099 Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Emil
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vahtera
authors.affiliation: Finnish Environment Institute SYKE, Marine Research Centre, Hakuninmaantie 6, FI-00430 Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Soirinsuo
authors.affiliation: Baltic Nest Institute, Stockholm University Baltic Sea Centre, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sokolov
authors.affiliation: Stockholm University, Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Svante Arrhenius väg 21A, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Pauline
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Snoeijs
authors.affiliation: University Bordeaux 1, Oceanic and Continental Environments and Paleoenvironments (EPOC, UMR 5805 CNRS), Laboratory of Physico- and Toxico-Chemistry of the Environment (LPTC), 351 cours de la Libération, F-33405 Talence, France.
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Budzinski
authors.affiliation: University Bordeaux 1, Oceanic and Continental Environments and Paleoenvironments (EPOC, UMR 5805 CNRS), Laboratory of Physico- and Toxico-Chemistry of the Environment (LPTC), 351 cours de la Libération, F-33405 Talence, France.
authors.forename: Marie-Hélène
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Devier
authors.affiliation: University Bordeaux 1, Oceanic and Continental Environments and Paleoenvironments (EPOC, UMR 5805 CNRS), Laboratory of Physico- and Toxico-Chemistry of the Environment (LPTC), 351 cours de la Libération, F-33405 Talence, France.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Peluhet
authors.affiliation: City of Helsinki Environment Centre, P.O. Box 500, FI-00099 Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Jari-Pekka
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Pääkkönen
authors.affiliation: Finnish Environment Institute SYKE, Marine Research Centre, Hakuninmaantie 6, FI-00430 Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Markku
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Viitasalo
authors.affiliation: Åbo Akademi University, Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Piispankatu 8, FI-20500 Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Leif
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kronberg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005387:Finland; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D049878:Mytilus / Q000187:drug effects*; D018675:Toxicity Tests / Q000379:methods; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Biomarkers; Mussel caging; Passive samplers; Passive tracer modeling; Pharmaceuticals; Wastewater treatment plant