Occurrence of butyltin compounds in mussels from Indonesian coastal waters and some Asian countries

The green mussel (Perna viridis) samples were collected from Indonesian coastal waters and some other Asian countries in the period of 1997-1998 to elucidate the present status of marine pollution by butyltin compounds (BTs) including mono- (MBT), di- (DBT), and tributyltin (TBT). BTs were detected in all the mussel samples from Indonesian coastal waters in the range of 3.7 to 64 ng/g wet wt as total butyltins (Sigma BTs = MBT+DBT+TBT). The highest concentrations were found in green mussels from Jakarta Bay and Surabaya coastal waters. Relatively higher concentrations of BTs were detected in the mussels from adjacent areas of high maritime activities such as marina, harbour and fishing port. This suggests pollution of BTs arising from TBT usage in antifouling paints. BTs were also detected in mussels from aquaculture areas, implying TBT usage for fisheries activity. The composition of butyltin derivatives in green mussels from Indonesian coastal waters were in the order of TBT>MBT>DBT, suggesting fresh input of TBT in the marine environment. The contamination levels of BTs in green mussels from Indonesia were comparable or lower than those from other Asian developing countries. The elevated concentrations of BTs ware found in mussels from some areas of Thailand, Philippines, India and Malaysia where residue levels of BTs were comparable to those in developed nations.