Chemical contaminants in gray whales (eschichtius robustus) stranded in Alaska, Washington, and California, USA. Technical memo

Technical Report · Sun Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1993

OSTI ID:5634444

Varanasi, U; Stein, J E; Tilbury, K L; Meador, J P; Sloan, C A

The concentrations of chlorinated hydrocarbons (CHs) such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl) ethanes (DDTs), 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p- chlorophenyl) ethenes (DDEs), and chlordanes, and essential (e.g., zinc, selenium, copper) and toxic (e.g., mercury, lead) elements were measured in tissues and stomach contents from 22 gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) stranded between 1988 and 1991. The stranding sites ranged from the relatively pristine areas of Kodiak Island, Alaska, to more urbanized areas in Puget Sound, Washington, and San Francisco Bay, California, with the majority of the sites on the Washington outer coast and in Puget Sound. Similar to concentrations in tissues, no significant differences were observed in concentrations of elements in stomach contents between whales stranded in Puget Sound and whales stranded at the more pristine sites. The lack of data from apparently healthy gray whales limits the assessment of whether the levels of anthropogenic contaminants found in tissues may have deleterious effects on the health of gray whales.

• Research Organization: National Marine Fisheries Service, Seattle, WA (United States). Northwest Fisheries Science Center
• OSTI ID: 5634444
• Report Number(s): PB-94-106945/XAB; NOAA-TM-NMFS-NWFSC--11
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540350 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Site Resource & Use Studies-- (1990-)
560300* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ALASKA
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
AROMATICS
BIOASSAY
BIOLOGICAL ACCUMULATION
BIOLOGY
BODY
CALIFORNIA
CETACEANS
CHLORINATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
COASTAL REGIONS
COPPER
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
ECOSYSTEMS
ELEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
HALOGENATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
INSECTICIDES
MAMMALS
MERCURY
METALS
NORTH AMERICA
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANS
PACIFIC OCEAN
PESTICIDES
POLLUTION
POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS
PUGET SOUND
SAN FRANCISCO BAY
SEAS
SELENIUM
SEMIMETALS
STOMACH
SURFACE WATERS
TISSUES
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
USA
VERTEBRATES
WASHINGTON
WATER POLLUTION
ZINC