Persistent chlorinated organic contaminants in harbour porpoises from the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and Arctic waters

Determination of organohalogenated contaminants in liver of harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) stranded on the Belgian North Sea coast

“…Higher values of the ratio indicate old input of DDT to the environment. Concentrations of HCHs showed a similar trend with lower values for the most important isomer (c-HCH), while the sum of HCHs is comparable with previous studies from North Sea (Bruhn et al, 1999) and Baltic Sea porpoises (Berggren et al, 1999). The a-and b-HCH isomers were found to have a low contribution to the sum of HCHs for specimens caught in the North Sea.…”

“…This is in accordance with the continuous decline in DDT concentrations in biota observed after the ban in the 1970s. The p; p 0 -DDE/sum DDTs ratio is similar with the ratio found by Bruhn et al (1999) in specimens from North Sea, but higher than the ratio observed in samples from the Arctic. One explanation might be that marine mammals and fish have induced levels of the cytochrome P450-1A and 2B enzymes capable of metabolising p; p 0 -DDT (Boon et al, 1997).…”

“…As previously shown (Berggren et al, 1999), p; p 0 -DDE was the main contributor to the total DDT. Concentrations of p; p 0 -DDT and total DDT were relatively low, lower than those reported from North Sea (Granby and Kinze, 1991) or Baltic Sea porpoises (Bruhn et al, 1999). This is in accordance with the continuous decline in DDT concentrations in biota observed after the ban in the 1970s.…”

“…In summer, they stay in coastal waters (not deeper than 150 m), while in winter they move to open waters, together with a north-south migration. Thus, they might be considered indicators of coastal pollution and high concentrations of anthropogenic contaminants in the organism are expected from animals living in polluted seas, such as the North or Baltic Seas (Kleivane et al, 1995;van Scheppingen et al, 1996;Bruhn et al, 1999). The harbour porpoise is listed as a vulnerable species in European waters.…”

Baseline study of perfluorochemicals in harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) from Northern Europe

“…Although sparse information on the use of these chemicals is available from northern and eastern countries bordering the Baltic Sea, these results are not surprising since the Baltic Sea region is a highly urbanized and industrialized location and seems to show higher levels of several pollutants (e.g. PCBs, DDTs, HCHs) compared to less industrialized environments (Kleivane et al, 1995;Bruhn et al, 1999;Berggrena et al, 1999). Earlier studies have also reported the highest PFOS concentrations in plasma and liver tissue of seals originating from the Baltic Sea (Giesy and Kannan, 2001;Kannan et al, 2002).…”