Temporal trends of contaminants in cod from Icelandic waters.

Contaminants have been analyzed in cod (Gadus morhua) since 1990 as part of the national monitoring program for the environmental conditions in the sea around Iceland. The aim of this study was to determine the temporal trends of persistent organic pollutants (POPs: polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), p,p'-dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethene (p,p'-DDE), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), chlordanes (CHLs) and toxaphenes (Tox)) and trace elements (As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb, Se and Zn) in cod over the last two decades at two different locations in the Arctic Ocean north of Iceland. The relationship between the contaminant concentrations and biological covariates was also determined.

Spatial and temporal trends of contaminants in mussel sampled around the Icelandic coastline.

Contaminants have been determined in blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) at 11 locations around the Icelandic coastline from 1990 to 2010. The aim of the present study was to investigate if there has been a change in concentration of contaminants around the Icelandic coastline for the last two decades and if the concentrations and changes, if present, were consistent between locations. Concentrations of the persistent organic pollutants, p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethene (p,p'-DDE), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), α-hexachlorocyclohexane (α-HCH), polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB-153) and trans-nonachlor, have decreased at most of the sampling locations in Iceland in recent years.

Immunization prevents DDT buildup in mouse tissues.

DDT is used for pest control, causing health and environmental hazards in some parts of the world. The goal of this study was to assess whether immunization against a toxic compound could reduce the toxicant uptake of an organism, specifically to develop a DDT immunization that promotes the production of specific antibodies and assess whether it reduces DDT levels in the bodies of mice that are exposed to DDT by intake. BALB/c mice were immunized with DDT-keyhole limpet hemocyanine (DDT-KLH) conjugate (n=10) or unconjugated KLH (n=10), which was used as a control.

[Phytoestrogens and human health.].

Recently there has been a growing interest in phytoestrogens, because they have been proven to play a protective role against many diseases that have been related to lifestyle in the westernized countries. The four main classes of phytoestrogens are: isoflavones, flavones, coumestrans and lignans. Known mechanisms of action include estrogen receptor agonism and possibly antagonism, influences on sex hormone binding globulin and/or key enzymes in sex hormone production and metabolism.

Persistent organochlorines, sedentary occupation, obesity and human male subfertility.

Background: Studies have suggested that the quality of human semen has been declining over recent decades, presumably because of lifestyle or environmental factors.

Methods: Polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides were analysed in the plasma of 25 men with poor semen quality, 20 men with normal semen quality and idiopathic subfertility and 27 men with normal semen quality and female factor subfertility. Samples of seminal fluid were also analysed to assess the relationship between the levels in blood and semen.

Temporal trends of organochlorine contamination in Black Guillemots in Iceland from 1976 to 1996.

The levels of several different persistent organochlorines (OCs) in Black Guillemots Cepphus grylle, collected during the summers of 1976-1996 at Breioafjörour in W-Iceland, were investigated. The levels of about 40 different organochlorines (PCBs, DDTs, chlordanes, toxaphenes, HCH, HCB) were compared with respect to age, sex, fat content, and year of collection. The levels of PCBs correlated very closely with those of DDE, indicating long-range transport as the major source of these contaminants in Iceland, with the ratio PCBs/DDE mostly in the range of 2-5.