PCB AND DDTS IN BLUBBER OF CETACEANS FROM THE NORTHEASTERN NORTH-ATLANTIC

Blubber from long-finned pilot whales, Atlantic white-sided dolphins and harbour porpoises caught off the Faroe Islands, and from fin whales, sei whales, and sperm whales from Iceland were analysed for organochlorine pollutants. Pollutant levels were positively correlated with increasing trophic level and inversely with body size. For any given species, the %DDE/SIGMAp,p'-DDT ratio increased with SIGMAp,p'-DDT burden, probably reflecting increased detoxification activity of liver enzymes at higher contaminant concentrations. The %SIGMAp,p'-DDT/PCB ratio decreased with increasing trophic level suggesting differential transfer rates of the two organochlorine groups through food webs. Because of the effect of transfer of organochlorines through gestation and lactation, SIGMAp,p'-DDT and PCB levels, %DDE/SIGMAp,p'-DDT and %SIGMAp,p'-DDT/PCB ratios were higher in males than in females.