DETERMINATION OF PCBS AND CHLORINATED HYDROCARBONS IN MARINE MAMMAL TISSUES

Selected tissues (blubber, liver, kidney and muscle) from marine mamma ls, which were collected as part of the Alaska Marine Mammal Tissue Ar chival Project (AMMTAP), were analyzed for polychlorinated biphenyl (P CB) congeners and chlorinated pesticides. Concentrations of these comp ounds in the different tissues were compared and blubber was selected as the primary tissue for organic contaminant analyses for the AMMTAP based on higher levels (1-2 orders of magnitude) in this tissue compar ed to liver, kidney and muscle. Concentrations for 15 PCB congeners an d 12 chlorinated pesticides are reported for 10 different animals of t hree species (northern fur seal, ringed seal and belukha whale) from f ive different sites.