EOX and organochlorine compounds in fish and ringed seal samples from LakeLadoga, Russia

Information about the pollution of Lake Ladoga, the largest lake in Europe, has been controversial. Various effluents and drainage waters affect the q uality of the lake water. Wastewaters have caused eutrophication of parts o f Lake Ladoga, but concentrations of persistent organic pollutants in the l ake's food webs are poorly understood. In this study, concentrations of som e organochlorine compounds, chlorophenols (CPs), and extractable organic ha logen (EOX) were determined in smelt (Osmerus eperlanus), vendace (Coregonu s albula), pikeperch (Lucioperca lucioperca), whitefish (Coregonus lavaretu s), and the Ladoga seal (Phoca hispida ladogensis) from the northern part o f the lake. The concentrations of organochlorine compounds in fish were low . Concentrations were between 0.07 and 0.15, 0.65 and 1.0, and 0.29 and 0.4 8 mg/kg lipids for hexachlorobenzene, total polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and p,p'-DDE, respectively. The results indicated biomagnification from sme lt and vendace to pikeperch and ringed seal. In ringed seals, concentration s of PCB and DDT were 12 and 29 times higher than in fish used by ringed se als as major food sources. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserv ed.