Polybrominated diphenyl ethers and organochlorine compounds in biota from the marine environment of East Greenland

Abstract

Ten black guillemot eggs, 19 ringed seals, 20 shorthorn sculpins and 20 Arctic chars were collected around Ittoqqortoormiit (Scoresbysund, Central East Greenland) in summer 2001 and analysed for 11 brominated diphenyl ether congeners (BDEs) and organochlorine compounds. Congeners BDE85 and BDE183 were not detected in any sample. ΣBDE was highest in black guillemot eggs, with a median value of 80 ng/g lipid weight. This was approximately three times higher than that found for black guillemot eggs from West Greenland, thus supporting the spatial trend observed for organochlorines in Greenland. The median ΣBDE concentration in ringed seal blubber was 36 ng/g lipid weight. This was clearly higher than ΣBDE concentrations in ringed seal from the Canadian Arctic, but slightly lower than those found in ringed seals from Svalbard collected in 1981 and approximately 10 times lower than levels in seals from the Baltic Sea. Adult ringed seals had significantly higher ΣBDE concentrations than animals less than 5 years old. Shorthorn sculpin liver and Arctic char muscle had similar concentrations of ΣBDE, both with a median value of 7–10 ng/g lipid weight. The levels in shorthorn sculpin were similar to those reported from a previous study in Southwest Greenland. ΣBDE levels correlated with PCB, DDT and chlordane-concentrations in the same samples, indicating similar mechanisms of uptake, bioaccumulation and biomagnification. The summed chlorobiphenyl concentrations in the same samples exceeded the ΣBDE concentrations by a factor of approximately 15–30. The BDE congener patterns in black guillemot eggs and ringed seals were investigated using compound ratios and multivariate data analysis. The intraspecies variance was relatively small for black guillemot eggs and larger for ringed seals. Ringed seals had higher relative levels of the lower BDE congeners, e.g. BDE28 and BDE47 than black guillemots. The reasons for these different accumulation patterns are largely unknown and may reflect species-related differences in pollutant exposure, bioavailablity and metabolism.