Typical herbicide residues, trophic transfer, bioconcentration, and health risk of marine organisms

Abstract Atrazine, a potent herbicide for weeds removal during the growing season, has been widely used in China. It is known to be distributed in aquatic ecosystems with a long half-life, thus presenting a potential risk to species and consumers. This study analyzed the concentrations of degraded atrazine residues in marine organisms (N = 129) including 3 species of mollusks, 2 species of crustaceans, and 15 species of fish from a semi-enclosed bay, Jiaozhou Bay (JZB), adjacent to the Northwest Pacific Ocean in China. The corresponding trophic magnification factors (TMF), bioaccumulation factors (BCFs), and subsequent risks to final consumers were also determined. The results showed an average atrazine concentration of (0.301 ± 0.03) ng g−1 and (0.305 ± 0.04) ng g−1 in fish and invertebrates, respectively. The BCFs were (5.23 ± 1.75) L kg−1 and (5.81 ± 1.31) L kg−1 for fish and invertebrates, respectively. Atrazine was significantly bio-diluted in JZB through the sampled marine organisms with increasing trophic levels, with a TMF value below 1 (P