Preliminary evaluation of human health risks from ingestion of organotin contamined seafood in Brazil

Abstract

Pontifica Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro - PUC-Rio Departamento de Quimica (Rua Marques de Sao Vicente, 225, 22453-900, Gavea, RJ, Brasil) *Corresponding author: hallfz@uerj.br The toxic effects of tributyltin (TBT) and triphenyltin (TPT), used as biocides in antifouling paints, as defensives fungicides or present in industrial effluents, on aquatic organisms are well known (Fent, 1996) and has led many countries to control their application as antifoulants since the eighties (Champ, 2000; Hoch, 2001). A global ban on the application of these compounds as biocides was scheduled by IMO to begin in January, 2003. The convention has, however, not yet been enforced and the use of the compounds continues in several countries. The biological effects of organotin compounds have been described for many places on the Brazilian coast, always related to centers of maritime activity such as harbors, shipyards and marinas, and relatively high concentrations of organotins have been detected in sediments and organisms in the two most important areas of maritime activity in Brazil (Fernandez