Persistent organic pollutants (PCB, DDT, HCH, HCB &amp; BDE) in eels (Anguilla anguilla) in Scotland: Current levels and temporal trends

Macgregor, Kenneth; Oliver, Ian W.; Harris, Lynsay; Ridgway, I. M.

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2010.04.005

Cited by 64 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The HCB values found in this study are comparable to recent studies of bass in Chicago of around 3 µg/kg (Lozano et al, 2012), and eels from Scotland where most had < 3 µg/kg HCB and the maximum concentration was 7.2 µg/kg (Macgregor et al, 2010). Higher concentrations of HCB have been found along the river Rhine, where eels of more than 10% lipid content typically contained 20-200 µg/kg and occasionally more than 1000 µg/kg in 1993 (Heinisch et al, 2004), and where German annual HCBD does not seem likely to be of widespread concern in the English rivers analyzed here as it was nondetectable in the majority of samples and even where it was detected, it was more than two orders of magnitude below the EQS of 55 µg/kg.…”

Section: Discusssionsupporting

confidence: 78%

“…Higher concentrations of HCB have been found along the river Rhine, where eels of more than 10% lipid content typically contained 20-200 µg/kg and occasionally more than 1000 µg/kg in 1993 (Heinisch et al, 2004), and where German annual HCBD does not seem likely to be of widespread concern in the English rivers analyzed here as it was nondetectable in the majority of samples and even where it was detected, it was more than two orders of magnitude below the EQS of 55 µg/kg. In a recent survey of eels in Scotland (Macgregor et al, 2010), HCBD was only detected in one of 150 samples at detection limits of either 1 or 3 µg/kg and the authors of a recent French study also failed to detect any HCBD at a detection limit of 2-3 µg/kg ww in fish and consequently questioned the need for a European EQS for this substance (Miege et al, 2012) and (Roose et al, 2003) found a maximum of 12 µg/kg in eel from an industrial area of Belgium. The river Rhine with its associated chemical industry again appears more contaminated -at least in the past-where concentrations over 100 µg/kg were measured in some eels in 1993 (Heinisch et al, 2004).…”

Section: Discusssionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The presence of EU priority substances mercury, hexachlorobenzene, hexachlorobutadiene and PBDEs in wild fish from four English rivers

Jürgens

Johnson

Jones

et al. 2013

Science of The Total Environment

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J. 2013. The presence of EU priority substances mercury, hexachlorobenzene, hexachlorobutadiene and PBDEs in wild fish from four English rivers.Contact CEH NORA team at noraceh@ceh.ac.ukThe NERC and CEH trademarks and logos ('the Trademarks') are registered trademarks of NERC in the UK and other countries, and may not be used without the prior written consent of the Trademark owner.-1 - AbstractSince 2007 about 200 to 300 fish per year (generally roach (rutilus rutilus) but also a few bleak (alburnus alburnus) and eels (anguilla anguilla)) have been collected from a number of English river sites and stored at -80°C to build up a Fish Tissue Archive as a resource for the monitoring of pollutants. Some of the fish from the Fish Tissue Archive from the years 2007-2011 were analyzed for substances in current and proposed European legislation regarding environmental quality standards (EQS) in biota. It was found that mercury exceeded the EU EQS of 20 µg/kg in 79 % of samples with an average and median of 31 and 29 µg/kg. The legacy fungicide hexachlorobenzene (HCB) was below the EQS of 10 µg/kg in all fish analyzed, with a maximum of 6 µg/kg in some eels. The legacy solvent hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD) was below the EQS of 55 µg/kg, being < 0.2 µg/kg in all samples where it was measured. The sums of six polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were several orders of magnitude higher than the new proposed 0.0085 µg/kg biota EQS. This study showed that the regular collection and analysis of whole body homogenate samples of relatively small native pelagic fish is suitable for the monitoring of contaminants capable of bioaccumulation. With regard to current or proposed EQS for EU countries, mercury and potentially PBDE in fish are of some concern in these English rivers.-2 - KeywordsEnvironmental quality standards UK fish mercury PBDE hexachlorobenzene priority substances rivers 1 Background and introduction LegislationThe Priority Substances Directive of the EU (Directive 2008/105/EC), which entered into force in January 2009, has the objective of protecting wildlife and humans from harmful effects of chemicals identified as priority substances in surface waters and to monitor trends of these chemicals. It aims to set environmental quality standards (EQS) for a number of chemical pollutants below which no harmful effects are expected to wildlife, or humans. There is an option for member states to set biota, or sediment, standards which offer "at least the same level of protection" as the water standards. For mercury, hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD), the legislation states that water standards alone do not offer sufficient protection and therefore limits have been set for both water and biota and the legislation specifies that member states which choose not to apply the biota standard should set more stringent levels than those set out in the directive for the water standard. The EQS is set for prey tissue (wet weight) with member states being able to choose "the most appropriate indicator from among...

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Section: Discusssionsupporting

confidence: 78%

Section: Discusssionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The presence of EU priority substances mercury, hexachlorobenzene, hexachlorobutadiene and PBDEs in wild fish from four English rivers

Jürgens

Johnson

Jones

et al. 2013

Science of The Total Environment

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…If eel contaminant monitoring in Wallonia (Thomé et al 2004), Flanders (e.g. Belpaire et al 2011) and Scotland (Macgregor et al 2010) is based on random sampling and hence results may be regarded as representative for the whole country, this is not the case in many other reports where eel pollution monitoring is focussed on areas known to be polluted, or on specific areas for some other reasons. For example, in Luxembourg, Boscher et al (2007) monitored PCBs and heavy metals in eel in rivers from the North of the country to evaluate potential impact on the otter (Lutra lutra).…”

Section: Shortcomings and Future Development Of The Eel Quality Databasementioning

confidence: 99%

The European eel quality database: towards a pan-European monitoring of eel quality

Belpaire

Geeraerts

Evans³

et al. 2011

Environ Monit Assess

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The stocks of the European eel Anguilla anguilla are in decline and there is an increasing awareness that poor health status due to contaminants and/or diseases might be a key element in this decline and might be a hindrance to recovery. Many countries have started compiling data on the health status of eels in their water bodies. Objectives for these monitoring actions are diverse and there is a large amount of information collected by EU member countries. However, this information is widely scattered over Europe in agencies, institutes or universities. As there is a growing need to collect and report on data on the health status of the eel on international level, the Joint EIFAC/ICES Working Group on Eels initi- Eel Quality Database to collect recent data of contaminants and diseases over the distribution area of the eel. This paper describes the aim, the set up and future development of the database in order to give it greater publicity and to call on scientists or managers to submit data on eel health status. The database represents now the first comprehensive pan-European compilation of eel health data, including data from over 10,000 eels from approximately 1,200 sites over 14 countries. Preliminary work has indicated a number of shortcomings and future developments will be needed. Guaranteeing further development of the database, harmonisation of methods, quality assurance, and setting up harmonised eel monitoring strategies over Europe will be a great challenge and will need pan-European cooperative work.

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“…[23] but also under exceptional circumstances up to concentrations of 192 μg/ kg [24]. Mercury was well above the EQS biota of 20 μg/kg ww in all monitoring studies but usually below the limit for human consumption of 1 mg/kg ww set by the EU Commission Regulation 1881/2006.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Contaminant levels in the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) in North Rhine-Westphalian rivers

2014

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Background: Populations of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) are declining rapidly and are now considered below safe biological limits. High pollution levels are one of the possible reasons for this decline. Contaminant levels are also of concern with regard to human consumption. This study examined the contamination levels of eels from the North Rhine-Westphalian catchment area of the Rhine and from adjacent rivers. A total of 119 eels from 13 sampling sites were analysed for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans (PCDD/PCDFs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), mercury, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB). Results: North Rhine-Westphalian eels had very high levels of contaminants comparable to eels from other European water bodies which are strongly influenced by anthropogenic activities. Mean values for PCDD/PCDFs ranged between 0.5 and 5.4 pg WHO 2005 toxicity equivalents (TEQ)/g, for PCDD/PCDF + dl-PCBs between 6.3 and 44.7 pg WHO 2005 TEQ/g, for indicator PCBs between 165 and 1,630 ng/g wet weight (ww), for 6 PBDEs between 9.2 and 242 μg/kg ww, for mercury between 0.069 and 0.314 mg/kg ww, for PFOS between 8.3 and 49 μg/kg ww and for HCB between 3.4 and 50 μg/kg ww. For certain sampling sites, high contamination contents of the eels could be attributed to local sources. Congener patterns for PCBs and PBDEs were described, and biota to suspended matter ratios were calculated. Conclusions: Pollution levels in eels from North Rhine-Westphalia are declining with regard to some contaminants but are still very high. Due to the high contaminant contents, eels from the rivers investigated are not suitable for human consumption. Furthermore, the concentrations of endocrine disrupting contaminants such as PCBs, PCDD/PCDFs and PBDEs in the eels are in a range which might have deleterious effects on the eel populations.

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Persistent organic pollutants (PCB, DDT, HCH, HCB & BDE) in eels (Anguilla anguilla) in Scotland: Current levels and temporal trends

Cited by 64 publications

References 21 publications

The presence of EU priority substances mercury, hexachlorobenzene, hexachlorobutadiene and PBDEs in wild fish from four English rivers

The presence of EU priority substances mercury, hexachlorobenzene, hexachlorobutadiene and PBDEs in wild fish from four English rivers

The European eel quality database: towards a pan-European monitoring of eel quality

Contaminant levels in the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) in North Rhine-Westphalian rivers

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