Organochlorine Contaminant Levels in Eskimo Harvested Bowhead Whales of Arctic Alaska

Abstract

Organochlorine (OC) levels in liver and blubber of 20 bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) collected during the Eskimo subsistence harvest at Barrow (Alaska, USA) in 1992 and 1993 are presented. Liver sum DDT (lipid weight) was significantly greater in male whales than in females. Most of the organochlorines measured were at higher levels in longer (older) than in shorter (younger) males. For female bowhead whales, hexachlorobenzene and lipid levels decreased and other OC levels did not change significantly with increasing length. Most organochlorine contaminants have low concentrations in tissues of the bowhead whale compared to concentrations in tissues of other cetaceans, especially Odontocetes. Based on allowable daily intakes (ADI) levels established by the Canadian Northern Contaminants Program (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) ''safe'' levels of blubber to consume were calculated. Chlordane levels in bowhead whale blubber results in the most restrictive consumption amount (50 g blubber/day). We expect no adverse effects related to these organochlorine contaminants to occur in bowhead whales or in consumers of their tissues. However, investigation of low level chronic exposure effects and a more rigorous assessment of histopathology, biomarkers, and immune status in the bowhead whale would be required to conclude ''no effect'' with more certainty.

Geographic variation of persistent organic pollutant levels in humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) feeding areas of the North Pacific and North Atlantic

“…Significant positive correlations between age and SPCBs, SDDTs, and Schlordanes have also been found in male bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) [58,59] and male North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) [46]. In northeast Atlantic minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), significantly higher concentrations of the same three contaminant classes were found in mature males compared with juvenile males [60].…”

Climate Change in the North American Arctic: A One Health Perspective

“…The traditional diet of the indigenous inhabitants of Arctic and subarctic regions of North America includes large quantities of fish, birds, and marine mammals whose tissues may contain a variety of industrial environmental contaminants and toxins, including mercury and chemical pollutants such as PCBs, dioxin, and other persistent organic pollutants (POPs) (O'Hara et al 1999;Kuhnlein and Chan 2000;Mallory et al 2004;Muir et al 2006;Reist et al 2006;Kelly et al 2007;Krey et al 2015). Studies have found high levels of mercury and POPs in indigenous peoples of the North American Arctic, where subsistence food chains are the primary source of exposure to environmental contaminants.…”

U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program

“…Research has demonstrated high concentrations of potentially toxic substances (e.g., organochlorines used as pesticides, perfluorinated chemicals and polychlorinated biphenyls, mercury, and others) have been found in a many marine mammal species from a diversity of locations (Fossi, et al, 2004;Hall, et al, 2006;Hart, et al, 2008;Sascha K. Hooker, et al, 2008;O'Hara, Krahn, Boyd, Becker, & Philo, 1999;Wintle, Duffield, Barros, Jones, & Rice, 2011). Research has indicated an increase in marine mammal disease associated with bioaccumulation of these substances in some species (Hall, et al, 2006;Tabuchi, et al, 2006).…”