HKU scientists find high concentrations of toxic phenyltin compounds in local Chinese white dolphins and finless porpoises confirming their biomagnification through marine food chains

By Eric Lee
Mar 17th 2020

For years, Professor Kenneth Leung from the HKU School of Biological Sciences and the Swire Institute of Marine Science and his research team, have been dedicated to the monitoring of toxic substances tribuyltin (TBT) and triphenyltin (TPT) compounds in our marine environment.

This is the first study in the world to confirm the trophic magnification of TPT in food webs of cetacean species, and the findings were recently published in Environment International.

The paper:
“Occurrence and trophic magnification profile of triphenyltin compounds in marine mammals and their corresponding food webs”, Environment International
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412019332635

News coverage:

https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1514026-20200312.htm

https://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking-news/section/4/143678/Study-finds-banned,-dangerous-toxin-in-dolphins

https://indiaeducationdiary.in/hku-scientists-find-high-concentrations-of-toxic-phenyltin-compounds-in-local-chinese-white-dolphins-and-finless-porpoises-confirming-their-biomagnification-through-marine-food-chains/