Assessment of the effects of discontinuous sources of contamination through biomarker analyses on caged mussels.

The present study analysed potential adverse effects of discontinuous sources of contamination, namely the discharge of a combined sewer overflow (CSO) and of runoff in an urban area, the Bay of Santander (North Iberian Peninsula). Water samples and caged mussels were used to analyse concentrations of contaminants and biological responses. Mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) were transplanted to a marina receiving runoff from a petrol station and to a CSO discharge site. Samples were collected in synchrony with heavy rains along 62days. Lysosomal membrane stability (LMS) and acyl-CoA oxidase (AOX) activity were measured as core biomarkers and were analysed at all sampling times. Histopathology of digestive gland and gonads, transcription levels of vitellogenin gene, volume density of black silver deposits and micronuclei formation were measured at initial and final stages of the transplant. Chemical analyses of metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and endocrine disruptors were performed in water samples and mussel flesh. Mussels accumulated low concentrations of contaminants, which is in accordance with results obtained from exposure biomarkers. AOX activity decreased in all transplanted mussels after the first heavy rain, but this change seems to be related to the seasonal pattern of the enzyme activity. Mussels located close to the CSO discharge site showed a reduction in LMS after the first rain event, when compared to mussels before the transplant and to mussels from the reference location. However, this was attributable to natural environmental changes rather than to pollution. Values of the rest of analysed biomarkers were below threshold values reported for the study area.

Passive samplers for chemical substance monitoring and associated toxicity assessment in water.

The European legislation, and in particular the Water Framework Directive requires the development of cost efficient monitoring tools that can provide the required information for the assessment of water contamination. Passive sampling methods represent one of the novel tools that have a potential to be used in various regulatory monitoring programmes aimed at assessing the levels of chemical pollutants. These methods are particularly interesting for sampling polar organic pollutants in water because they provide representative information of the water quality over extended time periods (days to weeks) in environments with fluctuating contaminant concentrations. This is achieved by integrative sampling of pollutants over the whole sampler deployment period. These tools can be coupled to toxicity testing using bioassays that give information on toxic and ecotoxic hazards associated to substances that are present, these substances being identified or not. In this study the polar organic chemical integrative sampler (POCIS) was used in surface water to evaluate the water contamination by polar organic compounds and their potential toxicity.