| Summary: | Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are persistent, chlorinated chemicals used to prevent insects and weeds from damaging crops. Due to their high bioaccumulation and biomagnification potentials, these contaminants are found in high concentrations in organisms that feed at higher trophic levels. In this study we look at the levels of organochlorine pesticides (DDT and DDE congeners, Atrazine, Chlorothalonil, Acetochlor, HCB, Mirex, Dieldrin) in stranded harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) pups collected off the coasts of Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island from 2013 to 2017. Harbor seal tissue samples were acquired from the Mystic Aquarium stranding collections. The blubber was lyophilized and homogenized with anhydrous sodium sulfate. Three 24-hour extractions were carried out using hexane and concentrated to approximately 10mL. The samples were run through a silica gel column and eluted with hexane. The final extracts were concentrated to 1mL in a Soxhlet Rotary Evaporator for spectrometry analysis. A GC/MS was used to determine the concentrations of contaminants in the blubber extracts. We expect to find low concentrations of DDTs and DDEs. We also expect higher concentrations of the other more commonly used pesticides. It is important to continue to monitor the levels of these contaminants in the environment as they can cause cascading effects in marine ecosystems. OCPs also biomagnify in humans, posing serious health risks. Continuing to collect data on contaminants in the environment and understanding the long-lasting threat they pose can help inform policy in regulating these chemicals.
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