Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination of subsistence species on Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Archipelago
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a group of synthetic, lipophilic organochlorines that were banned due to their impacts on human and wildlife health and environmental persistence. Although banned, the continued release from pre-banned products allows them to persist at toxic levels in the enviro...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:499095a0a75d4aad958df1a041de3532 2023-05-15T15:00:51+02:00 Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination of subsistence species on Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Archipelago Elise M. Adams Frank A. von Hippel Bruce A. Hungate C. Loren Buck 2019-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02989 https://doaj.org/article/499095a0a75d4aad958df1a041de3532 EN eng Elsevier http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844019366484 https://doaj.org/toc/2405-8440 2405-8440 doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02989 https://doaj.org/article/499095a0a75d4aad958df1a041de3532 Heliyon, Vol 5, Iss 12, Pp e02989- (2019) Seafood Food toxicology Environmental science Environmental chemistry Environmental pollution Water pollution Science (General) Q1-390 Social sciences (General) H1-99 article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02989 2022-12-31T04:07:51Z Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a group of synthetic, lipophilic organochlorines that were banned due to their impacts on human and wildlife health and environmental persistence. Although banned, the continued release from pre-banned products allows them to persist at toxic levels in the environment. This is especially the case in lipid rich food webs of the Arctic, where PCBs accumulate due to both long-range atmospheric transport and locally contaminated sites such as formerly used defense (FUD) sites. At the request of the leadership of the Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Archipelago, we analyzed PCB concentrations in samples of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and subsistence foods (i.e., salmonid species and blue mussels [Mytilus edulis]) collected at both FUD and non-FUD sites. PCBs were extracted from samples using a QuEChERS method. The mean PCB concentrations across all mussel samples was 6.1 ppb; mussels from FUD sites had nearly double the PCB concentrations (7.6 ppb) compared to non-military sites (3.9 ppb), and at two FUD sites the PCB concentrations exceeded safe consumption guidelines. The mean total PCB concentration for fish was 2.8 ppb; fish PCB concentrations were higher at FUD sites (3.2 ppb) compared to non-military sites (1.2 ppb). These results support the need to remediate the FUD sites of “Building 551/T Dock to Airport” and “Delta Western”. More generally, these results provide further evidence of the continued problem of PCB contamination at FUD sites in the Arctic, many of which are co-located with indigenous communities. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Heliyon 5 12 e02989 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Seafood Food toxicology Environmental science Environmental chemistry Environmental pollution Water pollution Science (General) Q1-390 Social sciences (General) H1-99 |
spellingShingle |
Seafood Food toxicology Environmental science Environmental chemistry Environmental pollution Water pollution Science (General) Q1-390 Social sciences (General) H1-99 Elise M. Adams Frank A. von Hippel Bruce A. Hungate C. Loren Buck Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination of subsistence species on Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Archipelago |
topic_facet |
Seafood Food toxicology Environmental science Environmental chemistry Environmental pollution Water pollution Science (General) Q1-390 Social sciences (General) H1-99 |
description |
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a group of synthetic, lipophilic organochlorines that were banned due to their impacts on human and wildlife health and environmental persistence. Although banned, the continued release from pre-banned products allows them to persist at toxic levels in the environment. This is especially the case in lipid rich food webs of the Arctic, where PCBs accumulate due to both long-range atmospheric transport and locally contaminated sites such as formerly used defense (FUD) sites. At the request of the leadership of the Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Archipelago, we analyzed PCB concentrations in samples of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and subsistence foods (i.e., salmonid species and blue mussels [Mytilus edulis]) collected at both FUD and non-FUD sites. PCBs were extracted from samples using a QuEChERS method. The mean PCB concentrations across all mussel samples was 6.1 ppb; mussels from FUD sites had nearly double the PCB concentrations (7.6 ppb) compared to non-military sites (3.9 ppb), and at two FUD sites the PCB concentrations exceeded safe consumption guidelines. The mean total PCB concentration for fish was 2.8 ppb; fish PCB concentrations were higher at FUD sites (3.2 ppb) compared to non-military sites (1.2 ppb). These results support the need to remediate the FUD sites of “Building 551/T Dock to Airport” and “Delta Western”. More generally, these results provide further evidence of the continued problem of PCB contamination at FUD sites in the Arctic, many of which are co-located with indigenous communities. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Elise M. Adams Frank A. von Hippel Bruce A. Hungate C. Loren Buck |
author_facet |
Elise M. Adams Frank A. von Hippel Bruce A. Hungate C. Loren Buck |
author_sort |
Elise M. Adams |
title |
Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination of subsistence species on Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Archipelago |
title_short |
Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination of subsistence species on Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Archipelago |
title_full |
Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination of subsistence species on Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Archipelago |
title_fullStr |
Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination of subsistence species on Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Archipelago |
title_full_unstemmed |
Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination of subsistence species on Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Archipelago |
title_sort |
polychlorinated biphenyl (pcb) contamination of subsistence species on unalaska island in the aleutian archipelago |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02989 https://doaj.org/article/499095a0a75d4aad958df1a041de3532 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
Heliyon, Vol 5, Iss 12, Pp e02989- (2019) |
op_relation |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844019366484 https://doaj.org/toc/2405-8440 2405-8440 doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02989 https://doaj.org/article/499095a0a75d4aad958df1a041de3532 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02989 |
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Heliyon |
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