CONCENTRATIONS OF CHLORINATED HYDROCARBONS AND TRACE-ELEMENTS IN MARINE MAMMAL TISSUES ARCHIVED IN THE US NATIONAL BIOMONITORING SPECIMEN BANK

The U.S. National Biomonitoring Specimen Bank (NBSB) provides for the Long term storage of well documented and preserved specimens represent ing several types of environmental matrices. A major part of this inve ntory consists of marine mammal tissues (e.g., blubber, liver, kidney, and muscle). Within the NBSB selected specimens are periodically anal yzed for chlorinated hydrocarbons and trace elements. Although only 20 % of the 560 marine mammal specimens in the NBSB have been analyzed, t he database is of value in evaluating the stability of analytes and sa mple degradation during storage, for comparing with results from sampl es collected in the future for long-term monitoring, and for comparing with analytical results from other laboratories on samples collected at the same time for monitoring purposes. The NBSB analytical database contains results for 37 elements, many of which are not analyzed rout inely by conventional analytical techniques used in monitoring program s, and the following organic compounds: selected PCB congeners, DDT co mpounds, alpha- and gamma-HCH, HCB, heptachlor epoxide, oxychlordane, cis-chlordane, trans-chlordane, cis-nonachlor, trans-nonachlor, and di eldrin in 9 marine mammal species: northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursi nus), ringed seal (Phoca hispida), spotted seal (P. largha), bearded s eal (Erignathus barbatus), pilot whale (Globicephala melas), harbor po rpoise (Phocoena phocoena), white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus ), beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas), and bowhead whale (Balaena my sticetus). Analyses of beluga whale blubber for toxaphene and addition al chlorinated hydrocarbons are obtained through collaboration with th e Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.