Presence and Distribution of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB) in Arctic and Subarctic Marine Food Chains

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), man-made industrial chemicals, have been identified in tissues of polar bears (Ursus maritimus), ringed (Phoca hispida) and square flipper (Erignathus barbatus) seals, and Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) of the Canadian arctic and subarctic. All tissues from each sp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada
Main Authors: Bowes, Gerald W., Jonkel, Charles J.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1975
Subjects:
General Medicine
Arctic
Erignathus barbatus
Phoca hispida
Salvelinus alpinus
Subarctic
Ursus maritimus
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f75-249
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f75-249
Description
Summary:Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), man-made industrial chemicals, have been identified in tissues of polar bears (Ursus maritimus), ringed (Phoca hispida) and square flipper (Erignathus barbatus) seals, and Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) of the Canadian arctic and subarctic. All tissues from each species examined contained these compounds. PCB content in tissue, both absolute and relative to the concentration of DDT (p,p′-DDE + p,p′-DDD + p,p′-DDT), generally increased from seals to adult polar bears to polar bear cubs and young. Polar bear milk contained high concentrations of PCB and is the most probable source of the high concentrations in polar bear cubs. Chromatograms revealed a greater accumulation of higher chlorinated PCB isomers in polar bears than in seals, their main food. Residue data suggest that polar bear subpopulations in the eastern Canadian arctic and subarctic have been exposed to higher levels of PCB and DDT than western subpopulations.

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