Levels, time trends, and distribution of dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls in fishes from the Baltic Sea.

Fish absorb dioxins from the environment through water and contact with sediments but the main source is food. These contaminants also enter the human body with food, including through the consumption of fish. This study presents the dioxin and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations in 145 samples of four fish species (herring, sprat, sea trout, salmon) caught in the southern Baltic Sea. The study results permit assessing whether the efforts made in recent years to reduce dioxin and PCB emissions into the environment have translated into decreases in concentrations of these pollutants in Baltic Sea fishes and whether these raw fish materials meet food law requirements. The safest fish species with regard to dioxins were designated, as were those of which consumption should be limited. The influence of fish age (length) and weight on dioxin and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyl (dl-PCB) concentrations was investigated. The correlation between fat content and dioxin concentration was determined. The Baltic Sea region and fishing ports from which the least contaminated fish come were also determined. The studies indicated that dioxin and PCB concentrationsin fishes from Polish fishing areas are currently lower than they were twenty years ago.

Estimation of native and alkylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in seabirds from the south coast of the Baltic Sea.

Native and alkylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were examined in the muscle, liver, kidneys, and lungs of greater scaup (Aythya marila) and great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus). Both species showed differences in distribution and profiles among the tissues. The highest Æ©PAH concentrations were in the scaup lungs and the grebe kidneys (20 and 19 ng g-1 wet weight, respectively). Alkylated derivatives were in the range of 61 to 77% of ΣPAHs in both species. Differences in PAH profiles between birds, analyzed by PCA, were probably results of metabolic capability, not various diet. In comparison to available data from other regions of the world, PAH levels in investigated species are relatively low and do not pose a threat to birds themselves.

Assessment of native and alkylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediments and mussels (Mytilus spp.) in the southern Baltic Sea.

Native and alkylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated in whole and fine grained (F < 63 µm) sediment fractions and mussels in the southern Baltic Sea. Both sediments and mussels showed spatial differences in PAH levels and profiles. In whole sediments, mean concentrations of Σ16PAHs, ΣaPAHs, and ΣPAHs reached up to 1537, 415, and 1952 ng g-1 dry weight (dw), respectively, and in mussels they reached up to 235, 143, and 325 ng g-1 dw, respectively, depending on location. ΣaPAHs made up to 36% of ΣPAHs in whole sediments and up to 55% in some mussels in the Gulf of Gdansk. The association of PAHs with the sediment F < 63 µm differed depending on the PAH compound and season. Analysis of PAH sources was done using PCA and the ratios of specific compound concentrations. The sediment and mussel PAH levels evaluated against environmental quality criteria indicated no risk related to PAH occurrence in the study area.

An integrated assessment of pollution and biological effects in flounder, mussels and sediment in the southern Baltic Sea coastal area.

Organic and metal contaminants and biological effects were investigated in flounder, mussels, and sediments in the southern Baltic Sea coastal area in order to assess environmental quality status in that area. Four sites were selected, including two within the Gulf of Gdansk (GoG). In biota and sediment at each site, DDTs dominated over PCBs and PBDEs were the least abundant among organic contaminants. Their concentrations decreased progressively outward from GoG. Among metal contaminants, the levels of Hg, Pb, and Cd were elevated in GoG. Biomarkers in flounder, EROD activity and DNA SB, showed moderate positive correlations with organic and metal contaminants. In flounder, the integrated biomarker index (IBR/n) presented a spatial trend coherent with chemical pollution index (CPI), but there was no clear spatial correspondence between IBR/n and CPI in mussels nor between sediment toxicity index (STI) and sediment CPI. The integrated assessment of contaminant and biological effect data against available assessment criteria indicated that in biota, the contaminant assessment thresholds were most often exceeded by CB-118, heptachlor, PBDE, and Hg (in the GoG sediments by p,p'-DDT, Hg and Cd), while of the biological determinants, the threshold was breeched by AChE activity in mussels in GoG. Applying the ICES/OSPAR traffic-light approach showed that of the 50 parameters assessed at each site, there were 18% of determinants in the red color category in the two GoG sites and 8% of determinants in the two sites outside GoG, which indicated that none of the four investigated sites attained good environmental status (GES).

DNA damage, EROD activity, condition indices, and their linkages with contaminants in female flounder (Platichthys flesus) from the southern Baltic Sea.

The Baltic Sea is considered as one of the marine areas most exposed to human impacts. A variety of chemical contaminants pose a threat to the habitants. Female flounder (Platichthys flesus) collected from three locations in the southern Baltic Sea in February 2010 were examined for biomarkers of exposure to genotoxic agents (DNA damage), AhR-active contaminants (ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase, EROD activity), and somatic condition indexes. Organochlorine contaminants (OCs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) metabolites were also measured in individual flounder to evaluate the biological responses in the context of contaminant burden. The genotoxicity, mildly exceeding a background level, revealed a significant relationship with mono-ortho substituted PCB (m-oPCB). Hepatic EROD activity was highly induced, yet showed no association with any of the contaminants measured other than biliary 1-OH pyrene normalized to pigment absorbance. Significant negative relationships were observed for lipid-based OCs and the gonado-somatic index (GSI) as well as for Æ©m-oPCB concentrations and the condition factor (CF). Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed an overall connection between somatic condition indexes, biomarkers, and chemical variables. Of the three locations, flounder inhabiting the Gulf of Gdansk had the greatest contaminant burden and appeared to be the most affected. Of great concern is the reduced GSI in this location which can be attributed to the effects of contaminants and warrants further investigation.

Comparison of common persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in flounder (Platichthys flesus) from the Vistula (Poland) and Douro (Portugal) River estuaries.

Groups of flounder (Platichthys flesus) females were collected in 2011 from the Vistula River and the Duoro River estuaries and corresponding reference sites in the southern Baltic Sea and Portuguese coast of the Atlantic Ocean to measure and compare the levels and profiles of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). The estuaries' sediments were also investigated. Several differences were found in the POPs between the estuaries and between the two marine regions, which were highlighted by PCA. The Vistula River estuary POPs, significantly higher than in the Douro River estuary, were dominated by DDTs followed by PCBs. PBDEs levels, indifferent between the estuaries, were relatively low. The POP levels in flounder and sediment evaluated against environmental assessment criteria (EACs) indicated that none of the measured contaminants for which EAC had been established exceeded the criterion, except for CB-118 in flounder from the Vistula River estuary.

Bioaccumulation of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in flounder (Platichthys flesus) in the southern Baltic Sea.

Concentrations of seven polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) congeners were examined in flounder (Platichthys flesus) and sediment in three southern Baltic Sea sites, representing a range of exposure conditions, in order to evaluate spatial differences in PBDE contamination. Additionally, PBDEs were measured in muscle, liver, and gonads of flounder from one of the sites in order to examine inter-tissue distribution. Mean muscle Σ(7)PBDE levels, in the range of 10-21 ng g(-1) lipid, showed inter-site differences attributed to the distance from the Gulf of Gdansk, and were overall lower than reported earlier in herring, sprat, and salmon. Biota sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs) for Σ(7)PBDE and individual BDE congeners, in the range of 0.5-24.5, were generally consistent with predicted models for persistent hydrophobic halogenated contaminants. Wet weight (wet wt) PBDE levels in muscle and liver, but not in gonads, were related to tissue lipid content and did not correlate with the fish length and weight. These tissues differed in PBDE levels and profiles as a result of varying lipid content and presumably lipid composition and congener-specific physico-chemical properties.

Persistent organic pollutants in two fish species of Percidae and sediment from the Sulejowski Reservoir in central Poland.

Two predatory fish species, pikeperch and perch, and sediment from the Sulejowski Reservoir in Poland were analyzed for several classes of persistent organic pollutants. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), heptachlor, and DDTs were measured in the fish muscles. In addition, the distribution and profile of PCBs in muscles, livers, and gonads was examined. In sediment, PCBs and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and furans (PCDFs) were analyzed. The main contaminant in the muscles of both species was p,p'- DDE reaching an average of 1072 and 694 ng g(-1) lipid in pikeperch and perch, respectively. SigmaPCBs, with an average concentration of 454 and 261 ng g(-1) lipid, respectively, were the second dominant contaminants. The two species differed in their PCB congener profile as a result of differences in feeding habits. Sediment PCDD/F concentrations ranged from 10.8 to 162.7 pg g(-1) dry mass, TEQ(PCDD/Fs) from 1.13 to 4.13 pg g(-1) dry mass, and the sum of indicator PCBs (SigmaPCB(7)) from 2.8 to 5.2 ng g(-1) dry mass. Biota-sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs) for SigmaPCB(7) were generally greater in pikeperch than in perch as a result of greater lipid content in the latter. Based on the contaminant levels in the sediment and fish, the Sulejowski Reservoir compares well with other, freshwater environments relatively uncontaminated with persistent organic pollutants.