Spatio-temporal trends of PCBs in the Swedish freshwater environment 1981–2012

Abstract

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been monitored in perch (Perca fluviatilis), pike (Esox lucius), and Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) in reference lakes since the late 1960s. Temporal trends and spatial patterns are currently monitored in nine and 32 lakes, respectively. Overall, PCB concentrations are decreasing. However, this is not consistent for all congeners across all lakes and species. Perch has comparatively low PCB concentrations relative to suggested target levels, but individual congener concentrations in some lakes are concerningly high. No temporal trend is seen for CB-118 and CB-153 in perch, but significant decreasing trends exist for Arctic char and pike, for which monitoring started earlier than for perch. The lower/higher chlorinated congener ratio decreased over time in most lakes, indicating fewer new emissions. CB-118 and CB-153 concentrations in perch show spatial gradients across Sweden, with higher concentrations found near urban/industrial areas.

Current status, between-year comparisons and maternal transfer of organohalogenated compounds (OHCs) in Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) from Bjørnøya, Svalbard (Norway)

“…While levels of PCB-153 in Ellasjøen (2012) were 8 074 ± 2 725 ng/g lw, the levels in female polar bears were 978 ± 611 ng/g lw (2008), and the levels in stationary char from two Swedish lakes north of The Arctic Circle (i.e., Lake Abiskojaure and Lake Tjulträsk) also sampled during spawning in 2012 were all below 25 ng/g lw (Bytingsvik et al, 2012;Nyberg et al, 2014). Hence, levels of PCB-153 in Ellasjøen char still appear to be higher than in polar bears from Svalbard, and are more than 300 times higher than in char from the Swedish lakes.…”

“…Correlation matrix (presented as r-and p-values) of OHCs groups (log 10 ng/g lw) and potential influencing variables (i.e., fork length, body weight, CF and age) for Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) sampled in Lake Laksvatn (n = 7) and Lake Ellasjøen ( The OHC levels in char from Ellasjøen are also considerably higher than in polar bear plasma and char from other arctic freshwater lakes (Riget et al, 2010a;Bytingsvik et al, 2012;Nyberg et al, 2014). While levels of PCB-153 in Ellasjøen (2012) were 8 074 ± 2 725 ng/g lw, the levels in female polar bears were 978 ± 611 ng/g lw (2008), and the levels in stationary char from two Swedish lakes north of The Arctic Circle (i.e., Lake Abiskojaure and Lake Tjulträsk) also sampled during spawning in 2012 were all below 25 ng/g lw (Bytingsvik et al, 2012;Nyberg et al, 2014).…”

Industrial and natural compounds in filter‐feeding black fly larvae and water in 3 tundra streams

“…More recent investigations in northern Sweden have expanded the list of identified compounds to include chlorinated pesticides (Newton et al 2014;Bidleman et al 2017b), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and novel flame retardants (NFRs; Newton et al 2014). In the Baltic Sea PCDD/Fs are also found in sediments (Assefa et al 2014) and chlorinated pesticides in water and fish (Nyberg et al 2014;Bidleman et al 2015). By contrast, fewer data are available concerning the occurrence and levels of persistent chemicals in aquatic environments of Arctic and subarctic northern Sweden.…”

“…We do know that concentrations of PCBs and dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs) can be surprisingly elevated in boreal forest streams of northern Sweden (Bergknut et al 2011;Josefsson et al 2011Josefsson et al , 2016. In the Baltic Sea PCDD/Fs are also found in sediments (Assefa et al 2014) and chlorinated pesticides in water and fish (Nyberg et al 2014;Bidleman et al 2015). Results from these studies show an overall decline in PCB concentrations over recent decades, but results have differed among PCB congeners, across locations, and with the species considered.…”

Hydroxylated and sulfated metabolites of lower chlorinated PCBs bind with high affinity to human serum albumin and exhibit selective toxicity to neuronal cells

“…[76][77][78] PCBs are being detected in older buildings, as unintentional byproducts in production and use of paints and pigments, in the remediation and/or dredging of contaminated sites, and in the disposal or recycling of PCB containing materials. [79][80][81][82] Lower While the worldwide levels of PCBs have shown to be decreasing since their production and use was limited to distinct closed systems, 83 studies show that indoor and outdoor air samples in urban areas are high in lower chlorinated PCBs (LC-PCBs; ≤4 chlorine atoms per congener). 78,84 This has been shown in areas in Denmark, Germany, and Canada, as well as in large US cities including New York, Cleveland, and Chicago.…”