High levels of persistent organic pollutants measured in blubber of island-associated false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) around the main Hawaiian Islands

摘要

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have been measured in tissues of marine mammals since the mid 1960s (Holden and Marsden, 1967; Wolman and Wilson, 1970). These compounds include several pesticides (e.g., DDTs, chlordanes) and industrial chemicals (e.g., PCBs) that are ubiquitous, highly lipophilic and not readily degraded or metabolized. As a result, they can biomagnify to high levels in li-pid-rich tissues of top-level marine predators. POPs enter marine waters via direct inputs (e.g., sewage outfalls, industrial and agricultural runoff) as well as from indirect sources (e.g., ocean currents) (Friedlander et al., 2005).