Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in marine organisms from four harbours in Guam

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The marine environment has been a major source of protein for the people of Guam, and despite the influx of imported foods, local inhabitants continue to harvest algae, molluscs, crustaceans, sea cucumbers and many different kinds of fish for sale and for home consumption. The isolation of Guam (located in the tropical western Pacific at 13 28 0N, 144 45 0E) has largely protected these living marine resources from the adverse effects of global pollution. However, the US military has been prominent on the island since WWII and has contributed significantly to disturbances in environmental quality in and around their bases. Moreover, Guam has undergone extensive urban and commercial development over the last 30 years with particular expansion in the hospitality and tourism industries. Such developments have greatly increased problems associated with waste disposal, pollution and environmental management. As a result, coastal waters around much of the island have suffered some form of degradation in recent years. The precise impacts of recent human activities in the coastal areas of Guam have received minimal detailed scientific study. While the use and disposal of many chemicals are known to have occurred, the degree of chemical contamination has not been quantified. Such information is critical if the ecological, recreational and commercial potential of nearshore areas is to be maintained. This paper reports on the PCB status of various marine organisms taken from four harbours located along the western edge of the southern half of the island (Fig. 1a). Clean and contaminated sites were identified from sediment analysis in an earlier investigation (Denton et al., 1997, 2005). Species selected for study were dominant ecosystem representatives and included organisms from various trophic levels (Table 1). Special attention was given to those with bioindicator potential as well as those frequently harvested for human consumption. The vast majority of samples were collected from sites a–g in Apra Harbour, the largest and oldest port in Guam (Fig. 1c). Biota collection sites within each of the other harbours (Agana Boat Basin, Agat Marina and Merizo Pier) are shown in Fig. 1 (inset b, d and e, respectively). The analytical procedures were adapted from the US EPA SW 846 methods (US EPA, 1996) for the physical and chemical evaluation of solid waste, in addition to those recommended by the NOAA National Status and Trends Program for Marine Environmental Quality (NOAA, 1993). Briefly, tissue homogenates ( 3 g) were twice extracted with 20 ml of methylene chloride in 50-ml Teflon The objective of BASELINE is to publish short communications on different aspects of pollution of the marine environment. Only those papers which clearly identify the quality of the data will be considered for publication. Contributors to Baseline should refer to ‘Baseline—The New Format and Content’ (Mar. Pollut. Bull. 42, 703–704).