IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i8p6493-d1120968.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Legacy Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) Pollution in a River Ecosystem: Sediment Contamination and Bioaccumulation in Benthic Invertebrates

Author

Listed:
  • Stefano Tasselli

    (National Research Council-Water Research Institute (CNR-IRSA), Via del Mulino 19, 20861 Brugherio, Italy)

  • Laura Marziali

    (National Research Council-Water Research Institute (CNR-IRSA), Via del Mulino 19, 20861 Brugherio, Italy)

  • Claudio Roscioli

    (National Research Council-Water Research Institute (CNR-IRSA), Via del Mulino 19, 20861 Brugherio, Italy)

  • Licia Guzzella

    (National Research Council-Water Research Institute (CNR-IRSA), Via del Mulino 19, 20861 Brugherio, Italy)

Abstract

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) contamination in the Toce River in northern Italy was studied by collecting data from 2016 to 2021 upstream and downstream of a production factory which in the past had discharged technical DDT. Analysis of sediments and of bioaccumulation in different benthic invertebrate taxa (Gammaridae, Diptera, Ephemeroptera Baetidae and Heptageniidae) was carried out to assess the transfer of DDT from sediments to benthic invertebrates and the environmental risk of this legacy pollutant for the river ecosystem. DDT and its metabolites dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (DDD), here called DDx, were analyzed by isotope dilution gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). DDx values in sediments in upstream stations (1.14–2.25 ng g −1 1% Organic Carbon) were lower than downstream of the industrial site (5.60–7.60 ng g −1 1% Organic Carbon), often exceeding Sediment Quality Guidelines for total DDx. Peak levels derived from new inputs of parental DDT, as confirmed by fingerprint analysis. Bioaccumulation was higher at downstream sites (up to 5107 ng g −1 lipid weight), confirming the bioavailability of residual DDT as well as active metabolism, with the formation of DDD and DDE. The Biota-Sediment Accumulation Factor evidenced the highest values (over 4.2) for Diptera and Gammaridae, highlighting that invertebrates can transfer contamination from sediments to the trophic chain. Linear regression models were developed to estimate DDx concentrations in benthic invertebrates from DDx concentrations in sediments. However, determination coefficients R 2 remained in the range of 0.36–0.51, highlighting the necessity of bioaccumulation analysis to fully estimate environmental risk. The results show that DDT contamination, even if residual, may still represent a risk due to its effective transfer to the trophic chain.

Suggested Citation

  • Stefano Tasselli & Laura Marziali & Claudio Roscioli & Licia Guzzella, 2023. "Legacy Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) Pollution in a River Ecosystem: Sediment Contamination and Bioaccumulation in Benthic Invertebrates," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-18, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:8:p:6493-:d:1120968
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6493/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6493/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:8:p:6493-:d:1120968. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.