Biomonitoring of selected persistent organic pollutants (PCDD/Fs, PCBs and PBDEs) in Finnish and Russian terrestrial and aquatic animal species.

BACKGROUND: The Finnish and Russian animal species (semi-domesticated reindeer, Finnish wild moose, Baltic grey seal and Baltic herring) samples were biomonitored in terrestrial and aquatic environments for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs). RESULTS: Grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) was clearly the most contaminated species. The mean PBDE concentration in grey seal was 115 ng/g fat, and the highest WHO-PCDD/F-PCB-TEQ (toxic equivalent set by WHO) was 327 pg/g fat. In Finnish, reindeer WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ varied from 0.92 pg/g fat in muscle to 90.8 pg/g fat in liver. WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ in moose liver samples was in the range of 0.7-4.26 pg/g fat, and WHO-PCB-TEQ in the range of 0.42-3.34 pg/g fat. Overall moose had clearly lower PCDD/F and DL-PCB concentrations in their liver than reindeer. CONCLUSIONS: Terrestrial animals generally had low POP concentrations, but in reindeer liver dioxin levels were quite high. All Finnish and Russian reindeer liver samples exceeded the EU maximum level [8] for PCDD/Fs (10 pg/g fat), which is currently set for bovine animals.

Persistent organic pollutant levels in semi-domesticated reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus L.), feed, lichen, blood, milk, placenta, foetus and calf.

A study concerning persistent organic pollutants in Finnish semi-domesticated reindeer was conducted in northern Finland. The aim of this study was to explore POP presence in different tissues of reindeer. In addition, it was studied how POPs are transported from food concentrates and lichen to reindeer hind tissues and further to the placenta, foetus, milk and calf. Concentrations of 17 polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDDs/Fs), 37 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) (including 12 dioxin-like PCBs), and 15 polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were analysed. In most of the reindeer muscle tissue samples PCBs were clearly dominating compounds (on average 58% of the total WHO-TEQ). The total WHO-TEQ was higher in the muscle tissue of reindeer calves than in their corresponding hinds (on average 1.7 pg/g fat vs. 1.1 pg/g fat, respectively). The total WHO-TEQ concentrations were higher in the muscle and liver tissues of reindeer hinds than in their blood or placentas. The foetuses had clearly lower WHO-TEQ concentrations than their corresponding hinds. The contribution of WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ to the total WHO-TEQ was somewhat higher in the liver than in the muscle tissue. The reindeer hind-calf pair, which had gone through the lichen diet, had on average higher WHO-PCDD/F- and PCB-TEQ concentrations in their tissues than the hind-calf-pair that had gone through the reindeer food concentrate diet. WHO-PCB-TEQs in the reindeer foetuses were equal with the concentrations of placentas. The reindeer foetuses contained generally more PBDEs than their corresponding hinds and placentas. This may indicate effective transport of these compounds through the placenta of reindeer.