Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Marine Pollution Bulletin journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/marpolbul Baseline Assessment of organotins and imposex in two estuaries of the northeastern Brazilian coast Daniele Claudino Maciel a, ⁎ , Ítalo Braga Castro b , José Roberto Botelho de Souza c , Gilvan Takeshi Yogui d , Gilberto Fillmann e , Eliete Zanardi-Lamardo d a Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de Alagoas (IFAL), Campus Piranhas, Av. Sergipe, 1477, 57460-000 Piranhas, Alagoas, Brazil b Departamento de Ciências do Mar, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Av. Almirante Saldanha da Gama, 89, Ponta da Praia, 11030-400 Santos, SP, Brazil c Laboratório de Comunidades Marinhas (Lacmar), Departamento de Zoologia da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Avenida Professor Moraes Rego, 1235, Cidade Universitária, 50670-901 Recife, PE, Brazil d Laboratório de Compostos Orgânicos em Ecossistemas Costeiros e Marinhos (OrganoMAR), Departamento de Oceanografia da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Arquitetura s/n, Cidade Universitária, 50740-550 Recife, PE, Brazil e Laboratório de Microcontaminantes Orgânicos e Ecotoxicologia Aquática (CONECO), Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Av. Itália Km 8, s/n, Rio Grande, RS 96203-900, Brazil ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Contamination Sediment Ports Tributyltin recent TBT input ABSTRACT Butyltin compounds (BTs) were used worldwide, especially because of their properties as biocides. Due to its high toxicity, the use of tributyltin (TBT) in antifouling paints has been prohibited in most countries. The oc- currence and impact of BTs were assessed in surface sediments and in Stramonita rustica populations of two tropical estuaries that host major ports in northeastern Brazil. ΣBT concentrations ranged from < LOQ to 542 ng Sn g -1 dry weight in sediments while imposex was not observed in S. rustica. This is in contrast to previous studies that reported high incidence of imposex at the same sites. Butyltin degradation index indicates recent input of TBT at levels that might trigger imposex in gastropod species more sensitive than S. rustica. These results emphasize the need of more rigorous controls by local authorities since Brazil has restricted the use of TBT-based antifouling paints. In the 1960s, some organotin compounds (OTs) including tributyltin (TBT) began to be widely used as biocides in antifouling paints. Due to their high toxicity to organisms, several countries including the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, the United States and Japan approved regulatory actions for the use of OT-based antifouling paints in the 1980s (Champ, 2000). In 2008, the convention on the control of harmful antifouling systems on ships (AFS Convention) banned the use of TBT-based antifouling paints all over the world (IMO, 2008). Cur- rently, the AFS convention includes 73 member states representing 93% of the world's merchant fleet (IMO, 2017). Since the convention came into force, some studies have reported a decrease on OT levels in water, sediment and biological tissues at several coastal areas, including South Korea, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and the United Kingdom (Choi et al., 2009; Kim et al., 2011; Verhaegen et al., 2012; Law et al., 2012). Conversely, some studies have reported high OTs concentrations in countries such as Brazil, France, Venezuela and Chile, suggesting that TBT-based antifouling paints are still in use at some areas (Oliveira et al., 2010; Briant et al., 2013; Paz-Villarraga et al., 2015; Batista et al., 2016). The most significant effect of these compounds is associated with endocrine disruption that affects reproduction of marine organisms, especially gastropod mollusks. In these animals, TBT may trigger im- posex which is characterized by development of vas deferens and penis in female individuals. At advanced stages, imposex may lead to full obstruction of the pallial oviduct, resulting in sterilization (Bettin et al., 1996). Studies carried out worldwide have shown the effects of these pollutants on several marine organisms (Thain, 1986; Huang and Wang, 1995; McAllister and Kime, 2003; Abidli et al., 2012; Graceli et al., 2013; Batista et al., 2016). In Brazil, the AFS convention came into force only in 2010 after a law was passed by the Federal Senate (Decree No. 797/2010). However, since 2007 the use of TBT-based antifouling paints is for- bidden by the Brazilian Navy (DPC, 2007). Despite local authorities are struggling to control the use of TBT-based antifouling paints, recent assessments along the southern and southeastern coasts of Brazil have detected OTs in sites under influence of commercial ports, marinas and https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.11.061 Received 20 July 2017; Received in revised form 20 November 2017; Accepted 27 November 2017 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: danielemaciel@ifal.edu.br (D.C. Maciel), jrbsouza@ufpe.br (J.R.B. de Souza), gilvan.yogui@ufpe.br (G.T. Yogui), gfillmann@furg.br (G. Fillmann), eliete.zanardi@ufpe.br (E. Zanardi-Lamardo). Marine Pollution Bulletin 126 (2018) 473–478 0025-326X/ © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. T