The status of selected organics in the Laurentian Great Lakes: an overview of DDT, PCBs, dioxins, furans, and aromatic hydrocarbons

Abstract

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have declined in biota of the Laurentian Great Lakes from the late 1970s through the early 1980s. Concentrations of these compounds in lake trout ( Salvelinus namaycush) from Lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan, and Ontario, and walleye ( Stizostedion vitreum) from Lake Erie have fluctuated at new lower levels since the early 1980s. In 1984–1985 fish from Lake Ontario had the highest concentrations and fish from Lakes Superior and Erie the lowest concentrations of both total DDT and total PCBs. Chlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and dibenzo- p-dioxins (PCDDs) occur in fish from all the Great Lakes and are highest in fish from Saginaw Bay in Lake Huron. Reproductive failure in a Forster's tern ( Sterna forsteri) colony from Green Bay, Lake Michigan has been associated with concentrations of dioxin-like compounds in the eggs. Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as represented by fluoranthene and the carcinogen, benzo( a)pyrene, are most concentrated near industrialized areas of the Great Lakes, particularly in association with coking facilities. High concentrations of these compounds have been found in the tissue or stomach contents of fish populations having high frequencies of tumors.