ALBERT

Description: Organochlorine compounds were analysed in three fish species of different feeding types from the area of Elephant Island in the Antarctic. In 1996, HCB (means: 15-20 ng/g lipid), p,p'-DDE (5-13 ng/g lipid) and mirex (1-7 ng/g lipid) predominated, while PCBs were minor components (PCB 153: 0.4-2 ng/g lipid). Concentration patterns were species-dependent: PCB 180, PCB 153, mirex, nonachlor III, trans-nonachlor and the toxaphene compound B8-1413 were highest in the bottom invertebrate feeder Gobionotothen gibberifrons and lowest in the krill feeder Champsocephalus gunnari. Levels of p,p'-DDE, PCB 138 and heptachloro-1'-methyl-1,2'-bipyrrole (Q1), a natural bioaccumulative product, were highest in the fish feeder Chaenocephalus aceratus, whereas HCB was present in about equal concentrations in all species. Most compounds were taken up preferentially via the benthic food chain, the chlorinated bipyrrole via the pelagic food chain and HCB from the water. In antarctic fish, biomagnification was generally more important than bioconcentration. Between 1987 and 1996, most POP levels showed significant increases in the benthos feeder and the fish feeder, while they remained nearly constant or increased less in the krill feeder. Hence, the former species represent indicator species for changing POP levels in Antarctica. Ratios (1996/1987) of average concentrations in G. gibberifrons were: PCB 138 0.7, HCB 0.8, B8-1413 1.5, PCB 180 1.7, PCB 153 1.8, p,p'-DDE 2.0, nonachlor III 2.9, trans-nonachlor 3.3, mirex 6.7. By comparison with trends in the northern hemisphere it is concluded that global distribution of HCB is close to equilibrium. Changing levels of other POPs reflect global redistribution and increasing transfer to antarctic waters probably due to recent usage in the southern hemisphere and climate changes.

Description: Various antarctic fish species, particularly Chaenocephalus aceratus, Champsocephalus gunnari and Gobionotothen gibberifrons, from 1987 and 1991 were analysed for 10 nonpolar xenobiotic compounds. Concentrations expressed on the basis of extractable organic matter (EOM) were nearly identical in liver and adipose tissue. They were also independent of fish weight. Concentrations of HCB, which were as high as in Limanda limanda of the North Sea (20 ng/g EOM), are interpreted as results of cold condensation. p,p'-DDE, trans-nonachlor and PCB congeners 153, 138, 180 ranged one to two orders of magnitude lower than in North Sea fish. In addition, nonachlor III, octachlorobornane and mirex were roughly quantified. A residual compound comparable in concentration to octachlorobornane and not yet described in the literature was tentatively identified. From chromatographic and mass spectrometric data the elemental composition C sub(10)H sub(3)OCl sub(7) was derived. p,p'-DDE and the three PCB congeners increased in Antarctica between 1987 and 1991 due to global redistribution.

Description: Representatives of the Antarctic food web (krill, cephalopod, fish, penguin, seal) of the area around Elephant Island and from the Weddell Sea were analysed for the most recalcitrant organochlorine compounds. Due to sorption of the compounds to sinking particles and accumulation in sediments, two benthic fish species (Gobionotothen gibberifrons, Chaenocephalus aceratus) feeding on benthos invertebrates and fish reflected significantly increasing concentrations within a decade (1987-1996), while a benthopelagic species (Champsocephalus gunnari) feeding on krill did not. In the pelagic food chain, lipid normalised concentrations of all compounds increased from Antarctic krill to fish proving that biomagnification of highly lipophilic pollutants (log octanol-water partition coefficient 〉 5) occurs in water-breathing animals. As top predators Weddell and southern elephant seals (Leptonychotes weddellii, Mirounga leonina) biomagnified the POPs relative to krill 30 to 160 fold with the exception of hexachlorobenzene, the levels of which were lower than in fish indicating its intense specific elimination.

Description: Elimination kinetics of tetra-, penta- and hexachlorobiphenyls (IUPAC nos. 44, 52, 87, 95, 101, 153) were investigated by laboratory experiments in three species of different phyla: Nereis diversicolor (Polychaeta), Palaemon longirostris (Crustacea) and Platichthys flesus (Pisces). Half-lives were species-specific and structure-dependent. P. longirostris eliminated all components fastest. N. diversicolor was faster than P. flesus except for components 95 and 153. Contrary to the fish species, the two invertebrates contained significant amounts of polar transformation products of no. 52, which had been applied as 14C-labelled. Therefore, the faster elimination by P. longirostris and N. diversicolor was assumed to be generally due to increased biotransformation. Elimination was in accordance with PCB residue patterns obtained from field samples of the species. Congeners with vicinal H atoms in m,p positions were under-represented in P. longirostris and so were congeners with * 7 Cl in N. diversicolor, while the PCB residue pattern in P. flesus was similar to that of Clophen A60. By comparing percentages of the experimental congeners in sigma PCB and their elimination half-lives in the three species, it was revealed that residue patterns were also influenced by species-dependent uptake, e.g. feeding habits. EOM based sigma PCB levels increased with trophic levels of the three species.

Description: PCBs, p,p'-DDE, HCB, alpha-HCH and gamma-HCH were analysed in Lanice conchilega from the French, Dutch and German coasts. The annelid exhibited a species-specific PCB pattern. It showed lower and higher chlorinated congeners in more balanced quantities than the polychaete Nereis diversicolor and also the bivalve Mytilus galloprovincialis used in the French mussel watch programme RNO. The PCB pattern in L. conchilega was influenced by the geographical location, probably by changes of the environmental PCB composition from SW to NE. Riverine influences could be distinguished from regional ones. Contributions of higher chlorinated PCB congeners increasing from western to eastern river-related positions are explained by fractionation of PCBs during atmospheric transport.Concentrations of PCBs and p,p'-DDE in L. conchilega based on extractable organic matter were highest in the Seine Bay indicating a substantial input of these pollutants by the river Seine. No enhanced PCB and p,p'-DDE values were measured in the German Bight. Levels of gamma-HCH and ratios of gamma-HCH/alpha-HCH were elevated near the mouths of Rance and Seine, which drain areas of intensive agriculture with apparent lindane application. Balanced levels of HCB point to fast atmospheric transport and homogenous deposition of this compound into the sea.