Bioaccumulation of nitroarenes in bivalves at Osaka Bay, Japan

► This is the first report on the bioaccumulation of nitroarenes in aquatic organisms. ► Nitroarenes in bivalve were detected from 2380 to 25,961 pg/g dry at Osaka Bay, Japan. ► The most probable sources of nitroarenes in the bivalves are exhaust gases and smokes emitted by automobiles and industrial plants. ► Inter-species differences was only observed for 2-nitronaphthalene with oysters exhibiting significantly higher residues than mussels.