The contamination of date shell (Lithophaga lithophaga) from the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Abstract

      Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in the date­shell (Lithophaga lithophaga) from a wide variety of dif­ferent polluted and unpolluted habitats of the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea have been detected. UV-fluorescence spectroscopy was used for the analysis. Emission spectra were scanned at the wavelengths from 350—510 nm and the results were expressed in chrysene and Kuwait oil equiva­lents.

      The lower value determined in the investigated area was 0.41 µg/g dry weight in the Dugi otok island and the maximum was 20.41 µg/g dry weight determined in a loca­lity near the port of Šibenik. The levels of PAH in shellfish Lithophaga lithophaga are closely related to land-ba­sed sources contamination of the Adriatic Sea. The back­ground levels in the dateshell are about 1.0 µg/g.