Environ. Sci. Technol. 2009, 43, 7998
Comment on “Occurrence and Concentrations of Benzotriazole UV Stabilizers in Marine Organisms and Sediments from the Ariake Sea, Japan” Nakata et al. (1) reported on the presence of substituted benzotriazoles, a class of compounds used to stabilize plastics from ultraviolet light, in the Ariake Sea, Japan. These compounds were detected in several trophic levels of marine life and sediments, leading the authors to conclude that these plastic additives bioaccumulate and are environmentally persistent. They wrote that, “no information is available on the occurrence and concentrations of benzotriazole UV stabilizers in the environment” and “this is first report of ubiquitous contamination and bioaccumulation of benzotriazole UV stabilizers in the marine environment” (1). This work was featured in the environmental news section of this journal (2). The authors, reviewers, and editor appear to have overlooked a large body of research performed on these same compounds. Spanning three decades, numerous peerreviewed studies, including six published in this journal, have investigated them in Narragansett Bay, RI, U.S.A. (3-15), where a local chemical company produced them under the trade name Tinuvin from 1961 to 1985. These chemicals have been involved in studies on the transport of hydrophobic organic compounds in aquatic systems (5, 7, 13, 14), developing sediment chronologies (5, 9), tracking sediment accumulation and deposition (4, 5, 7, 9, 13, 14), and uptake by local seafood (6). These publications would have been an invaluable aid to Nakata et al. (1). As the number of publications in scientific journals increases each year, it is difficult for authors, reviewers, and editors to stay abreast of every one of them in their field. However, when authors state their findings are the “first report”, prudence dictates a much higher standard. Open access searches on the Internet would have been fruitful. For example, searches for “benzotriazoles and sediments” in Google Scholar and on the American Chemical Society’s Website, resulted in the following manuscripts cited: refs 8, 10, 11, 13, and 14 and refs 3-5, 9, 10, 12, 15, and 16, respectively.
(3) Jungclaus, G.; Lopez-Avila, V.; Hites, R. A. Organic compounds in an industrial wastewater: A case study of their environmental impact. Environ. Sci. Technol. 1978, 12, 88–96. (4) Hites, R. A.; Jungclaus, G. A.; Lopez-Avila, V.; Sheldon, L. S. Potentially Toxic Organic Compounds in Industrial Wastewaters and River Systems: Two Case Studies. In Monitoring Toxic Substances, ACS Symposium Series; Schueltzle, D., Ed.; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1979, 63-90. (5) Lopez-Avila, V.; Hites, R. A. Organic compounds in an industrial wastewater: Their transport into sediments. Environ. Sci. Technol. 1980, 14, 1382–1390. (6) Pruell, R. J.; Hoffman, E. J.; Quinn, J. G. Total hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and synthetic organic compounds in the hard shell clam, Mercenaria mercenaria, purchased at commercial seafood stores. Mar. Environ. Res. 1984, 11, 163–181. (7) Pruell, R. J.; Quinn, J. G. Geochemistry of organic contaminants in Narragansett Bay sediments. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 1985, 21, 295–312. (8) Oviatt, C. A.; Quinn, J. G.; Maughan, J. T.; Ellis, J. T.; Sullivan, B. K.; Gearing, J. N.; Gearing, P. J.; Hunt, C. D.; Sampou, P. A.; Latimer, J. S. Fate and effects of sewage sludge in the coastal marine environment: A mesocosm experiment. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 1987, 41, 187–203. (9) Latimer, J. S.; Quinn, J. G. Historical trends and current inputs of hydrophobic organic compounds in an urban estuary: The sedimentary record. Environ. Sci. Technol. 1996, 30, 623– 633. (10) Reddy, C. M.; Quinn, J. G.; King, J. K. Free and bound benzotriazoles in marine and freshwater sediments. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2000, 34, 973–979. (11) Frysinger, G. S.; Gaines, R. B.; Reddy, C. M. GC×GC: A new analytical tool for environmental forensics. Environ. Forens. 2002, 3, 27–34. (12) Frysinger, G. S.; Gaines, R. B.; Xu, L.; Reddy, C. M. Resolving the unresolved complex mixture in petroleum-contaminated sediments. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2003, 37, 1653–1662. (13) Hartmann, P. C.; Quinn, J. G.; Cairns, R. W.; King, J. W. Polychlorinated biphenyls in Narragansett Bay surface sediments. Chemosphere 2004, 57, 9–20. (14) Hartmann, P. C.; Quinn, J. G.; Cairns, R. W.; King, J. W. Depositional history of organic contaminants in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, U.S.A. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 2005, 50, 388– 395. (15) White, H. K.; Reddy, C. M.; Eglinton, T. I. Radiocarbon-based assessment of fossil fuel-derived contaminants associations in sediments. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2008, 42, 5428–5434. (16) White, H. K.; Reddy, C. M.; Eglinton, T. I. Isotopic constraints on the fate of petroleum residues sequestered in salt marsh sediments. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2005, 39, 2545–2551.
Literature Cited (1) Nakata, H.; Murata, S.; Filatreau, J. Occurrence and concentrations of benzotriazole UV stabilizers in marine organisms and sediments from the Ariake Sea, Japan. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2009, 43, 6920–6926. (2) Parks, N. UV-stabilizing chemicals contaminating Japan’s marine environment. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2009, 43, 6896– 6897.
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ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / VOL. 43, NO. 20, 2009
Christopher M. Reddy Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 360 Woods Hole Rd., Woods Hole, MA 02543 ES902536U
10.1021/es902536u CCC: $40.75
2009 American Chemical Society
Published on Web 09/21/2009
