Organochlorine pesticide and polychlorinated biphenyl residues in slaughtered and game animal fats from the northern part of Poland

Abstract

Pooled samples of the adipose fat of swine, cows, sheep, rabbit, ducks, geese, turkeys, wild boar, roe deer and stags collected from the northern part of Poland in 1987-88 were analysed for the presence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), hexachlorohexanes (HCHs), Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), aldrin, dieldrin, heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide and chlordanes (CHLs). All the fats contained detectable, but low concentrations of organochlorine pesticides and PCBs. The mean PCB levels ranged from 9.2 to 47 micrograms/kg of which IUPAC nos. 138, 153, and 180 were dominating congeners in most of the samples. DDT concentrations were apparently lower in fat of the ruminants (45 to 84 micrograms/kg fat) while in rabbits, swine, turkeys and geese, it was from 79 to 140 micrograms/kg fat. Ducks and wild boar had the highest concentrations of 400 and 440 micrograms DDTs/kg fat, respectively. HCB was detected at concentrations ranging from 2.0 to 18 micrograms/kg fat. The total HCH concentration ranged between 15 and 77 micrograms/kg fat. Aldrin and heptachlor remained undetected while dieldrin was found only in some slaughtered species with a range of positive measurements up to 9.1 micrograms/kg fat. Similarly, heptachlor expoxide was traced up to 9.1 micrograms/kg fat and the residues of CHLs from 0.34 to 4.1 micrograms/kg fat.