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

Technical Report · Sun Aug 01 00:00:00 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

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63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
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BIOASSAY
ALASKA
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
AROMATICS
BIOLOGICAL ACCUMULATION
BIOLOGY
CALIFORNIA
CHLORINATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
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INSECTICIDES
MERCURY
METALS
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SELENIUM
STOMACH
TISSUES
WASHINGTON
WATER POLLUTION
ZINC
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BODY
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DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
ECOSYSTEMS
ELEMENTS
GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
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ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
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ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
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SURFACE WATERS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
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