Pentachlorobenzene and hexachlorobenzene in fish in the Gulf of Gdansk

Fish (herring, cod, eelpout, round goby, flounder, perch, lamprey, pikeperc h, sand eel and lesser sand ecl) caught in the Gulf of Gdansk in 1992 conta ined the residues of penta- (PCBz) and hexachlorobenzene (HCBz)in concentra tions from 0.09 to 0.75 and from 0.36 to 3.7 ng/g wet weight (3.3-14 and 6. 5-41 ng/g lipid weight), respectively. Both compounds were identified and q uantified using capillary gas chromatography and low resolution mass spectr ometry (HRGC/LRMS) after a non-destructive extraction and clean-up step wit h a semipermeable polyethylene membrane and further fractionation on the Fl orisil column. A higher HCBz/PCBz ratio indicated in some species of fish c aught near the city of Gdynia when compared to the specimens caught close t o the city of Gdansk indicated the existence of a slight local source of po llution with HCBz in the area of the seaport of the city of Gydnia.