Bioconcentration of triclosan and methyl-triclosan in marine mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) under laboratory conditions and in metropolitan waters of Gulf St Vincent, South Australia

The anti-microbial agent triclosan (TCS), and its derivative methyl-triclosan (Me-TCS), are discharged with treated effluents from wastewater treatment plants to receiving environments. We investigated the bioconcentration of TCS and Me-TCS in mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) exposed to TCS (100 ng L-1) for 30 days in seawater aquaria (19 +/- 2 degrees C) with fresh phytoplankton as a food source. Bioconcentration increased with time reaching a steady-state around 24-30 days. The bioconcentration factor (log BCF) for TCS were 2.81 L kg-1 (dry weight) and 4.13 L kg(-1), when lipid normalised concentrations were used. Mussels were also deployed in cages at four marine locations receiving effluents from WWTPs. The mean ( SD) TCS and Me-TCS concentrations for mussels from these sites were 9.87 ( +/- 1.34) and 6.99 ( +/- 2.44) mu g kg(-1). The study showed that mussels can be a useful tool for monitoring pollution of TCS and Me-TCS in marine and estuarine environments. Crown Copyright (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.