Polycyclic and nitro musks in the environment: A comparison between Canadian and European aquatic biota

Nitro and polycyclic musks were determined for the first time in Canadian a quatic fauna such as lobster, winter flounder, American eel, lake trout, cl ams and mussels. Samples from densely populated areas, Halifax and the indu strialized Miramachi estuary, showed relatively high concentrations of musk ketone (4-acetyl-1-tert-butyl-3,5-dimetyl-2,6-dinitrobenzene MK; maximum l evels. mussels 2,200 ng/g lipid; winter Bounder muscle 2,700 ng/g lipid, cl ams 17,700 ng/g lipid) and HHCB (1,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-4,6,6,7,8,8-hexameth ylcyclopenta[g]-2-benzopyrane, 'galaxolide'; mussels 1,700 ng/g lipid; wint er flounder 40 ng/g lipid; clams 3,000 ng/g lipid), while the samples from sparsely populated areas like Cap-Pele exhibited lower levels (MK maximum l evels 130 ng/g lipid; HHCB maximum levels 16 ng/g lipid). Most samples cont ained relatively low concentrations of musk xylene (1-tert-butyl-3,5-dimety l-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene, MX) and AHTN (7-acetyl-1,1,3,4,4,6-hexamethyl-tetr ahydro-naphthalene, 'tonalide'). In contrast, in Western Europe, concentrat ions of the polycyclic musks HHCB and AHTN in fish presently exceed those o f the nitro musks by about one to three orders of magnitude. These data see m to reflect the different application modes in Western Europe and North Am erica with regard to the prevailing musk components in fragrances. Syntheti c musks were not detectable in most commercial fish oils used in the prepar ation of aquaculture feed and fish lipids extracted in the 1980's in the la boratory, with the exception of a pollock (Pollachius virens) lipid from th e Halifax area, which contained MX and MK at 350 and 64 ng/g lipid, respect ively. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.