Baseline Edited by Bruce J. Richardson Trace metals, PAHs, and PCBs in sediments from the Jobos Bay area in Puerto Rico Jessica X. Aldarondo-Torres a , Fatin Samara b , Imar Mansilla-Rivera a , Diana S. Aga b , Carlos J. Rodríguez-Sierra a, * a Department of Environmental Health, Graduate School of Public Health, Medical Sciences Campus, University of Puerto Rico, P.O. Box 365067, San Juan 00936-5067, Puerto Rico b Department of Chemistry, 611 Natural Science Complex, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA article info Keywords: Puerto Rico Metals Organic pollutants Estuary Sediments Caribbean abstract This study provides baseline information on the extent of contamination in sediments of the Jobos Bay estuary and surrounding areas in Puerto Rico. Sediments from Jobos Bay area (n = 14) had higher overall average concentrations than those from La Parguera area (n = 5, used as reference site), in lg/g dw, for As (17 vs 9), Cu (29 vs 14), Pb (11 vs 4), and Zn (64 vs 28); and in %, for Fe (2.6 vs 0.6). Sediments (n = 8) screened for PAHs and PCBs exhibited total concentrations (ng/g dw) that ranged from 40.4 to 1912, and from not detected to 11.21, respectively. The quality of sediments of Jobos Bay could be classified as low to moderate pollution. The proximity to anthropogenic sources of contamination warrants a mon- itoring program for inorganic and organic pollutants in Jobos Bay area for an effective coastal manage- ment program of this tropical ecosystem. Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Coastal waters of tropical and sub-tropical environments have highly productive ecosystems such as estuaries and coral reefs. These two ecosystems play an important role in the life history and development of many aquatic organisms serving as migration routes, feeding, and nursery grounds (Peters et al., 1997; Chapman and Wang, 2001). Anthropogenic activities are known to have a wide-range of potential effects on these ecosystems, particularly from point and non-point sources of pollution. The release of pol- lutants into coastal environments is a major human concern worldwide. Among the pollutants of concern are the trace metals: arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead; and organic chemicals such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). These contaminants are known to readily accu- mulate in bottom sediments which serve as a repository of pollu- tants. Sediment contaminants could be released to the overlying water from natural (e.g., bioturbation) and anthropogenic pro- cesses (e.g., dredging), resulting in potential adverse health effects to aquatic organisms, including coral reefs (Daskalakis and O’Con- nor, 1995; Long et al., 1995; Argese et al., 1997; Ross and DeLor- enzo, 1997). Among the adverse health effects associated with these contaminants are toxicity to the kidney, nervous and repro- ductive systems, as well as endocrine disruption and mutations (Collier et al., 1998; Steinert et al., 1998; Nirmala et al., 1999; Keta- ta et al., 2007; Brar et al., 2009; Liu et al., 2008). In addition, trace metals, PAHs, and PCBs are known to bioaccumulate in edible aquatic organisms (e.g., fish), thus, representing a health risk to top predators, including humans (Fox et al., 1991; Renzoni et al., 1998; Huang et al., 2006; Díez et al., 2009). Sediment contamina- tion by trace metals, PAHs, and PCBs has not been extensively stud- ied in the tropics. Therefore, it is important that sediment contamination by these pollutants be assessed for better manage- ment and protection of these valuable coastal ecosystems. Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (JBNERR), a nat- ure reserve comprising an area of 2800 acres, is located in the south coast of Puerto Rico within the Guayama and Salinas munic- The objective of BASELINE is to publish short communications on different aspects of pollution of the marine environment. Only those papers which clearly identify the quality of the data will be considered for publication. Contributors to Baseline should refer to ‘Baseline—The New Format and Content’ (Mar. Pollut. Bull. 60, 1–2). 0025-326X/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2010.06.006 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 787 758 2525x1451; fax: +1 787 296 2572. E-mail address: carlos.rodriguez65@upr.edu (C.J. Rodríguez-Sierra). Marine Pollution Bulletin 60 (2010) 1350–1358 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Marine Pollution Bulletin journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/marpolbul