Extractable organohalogens in tissues of beluga whales from the Canadian Arctic and the St. Lawrence estuary

Abstract Samples of blubber, brain, kidney, liver, and muscle of individual beluga whales were extracted and analyzed for extractable organic Cl (EOCl), Br (EOBr), and I (EOI) by neutron activation analysis. The highest levels of EOCl (554 μg g −1 lipid) were found in the kidney of Arctic beluga and the lowest (24 μg g −1 lipid) in the blubber. Levels in brain and liver lipids were on average of equal magnitude. The unequal distribution of EOCl in tissue lipids is in marked contrast to the equal distribution, in lipid, demonstrated for organochlorines such as DDTs and PCBs by a number of investigations. The distribution of brominated (EOBr) and iodinated (EOI) compounds was similar and markedly different from that of EOCl. The tissue distribution of EOCl seems to be related to the proportion to polar lipids in the tissues. Beluga from St. Lawrence had significantly higher brain EOCl levels than the Arctic samples whereas the levels of EOCl in liver and kidney were higher in the Arctic whales.