Organochlorine pesticides and PCBs in perch Perca fluviatilis from the Odra/Oder river estuary, Baltic Sea

Abstract DDTs ( p , p ′ -DDT, p , p ′ -DDD, p , p ′ -DDE and p , p ′ -DDMU), HCHs (isomers α, β and γ), hexachlorobenzene and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs IUPAC Nos. 28, 52, 101, 151, 118, 153, 138 and 180) were quantified in perch sampled at three sites in the Odra/Oder river estuary in the south-western part of the Baltic Sea, in 1996–1997, to evaluate the status of contamination and possible spatial and temporal trends. All samples of muscle tissue examined contained detectable amounts of both organochlorine pesticides and PCBs, and concentrations were lower (or within the range of) those noted in perch elsewhere in the Baltic Sea in early 1990s. Some seasonal variations of DDT and PCB concentrations but not of HCHs or HCB were noted. Multivariate analysis of data resulted in distinct groups of organochlorines, related to bioaccumulation and biotransformation features of the particular compounds.