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Organotin species in sediments
Due to their use as antifouling agents in paintings for ship vessels and their persistence and hydrophobicity, organotin compounds accumulate in sediments, with their concentration being related to the traffic above the sediment. Since organotins, especially tributyltin (TBT) are extremely toxic for molluscs such as mussels and oysters (leading to imposex at water levels of only 2 ng/L) the use of TBT as antfouling agent has been restricted. However, the presence of TBT in sediments diminish only slowly and remains a major concern. Indeed, sediments, which were earlier considered to be a sink, might now have to be considered as a soutce of the organotin compounds, accumulated over time.
The main issues to be controlled during the analysis of sediments for organotins are:
- quantitativness of extraction of the species from the sediment
- absence of degradation of the organotins during the extraction
- control of contamination (through plastic labware, gloves etc.)
- control of the derivatization yield
- control of interferences (e.g. with methods lacking selectivity such as GC-FPD)
CRMs play a major role in the development and validation of
methods and for quality control. The following certified reference
materials (CRMs) are available for the speciation analysis of organotin
compounds in sediments:
| Supplier |
Name |
Material | Certificate
|
| NRCC |
PACS-2 |
Marine harbour sediment | DBT, TBT
|
| NRCC |
HIPA-1 |
Blended marine harbour dediment | TBT
|
| NRCC |
SOPH-1 |
Blended marine harbour sediment | DBT, TBT
|
NMIJ
|
7301-a
|
Marine sediments
|
MBT, DBT, TBT
|
BCR
|
462
|
Marine coastal sediment
|
DBT, TBT
|
BCR
|
646
|
Freshwater sediment
|
MBT, DBT, TBT, MPhT, DPhT, TPhT
|
* click on the suppliers name to reach his website, click on the
material name for a link to the report, click on the certified species
for a link to the certificate
 EVISA Material Database: Materials related to tin speciation
back to the summary table
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