Uptake and depuration kinetics of emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) in the New Zealand green-lipped mussel (Perna canaliculus): Seafood safety implications A.S. Mahaliyana a,d,* , J. Pirker b , G. Abhiram d , O. Pantos c , I.D. Marsden b , S. Gaw a a School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, 8140, New Zealand b School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, 8140, New Zealand c Institute of Environmental Science and Research, Christchurch, New Zealand d Faculty of Animal Science and Export Agriculture, Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, Passara Road, Badulla, 90000, Sri Lanka A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Bioaccumulation Bioconcentration Bivalves Micropollutants Shellfish ABSTRACT The kinetics for uptake and depuration of nine emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) by the New Zealand green-lipped mussel (Perna canaliculus) under experimental conditions were investigated. Nominal environ- mentally relevant (upper range) concentrations (≈ 5 μg/L) of EOCs belonging to different chemical classes with a range of log Kow (n-octanol/water partition coefficient) values were used for the exposure. Mussels were exposed to 17 α-ethinyl estradiol (EE2) singly as well as in a mixture with 4-nonylphenol (NP), benzophenone-1 (BP1), benzophenone-3 (BP3), benzyl paraben (bzParaben), bisphenol A (BPA), chlorophene, methyl paraben (mPar- aben) and triclosan (Tric) for an 11-day exposure period followed by a 17-day depuration phase. All investigated EOCs were bioconcentrated during the uptake phase. The mussels that accumulated EOCs demonstrated a higher elimination potential for EOCs during the depuration process, ranging from 70 % to 98 %. Uptake and depuration kinetics of the EOCs did not have a direct relationship with their log Kow and log Dow (distribution coefficient) values. The bioconcentration and elimination dynamics for EE2 in the EOC mixture and individual exposure were not significantly different. The findings of this study indicate that a depuration step may be a practicable measure to improve seafood safety of bivalves grown in EOC impacted water. 1. Introduction Emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) are a group of organic chemicals for which the sources, fate and behaviour, and the toxicity in the environment are not fully understood. Thus, they are not included in routine environmental monitoring programs globally. These chemical contaminants are mostly introduced into the environment by anthro- pogenic activities (Huang et al., 2020; Yang et al., 2020; Casta˜ no-Ortiz et al., 2023; Maskrey et al., 2024). A broad range of chemical classes are categorised as EOCs including pharmaceuticals and personal care products, industrial chemicals, veterinary drugs, food additives and agricultural chemicals among several others (Pintado-Herrera et al., 2024). Some of the EOCs are endocrine disruptors due to their ability to interfere with the hormonal, enzymatic, metabolic and cell-signaling mechanisms of living organisms (Fabbri and Franzellitti, 2015; Akh- barizadeh et al., 2020; Qureshi et al., 2020; Chaturvedi et al., 2021; Cheng et al., 2021). These chemicals are not readily removed by con- ventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). As a result, they are released into the environment and can subsequently accumulate in aquatic environments. Certain classes of EOCs are persistent, and bio- accumulative in aquatic organisms (Wu et al., 2015; Lima, 2018; Ouda et al., 2020; Cravo et al., 2022) including food species, therefore human consumption of aquatic organisms containing these potentially toxic compounds may lead to adverse health effects (Liu and Wong, 2013; Maskrey et al., 2024). The uptake of EOCs by bivalves (e.g., mussels, oysters, and clams) is of particular interest because these commercially farmed filter feeders continuously take up and expel large volumes of water for feeding and respiration (Almeida et al., 2017, 2020; Serra-Compte et al., 2018). Their tissues also have a high partitioning capacity for some hydro- phobic organic contaminants, increasing the potential for accumulation. Bivalves have a specific ability to achieve a chemical equilibrium of * Corresponding author. School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, 8140, New Zealand. E-mail address: sachintha@uwu.ac.lk (A.S. Mahaliyana). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Marine Environmental Research journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/marenvrev https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2025.107492 Received 21 April 2025; Received in revised form 17 August 2025; Accepted 27 August 2025 Marine Environmental Research 212 (2025) 107492 Available online 28 August 2025 0141-1136/© 2025 Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.