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Organohalogen compounds in blubber of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) and spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris) from Zanzibar, Tanzania

Lookup NU author(s): Professor Per Berggren

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Abstract

Blubber samples of Indo-Pacific bottlenose (Tursiops aduncus) and spinner (Stenella longirostris) dolphinsfrom Zanzibar, East Africa, were analyzed for a wide range of organohalogen compounds. Methoxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (MeO-BDEs), presumably biogenic, were found at higher concentrations than anthropogenic organochlorine pesticides (OCPs). Only traces of industrial pollutants, such as polychlorinatedbiphenyls, were detected. The OCP levels found off Zanzibar were lower than those reported from other regions while MeO-BDE levels were higher. The relative composition of the OCPs indicated recent use of lindane (g-hexachlorocyclohexane) and aged residues of DDT and technical HCH. Placental transfer was estimated to 2.5% and 0.5% of the total burden of OCPs and MeO-BDEs, respectively. Overall transfer from mother to calf in Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins was estimated to 72% and 85% for the OCPs and MeO-BDEs burdens, respectively. Health effects of MeO-BDEs are not known, but structural similarities with well-known environmental toxins are cause for concern.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Mwevura H, Amir OA, Kishimba M, Berggren P, Kylin H

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Environmental Pollution

Year: 2010

Volume: 158

Issue: 6

Pages: 2200-2207

Print publication date: 25/03/2010

ISSN (print): 0269-7491

ISSN (electronic): 1873-6424

Publisher: Pergamon

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2010.02.027

DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2010.02.027

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