Contamination of Pike and Sediment from the Kymijoki River by PCDEs, PCDDs, and PCDFs: Contents and Patterns Compared to Pike and Sediment from the Bothnian Bay and Seals from Lake Saimaa

Abstract

Sediment and pike from Kymijoki River and Bothnian Bay were analyzed for contents of polychlorinated diphenyl ethers (PCDE), 2,3,7,8-substituted polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDD) and dibenzofurans (PCDF), and non-ortho-substituted polychlorinated biphenyls (coplanar PCBs). Both sites are located in the vicinity of pulp mills. The same compounds were measured in a chlorophenol formulation Ky-5, which used to be used as a wood preservative, and in four ringed seals from Lake Saimaa and in one seal from Lake Baikal. Results of this preliminary study indicated that spills from the manufacture of Ky-5 in the past have contaminated Kymijoki River sediments with PCDEs, PCDDs, and PCDFs. The same PCDE congeners that dominated in these sediments were abundant in Ky-5, pikes from Kymijoki River, and seals from Lake Saimaa. The TEQs of PCDD/PCDFs in the Kymijoki River sediments varied from 0.04 to 59 ng/g dry weight. The contents of PCDE, PCDD, and PCDF compounds were low in sediments and pikes from the Bothnian Bay.