Occurrence of the antifouling herbicide, Irgarol 1051, within coastal-water seagrasses from Queensland, Australia

The s-triazine herbicide Irgarol 1051 is now widely distributed throughout European coastal waters, In Australia, the compound is not registered for u se as a biocide in antifouling paints. To investigate contamination, seagra sses were sampled from the east coast of Queensland and within the Great Ba rrier Reef Marine Park. A green alga was also sampled from the Outer Barrie r Reef. Tissues were analysed for the presence of Irgarol 1051 using solven t extraction followed by quantification with GC-MS and confirmation by GC-M S-MS. Irgarol 1051 was detected at nine of the ten locations sampled, Conce ntrations of up to 118 ng g(-1) wet weight leaf tissue were recorded in sam ples from the Gold Coast (near Brisbane) which is the highest plant tissue concentration yet reported. Antifouling paint purchased within Australia wa s analysed by GC-MS (full scan) and found to contain Irgarol 1051, The conc entrations of Irgarol 1051 reported within the Australian coastal environme nt are potentially toxic and the possible consequences for long-lived herbi vores (such as the dugong) and for endosymbiotic algae of corals, are discu ssed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.