High Concentrations of Toxaphene in Fishes from a Subarctic Lake

Concentrations of toxaphene and other organochlorine compounds are high in fishes from subarctic Lake Laberge, Yukon Territory, Canada. Nitrogen isotope analyses of food chains and contaminant analyses of biota, water, and dated lake sediments show that the high concentrations of toxaphene in fishes...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science
Main Authors: Kidd, Karen A., Schindler, David W., Muir, Derek C. G., Lockhart, W. Lyle, Hesslein, Raymond H.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 1995
Subjects:
Lake Laberge
Subarctic
Yukon
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.269.5221.240
https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.269.5221.240
Description
Summary:Concentrations of toxaphene and other organochlorine compounds are high in fishes from subarctic Lake Laberge, Yukon Territory, Canada. Nitrogen isotope analyses of food chains and contaminant analyses of biota, water, and dated lake sediments show that the high concentrations of toxaphene in fishes from Laberge resulted entirely from the biomagnification of atmospheric inputs. A combination of low inputs of toxaphene from the atmosphere and transfer through an exceptionally long food chain has resulted in concentrations of toxaphene in fishes that are considered hazardous to human health.

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