| Methylmercury toxicity for sea-food consumers is well known long time ago. Tributyltin used as antifouling in paints is toxic at a level as low as 1 ng/l for oysters gastropod. At the opposite, organoarsenic compounds and especially arsenobetaine from fishes are much less toxic than inorganic species. Moreover, besides toxicological considerations, the biogeochemical fates of these elements need a good knowledge of the chemical forms of environmental inputs and of their behaviour in the various compartments (waters, sediments, biota). These phenomenons will be better understood by discussing typical applications. |
