title: Are styrene oligomers in coastal sediments of an industrial area aryl hydrocarbon-receptor agonists?
abstract: Effect-directed analysis (EDA) was performed to identify the major aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) agonists in sediments collected from a highly industrialized area (Lake Shihwa, Korea). Great AhR-mediated potencies were found in fractions containing aromatic compounds with log Kow values of 5-8, and relatively great concentrations of styrene oligomers (SOs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were detected in those fractions. Until now, there was little information on occurrences and toxic relative potencies (RePs) of SOs in coastal environments. In the present study; i) distributions and compositions, ii) AhR binding affinities, and iii) contributions of SOs to total AhR-mediated potencies were determined in coastal sediments. Elevated concentrations of 10 SOs were detected in sediments of inland creeks ranging from 61 to 740 ng g(-1) dry mass (dm), while lesser concentrations were found in inner (mean = 33 ng g(-1) dm) and outer regions (mean = 25 ng g(-1) dm) of the lake. Concentrations of PAHs in sediments were comparable to those of SOs. 2,4-diphenyl-1-butene (SD3) was the predominant SO analogue in sediments. SOs and PAHs were accumulated in sediments near sources, and could not be transported to remote regions due to their hydrophobicity. RePs of 3 SOs could be derived, which were 1000- to 10,000-fold less than that of one representative potent AhR active PAH, benzo[a]pyrene. Although concentrations of SOs in sediments were comparable to those of PAHs, the collective contribution of SOs to total AhR-mediated potencies were rather small (<1%), primarily due to their smaller RePs. Overall, the present study provides information on distributions and AhR binding affinities for SOs as baseline data for degradation products of polystyrene plastic in the coastal environment.
authors.affiliation: School of Earth and Environmental Sciences & Research Institute of Oceanography, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seongjin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: School of Earth and Environmental Sciences & Research Institute of Oceanography, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Junghyun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: School of Earth and Environmental Sciences & Research Institute of Oceanography, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Changkeun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: School of Earth and Environmental Sciences & Research Institute of Oceanography, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seo Joon
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.affiliation: School of Earth and Environmental Sciences & Research Institute of Oceanography, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seungyeon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.affiliation: School of Earth and Environmental Sciences & Research Institute of Oceanography, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Bong-Oh
authors.initials: BO
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Protection and Safety, NeoEnBiz Co., Bucheon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jong-Hyeon
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences & Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada; Department of Zoology & Center for Integrative Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA; School of Biological Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Giesy
authors.affiliation: School of Earth and Environmental Sciences & Research Institute of Oceanography, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: jskocean@snu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Jong Seong
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Khim
mesh_terms: D000475:Alkenes / Q000032:analysis; D001564:Benzo(a)pyrene / Q000378:metabolism; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000032:analysis*; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D007221:Industry; D060106:Lakes / Q000737:chemistry*; D010969:Plastics / Q000737:chemistry*; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000378:metabolism*; D018336:Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon / Q000819:agonists*; D056910:Republic of Korea; D020058:Styrene / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000475:Alkenes; D010969:Plastics; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D018336:Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon; D001564:Benzo(a)pyrene; D020058:Styrene; C058602:1-butene
keywords: Effect-directed analysis; H4IIE-luc bioassay; Sediments; Styrene dimers; Styrene trimers