3 DECADES OF TRIBUTYLTIN IN THE COASTAL ENVIRONMENT WITH EMPHASIS ON ARCACHON BAY, FRANCE

This account briefly reviews the fate, bioconcentration and effects of tributyltin (TBT) three decades after its introduction into the coast al environment. Data on TBT-related events that occurred in Arcachon B ay (gastropod imposer, oyster recruitment failure, oyster shell malfor mations, concentrations in water and sediments) are revised and reinte rpreted. Historically, TBT concentrations in the waters of the open ba y seldom exceeded 1 ng Sn l(-1) in the 1960s, likely surpassed the ran ge of too ng Sn l(-1) from 1977 to 1981 (years when no oyster spat wer e collected and the local shellfish industry collapsed), and decreased to about 1 ng Sn l(-1) in the late 1980s and early 1990s following le gislation in January 1982 banning TBT use. TBT pollution is discussed in relation to the green tides that have developed in Arcachon Bay sin ce 1982. Copyright (C) 1996 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd