► Unpublished and published data were compiled for Arctic fish, birds, and mammals. ► These data were compared to available toxicological threshold limits. ► Toothed whales, polar bears, and some bird and fish species exceeded the limits. ► Increasing mercury concentrations are observed for some Arctic species. ► These exceeded thresholds and increasing Hg trends are of concern. a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o This review critically evaluates the available mercury (Hg) data in Arctic marine biota and the Inuit population against toxicity threshold values. In particular marine top predators exhibit concentrations of mercury in their tissues and organs that are believed to exceed thresholds for biological effects. Species whose concentrations exceed threshold values include the polar bears (Ursus maritimus), beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas), pilot whale (Globicephala melas), hooded seal (Cystophora cristata), a few seabird species, and landlocked Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus). Toothed whales appear to be one of the most vulnerable groups, with high concentrations Science of the Total Environment 443 (2013) [775][776][777][778][779][780][781][782][783][784][785][786][787][788][789][790]

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There is increasing evidence that the ∼20 routinely monitored perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) account for only a fraction of extractable organofluorine (EOF) occurring in the environment. To assess whether PFAS exposure is being underestimated in marine mammals from the Northern Hemisphere, we performed a fluorine mass balance on liver tissues from 11 different species using a combination of targeted PFAS analysis, EOF and total fluorine determination, and suspect screening. Samples were obtained from the east coast United States (US), west and east coast of Greenland, Iceland, and Sweden from 2000 to 2017. Of the 36 target PFASs, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) dominated in all but one Icelandic and three US samples, where the 7:3 fluorotelomer carboxylic acid (7:3 FTCA) was prevalent. This is the first report of 7:3 FTCA in polar bears (∼1000 ng/g, ww) and cetaceans (<6−190 ng/g, ww). In 18 out of 25 samples, EOF was not significantly greater than fluorine concentrations derived from sum target PFASs. For the remaining 7 samples (mostly from the US east coast), 30−75% of the EOF was unidentified. Suspect screening revealed an additional 37 PFASs (not included in the targeted analysis) bringing the total to 63 detected PFASs from 12 different classes. Overall, these results highlight the importance of a multiplatform approach for accurately characterizing PFAS exposure in marine mammals.

Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), such as perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and related compounds, have been identified as global pollutants and have shown their bioaccumulation into higher trophic levels in the food chain. PFCs have been found in remote areas far from sources, such as the Arctic. In this study spatial and temporal trends in the concentrations of selected PFCs were measured using archived liver samples of ringed seal (Phoca hispida) from East and West Greenland. The samples were collected in four different years at each location, between 1986 and 2003 in East Greenland and between 1982 and 2003 in West Greenland. PFOS was the major contributor to the burden of PFCs in samples, followed by perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnA). Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) were also detected in most samples. Perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS) and perfluorooctane sulfonamide (PFOSA) were only found sporadically. Perfluorooctanoic acid was not found in detectable concentrations in any sample. Regression analysis of logarithmic transformed PFOS, PFDA, and PFUnA median concentrations indicated a significant temporal trend with increasing concentrations at both locations. A spatial trend in PFOS concentrations (ANOVA, p < 0.0001) was observed between the two sampling locations, with significantly higher concentrations in seals from East Greenland.