Screening of Mercury and Persistent Organochlorine Pollutants in Long-Finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala melas) in the Faroe Islands

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and the organochlorine compounds polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), DDTs, HCB, chlordane-related pesticides, HCH and toxaphene were analysed in blubber of juvenile ringed seals from Central West Greenland collected between 1982 and 2006. The longest time series could be established for PBDEs, partly based on archived material, while PCBs and DDTs covered a study period from 1994–2006. All organochlorines showed decreasing trends, most pronounced for DDT and HCH with an annual change of 8%. BDE-47 had a significantly increasing trend of 5% annually. It was the only BDE congener consistently above the detection limit, with annual median concentrations between 0.78 ng/g lw to 3.54 ng/g lw, i.e. about 10 times lower than values from East Greenland observed in a similar time trend study on ringed seal blubber [Rigét F, Vorkamp K, Dietz R, Rastogi SC. Temporal trend studies on polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in ringed seals from East Greenland. J Environ Monit 2006; 8: 1000–5]. A clear East > West difference was also found for PCBs and DDTs, but not for chlordanes, toxaphene or HCHs. Σ10-PCB, ΣDDT and ΣChlordanes had similar annual median concentrations, typically exceeding ΣPBDE by two orders of magnitude. The concentrations of HCH and toxaphene were in an intermediate group, with highest annual median concentrations of 135 ng/g lw and 20 ng/g lw, respectively. For most compound groups, the circumpolar trend previously established under for example the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme was confirmed, but apparently, more data are needed for chlordane-related compounds and toxaphene. Statistical analyses of the compound patterns in the ringed seal samples revealed significantly greater differences between seals from East and West than between different sampling years. Higher proportions of PCBs and DDTs and lower proportions of chlordanes and HCHs were found in seals from East Greenland than in those from West Greenland. Based on principal component analysis of individual congener and compounds, seals from East Greenland were found to contain higher proportions of the higher chlorinated CB congeners. Varying patterns between sampling locations may be caused by different exposure situations related to contaminant emissions and transport, but different feeding habits may also affect the contaminant composition.

Blubber

Toxaphene

Chlordane

Congener

Diphenyl ether

Polybrominated Biphenyls

10.1016/j.envint.2007.11.004

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Citations (65)

Levels of Organochlorines (DDT, PCBs, Toxaphene, Chlordane, Dieldrin, and HCHs) in Blubber of South African Fur Seals (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus) from Cape Cross/Namibia

Marine Pollution Bulletin (1999)

Walter Vetter Marion Weichbrodt Elke Scholz Bernd Luckas Herbert Oelschläger

Toxaphene

Blubber

Chlordane

Nonylphenol

Electron capture detector

10.1016/s0025-326x(99)00071-5

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Citations (43)

Arctic Indigenous Women Consume Greater than Acceptable Levels of Organochlorines

Journal of Nutrition (1995)

Harriet V. Kuhnlein Olivier Receveur Derek C. G. Muir Hing Man Chan Rula Soueida

Blubber

Toxaphene

Chlordane

Tolerable daily intake

10.1093/jn/125.10.2501

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Citations (77)

Toxaphene contamination in Lake Baikal's water and food web

Chemosphere (1993)

John R. Kucklick Laura L. McConnell Terry F. Bidleman Gennadi P. Ivanov Michael D. Walla

Toxaphene

Blubber

Chlordane

Beluga Whale

Heptachlor

Nonylphenol

10.1016/0045-6535(93)90396-m

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Citations (19)

Factors influencing persistent organic pollutant concentrations in the Atlantic white‐sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus)

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (2005)

Karen Tuerk John R. Kucklick Wayne E. McFee Rebecca S. Pugh Paul R. Becker

Assessing the trends of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in cetaceans is difficult because of age and gender influences on accumulation. Persistent organic pollutants bioaccumulate and are poorly metabolized; hence, concentrations may increase with age in males while females reduce their POP burden through parturition and lactation. Age and gender effects on contaminant concentrations are species specific because of life history and reproductive strategies. These influences must be understood in order to elucidate and assess lifetime POP exposure. The objectives of this study were to determine baseline POP concentrations in blubber samples from the Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus) and to investigate life history and other influences, such as metabolism, on these concentrations. Forty-seven L. acutus blubber samples collected from mass stranding events in Massachusetts, USA (1993-2000), and archived in the National Marine Mammal Tissue Bank at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (Gaithersburg, MD, USA) were analyzed for 55 polychlorinated biphenyl congeners (PCB; 55 congeners), five polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) congeners, and organochlorine pesticides (toxaphene, DDT and metabolites, mirex, dieldrin, chlordanes, hexachlorocyclohexanes, hexachlorobenzene, and endosulfans) by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Ages for 19 animals were determined from growth layer groups on decalcified, stained thin tooth sections. Total PCBs (sigmaPCB; sum of 55 congeners) were the contaminants present in the highest concentrations in all age classes (0.5-63 microg/g wet mass) followed by sum of DDTs (0.50-43 microg/g wet mass), toxaphene (0.055-31 microg/g wet mass), chlordanes (0.30-24 microg/g wet mass), and PBDEs (0.12-4.0 microg/g wet mass). Body length had a greater statistical influence than age on contaminant burdens in L. acutus. Contaminant burdens decreased with length in both male and female L. acutus, suggesting metabolic elimination and/or growth dilution in males and off-loading via lactation in females.

Blubber

Hexachlorobenzene

Toxaphene

Polychlorinated biphenyl

Cetacea

Congener

Marine mammal

Polybrominated Biphenyls

Chlordane

10.1897/04-120r.1

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Citations (39)