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Concentrations of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), Polychlorinated Dibenzo-p-dioxins and Furans (PCDD/Fs), and Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) as Functions of Sample Depth in Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) Blubber

Michael G. Ikonomou¹, Sierra Rayne² & Norman F. Crewe¹

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1. Fisheries and Oceans Canada
2. University of Victoria

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Document Type:

Manuscript

Date:

Received 07 August 2007 03:44 UTC; Posted 10 August 2007

Subjects:

Chemistry, Ecology, Earth & Environment

Tags:

• Killer whale
• Orcinus orca
• Halogenated aromatic contaminants
• Depth profiles
• Microdart sampling
• Blubber

Abstract:

Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were examined as a function of depth in killer whale (Orcinus orca) blubber samples. Lipid-normalized concentrations of PCBs, PCDD/Fs, and PBDEs did not display significant variation with depth in three distinct blubber layers (outer, central, and inner). Significantly more variation in contaminant concentrations were observed with depth on a wet weight basis for the killer whale sample. The current study indicates that non-invasive microdart biopsy sampling methods commonly used for monitoring contaminants in marine mammals yield representative details on contaminant burdens for chlorinated and brominated aromatic compounds in marine mammal blubber, regardless of the quantity and type of blubber sampled, provided that lipid normalization is performed on resulting analytical determinations.

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This document is licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License

How to cite this document:

Ikonomou, Michael, Rayne, Sierra, and Crewe, Norman. Concentrations of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), Polychlorinated Dibenzo-p-dioxins and Furans (PCDD/Fs), and Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) as Functions of Sample Depth in Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) Blubber. Available from Nature Precedings <http://hdl.handle.net/10101/npre.2007.638.1> (2007)

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