Lessons Learned from Monitoring Organic Contaminants in Three Decades of Marine Samples from the Pacific Basin Archived at the USA's Marine Environmental Specimen Bank

Published

December 1, 2016

Author(s)

Stacy Schuur, Paul R. Becker, Colleen E. Bryan Sallee, Rebecca Pugh, Jared Ragland, Jessica Reiner, Jennifer Hoguet, Michele M. Schantz

Abstract

The USA's Marine Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB) has archived marine wildlife collections dating back to 1976. Numerous lessons have been learned including collecting the correct species and tissues for environmental contaminant monitoring, developing protocols for mitigating sample contamination, and ensuring that samples can be used for new analytes and techniques. Investigations of organochlorine contaminants in several collections from the Pacific basin for species, regional, and temporal trends revealed that α-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) declined for all species/regions and was lowest in samples from Hawaii while polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) 47 significantly increased in Alaskan marine mammals with the highest levels in California sea lions and adult male cetaceans that stranded in Hawaii. Chlordanes and dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethanes (DDTs) declined except for beluga whales, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) significantly declined for only common and thick-billed murres from St. George Island, Alaska and common murres from St. Lazaria Island, Alaska. The Marine ESB is also in the process of ensuring easy access to sample information and previous analytical results for other researchers to use this invaluable resource.

Citation

Persistent Organic Chemicals in the Environment: Status and Trends in the Pacific Basin Countries II Temporal Trends

Publisher Info

American Chemical Society, Washington, DC

Pub Type

Book Chapters

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1021/bk-2016-1244.ch001

Local Download

Keywords

Marine Environmental Specimen Bank, HCH, PBDE, DDTs, PCBs, marine mammals, seabirds

Citation

Schuur, S. , Becker, P. , Bryan Sallee, C. , Pugh, R. , Ragland, J. , Reiner, J. , Hoguet, J. and Schantz, M. (2016), Lessons Learned from Monitoring Organic Contaminants in Three Decades of Marine Samples from the Pacific Basin Archived at the USA’s Marine Environmental Specimen Bank, Persistent Organic Chemicals in the Environment: Status and Trends in the Pacific Basin Countries II Temporal Trends, American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, [online], https://doi.org/10.1021/bk-2016-1244.ch001, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=921257 (Accessed September 20, 2024)