Transplacental transfer of polychlorinated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in arctic beluga whales ( Delphinapterus leucas)

• Published in: Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
• Main Authors: Desforges, Jean‐Pierre W., Ross, Peter S., Loseto, Lisa L.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2011
• Subjects: Beluga; Beluga*; Delphinapterus leucas
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/etc.750; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fetc.750; https://setac.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/etc.750

Abstract This study found that arctic beluga whales ( Delphinapterus leucas ) transferred, on average, 11.4% (7.5 mg) and 11.1% (0.1 mg) of their polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) blubber burden to their near‐term fetuses. A single physicochemical parameter, log K OW , largely explained this transplacental transfer for PCBs ( r 2 = 0.79, p < 0.00001) and PBDEs ( r 2 = 0.37, p = 0.007), with congeners having a log K OW < 6.5 preferentially transferred to the fetus. Blubber concentrations of 257 ng/g lipid weight (lw) PCBs and 3.8 ng/g (lw) PBDEs in beluga fetuses highlights the exposure to endocrine‐disrupting compounds during a critical developmental stage. The implications of detecting these levels of legacy PCBs and the flame retardant PBDEs in unborn arctic beluga are unclear. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2012;31:296–300. © 2011 SETAC