Distribution of OCPs and PCBs in Mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from the Marmara Sea Coastal Sites.

Mussel samples were collected monthly between October-2010 and October-2011 from four stations (Bosphorus, Bandırma, Gelibolu, Tekirdağ) in the Marmara Sea. Two consecutive months' samples were homogenized and combined as a single group for analysis. Mussel samples were analyzed for Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs); (total-DDT, total-HCH, Endrin, α-Endosulfan, β-Endosulfan, Heptachlor) and Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); (PCB 28, PCB 52, PCB 138, PCB 153, and PCB 180).

Polychlorinated biphenyls still pose significant health risks to northwest Atlantic harbor seals.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been detected at relatively high concentrations in harbor seals, apex predators in the northwest Atlantic. As part of an ongoing assessment of the effects of PCBs on population health, we analyzed tri- to deca-PCBs in the liver of 56 harbor seals (6 adult males, 50 pups) and in 11 blubber samples (4 adult males, 7 pups) and examined tissue-specific accumulation patterns, biomagnification potential, and toxic implications of current PCB concentrations. Hepatic ∑30PCB concentrations (overall mean±standard deviation: 76,860±111,800 ng/g lipid weight, lw) were higher than blubber concentrations (48,180±69,420 ng/g lw).

Sex, BMI and age in addition to dietary intakes influence blood concentrations and congener profiles of dioxins and PCBs.

Scope: The aim of this study was to i) characterize dietary polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxin exposure in consumers of fish from the PCB contaminated Lake Mjøsa in Norway ii) examine the influence of demographic factors on blood concentrations and congener composition of dioxins and PCBs, iii) characterize dietary sources and possible exposures above tolerable intake.

Methods And Results: Blood samples were analysed for dioxin-like (dl) compounds (PCDD/Fs and dl-PCBs) and non-dl-PCBs (ndl-PCBs). Dietary exposures were calculated using food frequency questionnaires (n=64).

Neutral and phenolic brominated organic compounds of natural and anthropogenic origin in northeast Atlantic Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus).

In the present study, muscle and liver tissue from 10 female Greenland sharks (Somniosus microcephalus) collected in Icelandic waters were analyzed for neutral and phenolic brominated organic compounds, including polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and the structurally related methoxylated (MeO) and hydroxylated (OH) PBDEs. Hydroxylated PBDEs exist both as natural products and as metabolites of the anthropogenic PBDEs, whereas MeO-PBDEs appear to exclusively be of natural origin. Other compounds examined were 2',6-dimethoxy-2,3',4,5'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (2',6-diMeO-BDE68), 2,2'-dimethoxy-3,3',5,5'-tetrabromobiphenyl (2,2'-diMeO-BB80), 2,4,6-tribromoanisol (2,4,6-TBA) and 2,4,6-tribromophenol, all of natural origin, although 2,4,6-TBA and its phenolic counterpart may also be of anthropogenic origin.

[The levels of stable organic pollutants in the breast milk of women living in the Irkutsk region].

The concentrations of stable organic chlorine pollutants (SOCP) in the breast milk of women living in Irkutsk, Baikalsk, and the settlement of Kachug are lower than those in the increased SOCP-burdened areas of the Irkutsk Region (the town of Usolye-Sibirskoye, settlements on the shore of the Baikal Lake) and comparable with those in Russia and industrially developed countries of the world. The content of SOPC is much lower than those in the developing countries where this pesticide continues to be applied. The breast milk levels of OCP, TEQ (polychlorinated dibento-para-dioxines and polychlorinated dibenzofurans) in all towns and individual indicator polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) in Irkutsk significantly decreased as compared with those in the 1980s.