Trends in chlorobiphenyl contents in livers of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) from the North Sea, 1979–1987

Abstract

Concentrations of 24 individual chlorobiphenyls have been measured in cod liver from the southern, central and northern North Sea since 1979. All analyses were performed using capillary column gas chromatography. The mean contents on a product base found for CB 153, the most abundant one, were 990 ± 250 μg/kg in cod liver from the southern North Sea, 300 ± 120 μg/kg in the central North Sea and 120 ± 32 μg/kg in the northern North Sea. A spatial trend was identified with levels of chlorobiphenyls in cod liver decreasing from the southern North Sea to the northern North Sea. During the period of this work the chlorobiphenyl concentrations in cod livers in the three different parts of the North Sea remained constant. Tolerance levels for individual chlorobiphenyls which have been used in the Netherlands since 1984 are not exceeded.