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EU - SHELLFISH HYGIENE DIRECTIVE - CONTAMINANTS IN SHELLFISH

Project Code: S02013

31/03/2003

Fisheries Research Services
McIntosh, A ; Webster, L;
FRS Marine Laboratory
Bredzinski, X; Moffat, C

Samples of blue mussels (Mytilus edulis), oysters (Crassostrea gigas) and scallops (Pecten maximus) from sites around Scotland were collected during March and April 2002 with a second sampling round conducted during August and September 2002.

A total of 52 shellfish samples, comprising 28 mussel samples, 9 oyster samples and 15 scallop samples, were collected during either winter or summer 2002. The concentration and composition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), trace metals (TM), chlorobiphenyl (CB) and organochlorine pesticide (OCP) was determined in the soft tissues in all three species from the two sampling occasions.

The total measured PAH concentration in 23 of the 28 mussel samples analysed was less than 150 ng g^-1 wet weight. On only two occasions was a concentration above 250 ng g^-1 recorded. One sample (Loch Roag, summer) contained PAHs at a concentration, and with a relevant distribution, such that the product was at risk of being tainted.

All samples of oysters contained PAHs at a concentration less than 150 ng g^-1 wet weight, regardless of season.

The PAH concentration in scallop gonad was, without exception, greater than in the corresponding adductor muscle. Furthermore, PAH concentrations were less in samples collected during the summer months compared to the winter period.

Trace metal distribution in mussels, scallops and oysters showed that the concentrations generally do not exhibit a high variance between sites. Some mussels exhibited Cu, Zn, Cd, Hg and Pb concentrations greater than the background concentrations proposed by OSPAR.

The CB concentrations determined in mussels were generally within the Ecotoxicological Assessment Criteria (EAC) established by OSPAR for mussels. An EAC has not been established for either oysters or scallops, but CB concentrations were within the EAC established for mussels.

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