| Summary: | The only marine science related chapter: Chapter 8 contains two applications of the determination of POPs in aquatic biota. Farmed and wild Scottish Atlantic salmon, aquaculture feeds and fish oils, obtained in January 1999, were investigated for the determination of a wide range of PCBs, organochlorine pesticides and PBDEs. The study confirms previous reports of relatively high concentrations of PCBs, and indicates moderate concentrations of organochlorine pesticides and PBDEs in farmld salmon. For the Scottish salmon samples, the PCB TEQ was twice that of PCDD/Fs. The results indicate that high consumption of salmon, particularly by children under 5 years, could lead to intakes above the tolerable daily intake (TDI) and tolerable weekly intake (TWI) for these chemicals, especially PCBs, in combination with mean or high level intakes from the UK diet. Liver samples from 21 harbour porpoises ( Phocoena phocoena ) stranded on the Belgian North Sea coast were analysed for a wide range of PCBs, organochlorine pesticides and PBDEs. PCBs were the most important organochlorine contaminants in the harbour porpoises, while the most abundant organochlorine pesticides were DDT and its metabolites, followed by HCB and HCHs. The mean concentrations of groups of pollutants were, with some exceptions, similar with those reported in the literature. Differences between levels and profiles of POPs were observed between adults and juveniles, as well as between males and females.
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