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The aim of the present study was to evaluate the environmental threat to benthic species from chemical weapons dumped in the southern Adriatic Sea. An ecotoxicological approach using chemical analysis and biological responses was applied, in two sentinel species: the Blackbelly rosefish Helicolenus dactylopterus and European conger Conger conger. Specimen were collected in a stretch of sea, where had been dumped war materials and from a reference site free of ordnance. Residues of yperite, Hg and As were measured in fish fillets. Skin, liver, kidney and spleen were examined for histopathological and macroscopical lesions. Liver detoxifying capacities (EROD and UDPGT) and genotoxicity (comet assay) were also investigated. As and Hg levels were three-four times higher than those from the reference site in both species (p<0.001). Both species captured in dumping site showed clear signs of chronic illness according to the health assessment index (HAI). Deep ulcers and nodules were observed on skin and external organs. Histological lesions such as periportal and bile duct fibrosis, pericholangitis, steatosis, granuloma and elevated splenic MMCs were detected in liver and spleen. Significantly higher EROD activities were also found in both species from dumping site (p<0.01). Comet assay revealed genotoxicty in gills of C. conger from dumping site, indicating uptake of chemical warfare agents through fish gills. European conger was found to be a more sensitive bioindicator of this type of contamination than the Blackbelly rosefish., ((c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The present paper shows the multidisciplinary approach used to assess the eco-toxicity of chemical munitions lying on the seabed in the Southern Adriatic Sea where aerial bombs charged with mustard agent and organoarsenlc chemical war-fare agents (CWAs) have been dumped. Sampling activities and laboratory analyses have been carried out on two sen-tinel species, the blackbelly rosefish, Helicolenus dactylopterus, and the European conger, Conger conger, collected in a CWA dumping site 35 nm from the coast of Apulia, Italy, and from a reference site. Fish were analyzed through an ecotoxicolo-gical approach, integrating chemical analysis and biological responses. Degradation products of the blister agents ö/s-(2-chloroethyl)sulphide, com-monly known as mustard agent or yperite (also called sulfur or sulfur mustard), were found in sediment samples collected nearby aerial bombs. Although no evi-dence of these compounds was detected in tissues of either fish, levels of heavy metals (arsenic and mercury), potentially released by rusted chemical weapons, were significantly higher in sediment and fish from the CWA site compared to the reference site. Severe external and internal lesions were observed in fish captured in the CWA site, with congers displaying small to large skin ulcers along the body. Health assessment index (HAI) values, as well as spleen melano-macrophages cen-tres and CYP1A ethoxyresorufin-Odeethylase activity were higher in fish from the CWA site, indicating a chronic state of illness and environment degradation. The working procedures and analyses performed during these surveys could be suitable for future biomonitoring studies in other CWA dumping sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]